Children's books are a brilliant medium for nurturing children and youth in their spirituality. When children are provided with the proper time, space, and context for discussing the various facets of a story, they can explore their innate ability to discuss deeper thoughts and ponderings about life, relationships, and experiences beyond their immediate circumstances. This chapter provides guidance to teachers on how to create, within the school day, time for spiritual discussions by using children's read-aloud books for deeper conversations. Educators will learn that activities can be implemented before, during, and after the reading that can unlock new possibilities for learners to internalize and express newfound spiritual concepts and goals for themselves personally, and as a class. A preliminary list of relevant books is presented at the end of the chapter, which were selected based on the research-based framework of the seven spiritual identities to allow young learners to experience their spirituality in a variety of ways.
TopBackground
Stories, fables, myths, poems, and proverbs, among other art forms, have been used over the millennia by many cultures to convey to their children and youth core values, rituals, life’s truths, and the wise ways of the world (Blazer, 2020; National Geographic Society, 2022; Heath, et. al., 2017). These culturally embedded beliefs and practices are usually taught in settings that are confined to a single culture, or related cultures. But, increasingly, over the last century, forced migrations, diseases, natural disasters, and collapsing ecosystems have uprooted populations of families and children to seek a more viable future in countries far from their native lands. (Dimach, 2016)
Therefore, current schools in many parts of the globe have classrooms that are increasingly full of students who need educators who are ready to bridge the similarities and differences in the cultures and backgrounds of their students. The teachers must understand how to facilitate a discussion so that all can share their insights, perspectives, and vital life lessons, while respecting each learner’s heritage and rituals. The multiplicity of the task of educating children to their full potential is not isolated to academic skills but must include many aspects of inner growth such as a willingness to struggle with seemingly complex realities, to reflect, ponder, and to dream about becoming more resilient, confident, just, courageous, and compassionate, to name a few. This adds new challenges to educating all children and youth equitably and thoughtfully, but the impact of including spiritual conversations within the class day outweighs the challenges for everyone involved.