Resources

WORKSHOP

SPIRITUAL STYLES: HOW DOES A CHILD MOST NATURALLY CONNECT WITH GOD?

 

Discover an intriguing approach to children’s spiritual development.

As parents, teachers, mentors, friends or relatives, we are mindful of our responsibility to effectively promote children’s spiritual growth alongside their emotional, intellectual, physical, and social growth. How do we make this part of everyday family life, especially when each child in the family exhibits differences in natural abilities, temperament, personality, and in the way they form attachments to God?

Children express spirituality in a variety of ways. Some children are very much influenced by art or natural beauty. Other children express a desire to respond to the hurts and needs of people. By learning about these different spiritual styles, you will begin to recognize patterns in the different ways that children express themselves in exploration of their own spirituality.

Through engaging storytelling, Janet and Bob Logan will share practical ideas you can use in your everyday family life to engage in conversations that build an enduring bond between children and God.

This workshop offers real, tested, practical ideas to help you individualize and diversify your approach to help children solidify their values, practices and beliefs as they grow into adulthood. Interactive questions, breakout groups for discussing/processing the information, and time for participants to complete a spiritual style survey are all included in this valuable 90 minute workshop.

The material presented in each workshop is specially tailored to the spiritual traditions of the sponsoring group.

Please contact us for more information. 

Presenters: Janet Logan, author of Child-Centered Spirituality: Helping children develop their own spirituality, gained knowledge and experience in children’s spiritual formation as a facilitator of kids’ support groups and elementary school teacher. She writes regularly on the topic at childcenteredspirituality.com. Dr. Bob Logan’s skill as a presenter, executive coach, and group process facilitator is recognized through his 40 years of ministry experience.

Life with God: a three part series

Written by Janet Logan and illustrated by Gabriela Rivera, “So, who is God, anyway?” answers the question in a way that children can easily understand.

So, who is God, anyway?

How do you know God is there?

Why doesn’t God make trouble go away?

Movies to spark conversation with your child

Almost any movie can lend itself to becoming a conversation about spiritual things. Because of the human spirit within us, traces of our spirituality can be found everywhere—especially in the stories we create and the ways they resonate with us.

Below are just a few examples of movies you could use to jumpstart a spiritual conversation with the important children and teens in your life. Please note that these aren’t being reviewed for being age-appropriate or for fitting neatly within any specific religious category (i.e., they may include elements that many adults would not deem appropriate for children).

I am Eleven
Do you remember when you were 11?

From an orphanage in India, to a single-parent household in inner-city Melbourne, to bathing with elephants in Thailand, I AM ELEVEN explores the lives and thoughts of eleven-year-olds from 15 countries.

 

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The Fault in our Stars
Two teenagers with cancer consider what’s truly important in life as they face the prospect of death.

 

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Noah
A man is chosen by his world’s creator to undertake a momentous mission before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the world.

 

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Boyhood
The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

 

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The Lion King
Reminiscent of both Moses and Jesus, the main character must take on the responsibility to save his people.

 

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Les Misérables
A classic tale of suffering, grace, self-sacrifice and redemption, set during the French Revolution.

 

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Inside Out
An animated movie about the role of emotions inside of us.

 

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The Shack
In the face of tragedy, the main character encounters a crisis of faith.

 

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The Tree of Life
An artistic, visual movie about the wonder of life, from its beginnings to its endings.

 

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The Secret Garden
A symbolic meditation on Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden.

 

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The Count of Monte Cristo
A classic story of revenge vs. forgiveness.

 

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Soul Surfer
A girl injured in a shark attack wrestles with questions of God and faith.

 

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis’ classic childhood story of imagination, spiritual allegory, and good and evil.

 

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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
A morality tale of generosity vs. selfishness.

 

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Superman
A man sent to earth to save humanity.

 

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The Truman Show
A movie exploring the tension between free will, perfection and God’s plan.

 

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Bruce Almighty
A man becomes God for a day.

 

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Additional resources

Conscious Discipline

Conscious Discipline provides a proven and comprehensive approach to discipline that will improve both your life and the lives of your children. It empowers you with the self-awareness, brain information, developmental knowledge and useable skills necessary to create safe, connected, problem-solving homes.

Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Belief

Written by by Justin L. Barrett, Born Believers is one of a growing number of books delving into the research of, in Robert Emmon’s words, “why religious beliefs are perfectly normal and virtually universal.”