Rich with queries and inspiration, this guide leads you through discerning direction for your Quaker religious education program this fall.
Resources for 4 to 5 years
Do Our Children Know Enough About Quakerism to Play Quaker? Dover Meeting Dollhouse
Children learn through play. They play school, they play house, they even play COVID, giving everyone shots. Do our children know enough about being Quaker to play Quaker? Children are fully spiritual beings. Meeting life needs to be as open and comprehensible to them...
Quaker Time Machine: An intergenerational exploration of historical Friends
Friends, young and old, play through Quaker history in this hands-on exploration of historical Friends from George Fox to present-day Friends in your monthly meeting. Adult volunteers prepare for the class by studying a historical Friend to prepare for role-playing in...
First Day School at Home Lesson Plans from Providence Meeting, Fall 2021
These First Day School lessons teach Quaker faith and practice at home. Begun as a response to the covid-19 pandemic, lesson plans are offered by Providence Friends Meeting. Themes from fall, 2021 include: Native American faith compared to Quaker testimonies, Sibling...
I am a Quaker
Aconcise exploration of Quaker faith and practice for young children. Without preaching or proselytizing, children who are believers talk about their religion, as they have learned it from -- or practice it with -- their families. Religions of the World books (Rosen...
Becoming Me: A story of creation
Have you ever imagined how you came to be? Do you stop and wonder what your place is in creation? Becoming Me presents a way of looking at life and the meaning of our existence, based on timeless spiritual insights. The simple words and radiant illustrations touch...
We Are the Water Protectors
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by...
DK Illustrated Family Bible
This superbly illustrated Bible interprets the text of all the most important stories in the Old and New Testaments, making it an essential Bible reader for the whole family. The DK Illustrated Family Bible uses original texts selected from the New International...
Sometimes People March
Simple, direct statements are paired with watercolor illustrations to highlight some of the rallying causes for organized marches throughout the history of the United States. The text and art begin with two marches that will reemerge as metaphor later in the book: a...
Refuge: The Timeless Story of Christmas
The Christmas story and what follows: the fleeing of Jesus, Mary and Joseph from Herod's soldiers to Egypt. An immigration story, this book has timeless crossover appeal and a message that couldn't be more relevant today as so many leave their homeland for fear of...
A New Alphabet for Humanity
Alphabet Words to Inspire Compassion, Kindness and Positivity This book features 26 empowering alphabet words to activate the potential of our children and create a bright future for humanity. A New Alphabet for Humanity teaches children the power of positive words so...
Peace Begins with You
Peace Begins with You frames peace as real and possible and peacemaking as right and actionable in our daily lives and on the world stage. It establishes universal human needs, the inevitability of conflict, and the possibility that resolutions to disagreements may...
The Best Gift of All
The power of a simple visit rings loud and clear in this story. It's a sweet primer in pastoral care for children. First, Mole has an awareness of missing his friend, Rabbit. He begins to take action and burrow a tunnel toward her home. Squirrel and Hedgehog are...
The Kindness Quilt
Kindness naturally and joyfully multiplies when we focus on opportunities to be helpful, courteous, generous, and encouraging! The Kindness Quilt is an invitation to illustrate our own acts of kindness and pull them all together in a lovely festive quilt. In the...
The Day You Begin
Everyone has times when they don't feel they belong, when they feel, and often are, outside the circle looking in. Maybe it is the way we look, or speak, or the food in our lunch bag that leaves us feeling like the outsider. Woodson warmly encourages us to dare to...
Enemy Pie
This delicious story proves that the best way to defeat an enemy is by making him your friend! A perfect summer is ruined when Jeremy Ross moves into town. He laughs when you strike out at baseball and is playing with your best friend. But Dad has some real wisdom...
The Invisible Boy
It's easy to be lost and overlooked in a noisy world of boisterous classmates. Brian lives on the margins in the lunch room, the playground, and even in class. That is until, Justin moves to town. Brian steps out of his comfort zone just a bit and finds a new friend...
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch celebrates how love can change lives and how our community can bring that love into action. Mr. Hatch's quiet, lonely world is delightfully turned upside down when the postman delivers a Valentine's Day box of chocolates from a secret...
The Empty Pot
Honesty and integrity can often require real courage of us! In this classic Chinese children's story, we learn once again that "Honesty is the best policy." Ping was a young schoolboy who loved to grow flowers. He embraced the Emperor's challenge to grow the best...
Four Feet, Two Sandals
This is a tender inspiring story of resilience, friendship, creative problem-solving, and peacemaking set in a refugee camp in Pakistan. After weeks of privation and the arduous journey walking out of Afghanistan to escape the fighting, great excitement fills the camp...
Teaching Conflict Resolution through Children’s Literature
This curriculum is a gem. Designed for 5-7 year olds, it is useful at home and in First Day School. Each lesson is based on an excellent storybook. Kreidler was a Quaker and brilliant educator. His curriculum normalizes conflict as an inevitable part of life in...
I Think, I Am! Teaching Kids the Power of Affirmations
I Think, I Am! can be a bridge for children from hearing about their gifts to embracing those words and incorporating them into their understanding of themselves. Being able to acknowledge our gifts is a crucial step on the Quaker faith formation journey. "Your...
Jack’s Talent
"You must be good at something," said Miss Lucinda. "Everyone has a special talent." On the first day of school, Miss Lucinda asks the students to share their special talents. Francesca is a star soccer player, Matthew can catch huge fish with his grandpa, and Candace...
Teaching the Language of Children’s Spirituality
We as human beings need stories. It's this primal part of who we are as a human race — from the very beginning. That's how we have always made meaning. Telling stories, over and over again. Caryl Cresswell, a recorded minister in Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting, a...