A Simple Secular Dinner Prayer

Praying Hands (Photo credit: C Jill Reed)

I think teaching children about Gratitude is extremely important. A few months ago, I decided it was time for our family to start Giving Thanks before eating.

We eat meat and so I think it's particularly imperative to recognize the fact that an animal gave it's life for our body's nourishment before we chow down.

I was pleasantly surprised by my daughter's reaction. She was around 22 months or so, when we began this ritual. I did it maybe three or four times, before SHE became the one to remind us to pray. She calls it "jay-jay" (what her Indian Grand-mother calls praying).

Honestly, I forget sometimes. And, boy, do I get the smack down from the "jay-jay" police. She harasses everyone at the table to fold their hands properly and close their eyes. And, you better be snappy about it. Of course, she still likes to sneak a bite or two, while I'm saying a prayer (or at least that is what her Daddy and Papa have told me). But, I am happy that our family is making Giving Thanks a daily habit.

Here is a simple Dinner Prayer from The Complete Buddhism for Mothers

The Joys and Pains of all beings

are present in the gift of this food.

Let us receive it in Love

and Gratitude...

I like it because it's brief, yet profound. And, feels it very secular to me. I think I'll start teaching it to my daughter is a few months.

The Month of Courage: Teaching for Change

Source

One of my favorite things about living in the NOVA/DC area is the bookstore Busboys and Poets.  The bookstore is run by the staff of Teaching for Change, a non-profit devoted to providing "teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write, and change the world." Pretty exciting stuff.

Teaching for Change is a fanstastic resource whether you are a teacher or a parent unschooling, homeschooling or just encouraging your child to become a life-time learner. In honor of MLK and the fearless work he did, I am sharing the book Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching with you today.

When I was teaching at a Friends school, I discovered this book; it's full of some very brave people and deserves to be read and used in every classroom.

One of the Reasons a Friends Education Rocks...

Although, I am not a Quaker and knew very little about the Society of Friends before I started teaching, I quickly fell in love with the spiritual component of the school. The students and I were able to have a safe space to discuss their spiritual questions and learn about all the major World Religions.

Each month, our spiritual discussions revolved around a theme like Courage or Kindness. The teacher in me couldn't resist, so I've decided to give my blog a bit more structure by having a Monthly Theme. Check out my new page on Monthly Themes!