Parents teaching spiritual values at home

1/1/2022

Teaching Kids About Religion

For generations, parents from all religious beliefs, cultures and lifestyles have shared stories with their children to teach life lessons. Stories from Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Native American traditions support the same underlying messages and demonstrate “The Golden Thread of Truth” in the world’s teachings. Love thy neighbor. You reap what you sow. We are stewards of the earth and each other. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Our intention is to make teaching kids about religion easy and create an interactive experience for children around the lessons taught for generations from parents. The Golden Thread of Truth’s crafts can help with raising interfaith children and deepen their understanding of the message of each story. Additional material with Tweens and Teens help them better understand the impact of these lessons on their individual lives. These lessons have been written for adults, teachers, mentors and parents; not for study by the student directly. For illustration, we use science, nature, history, art and parables from all the world’s religions and cultures.

Our youth ministry lessons and interfaith education for children comes in a yearly and monthly subscription. Learn more about what teachings lie within The Golden Thread of Truth’s curriculum by reading our monthly craft descriptions below.

Annual Interfaith Curriculum available here

December Holidays Traditions

12/1/2021

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December’s Theme is The Gift of Holiday Traditions. December’s Theme is The Gift of Holiday Traditions. The last month of the year has many holidays that are celebrated around the world, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa. When teaching kids about religion and how they celebrate this time of year, it is important to remember that the consistent thread among them is celebrating our spiritual oneness and giving to those we love. This week's story is "The Gift of the Magi" which is a popular Christmas story about love and sacrifice. The work is one of the most famous stories by O. Henry, an American writer.

When we exchange gifts, we are looking for just the right present to make our loved ones light up and know that we had picked something just for them, because we knew they would love it.

Giving and receiving gifts is a tradition in many holidays. We turn to the work of O. Henry, an American writer, who wrote the classic story “The Gift of the Magi’ in 1905.
Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday that celebrates a miracle.
Christmas is the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth.
Kwanzaa is an African American secular holiday which is celebrated from December 26th until New Year’s Day. Dr. Maulana Karenga first envisioned the idea for a cross-national African holiday as a way to bring African Americans together as a community and family.

December Curriculum available here

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Sahih al-Bukari: Muslim Stories Shared for Generations

11/1/2021

November's stories that can be used to teach kids about religion come from the Sahih al-Bukari. This collection is one of the six major ‘hadiths’, the stories denoting the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad in Sunni Islam. The hadith is generally accepted by Muslims as a secondary source of Islamic law after the Qur’an. These Muslim Foundations were collected by a scholar after being transmitted orally for generations. When raising interfaith children, you can use this craft to deepen the meaning of the traditions.

Giant Ship Engine that Failed

The following is an incident about an engine failure in a giant ship. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap $ 9998.00

When using this craft to teach kids about religion, you must remember to share the message that effort is important but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.

Islam Curriculum available here

The Messages in Water

10/1/2021

Kids using The Golden Thread of Truth program and being taught about different religions get the opportunity to study the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto. We have such great gratitude for his discoveries and pay our respect on his passing on October 17, 2014. In Youth Church, we rejoiced in "Music: The Sound of Spirit" and how Dr. Emoto revealed Spirit through his pictures. Thank you. You will be missed.

'Autumn Fun' curriculum available here!

Tales from the Torah

9/1/2021

Rosh Hashanah traditionally begins as the new school year begins. It is a celebration of the Jewish New Year.
The Torah is the foundation of a child’s Jewish education. It is read publicly every year. Just as we typically start our traditional schooling in the fall, Jewish children complete the cycle of their Torah teachings on the holiday Simchat Torah. Many confirmation ceremonies or ceremonies marking the beginning of a child's Jewish education are held at this time.

SHOFAR

Jewish Curriculum available here

The 8 Secrets to Happiness for Kids & Teens

7/1/2021

Spiritual Education for your children. Teach your kids about religion and share timeless tales with them at home this summer and anchor each story with a craft, activity and/or discussion guide.

The 8 Secrets to Happiness is an eight-session program with lots of outdoor activities for the summer! It can be used for Sunday School curriculum during the summer months, as the foundation for a week-long Vacation Bible School (VBS) type program or use it at home as a method of raising interfaith children and expand your family's mindfulness.

The program teaches that happiness is available to everyone. Many who desire it believe it comes from wealth, prestige, stuff, belongings, power over others or fame. This workbook explores if happiness does come from these or if, perhaps, it comes from somewhere else.

Your good fortune does not take away from others. Your happiness comes from within you not from outside of you. Each of us perceives the world through our own lens. Each of us can use our perception of the world to bring more happiness to ourselves and those around us.

Each of the secrets we will review are based upon eternal laws of the universe, or “The Golden Thread of Truth” that runs through all the world’s religions. The truth of these laws are that they can be put in motion to make a difference in our lives. You will gain awareness of how you can use the laws to create your joyous life and achieve all that you desire.

Each story, craft and discussion guide are available for K-3 grades with advanced material for Tweens and Teens. Workbook also includes and interactive activity to enhance your teen's understanding of how the lesson impacts their lives. The program makes it simple to teach your kids about religion and the various faiths around the world.

Purchase the 8 Week Summer Program: The 8 Secrets to Happiness for Kids & Teens for only $19.95!

Native American Lore

6/1/2021

Native American Ritual

We see evidence of harmony all around us. The indigenous people understand the harmony of our planet and our place in it. They revere the earth and all living creatures and show great respect for everything. They understand that the smallest among us has mighty powers and purpose.

Everything on the planet works together in harmony.
We can use ritual to acknowledge this harmony.

Respect begins with respect for self

We will study our Unity and Oneness with our world and each other through the traditions of Native Americans. Native Americans teach the Great Spirit created our world and everything in it. We will explore this Wisdom and what it means for us as an integral part of our planet. We consider the Harmony of the world and our place in it. When teaching kids about religion and looking into this particular faith, we urge respect for all we see. Wisdom to make the best choices we can to support our world. And Compassion for the challenges we see for our world and others.

Native American Curriculum available here

The Philosophers:

5/1/2021

Confucius - Chinese Philosophy
Aristotle - The First Teacher
al-Farabi - The Second Master
Solomon - The King of Israel

We study Philosophers from different religions, countries and faiths who have all had an impact on humanity’s thinking. Even though they lived many years apart, in different parts of the world, they each shared the knowledge of the importance of love and wisdom. Confucius’s focus on self-improvement was radical for his day. Aristotle was revered by Muslim intellectuals and profoundly influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophical and theological thought during the Middle Ages and continues to influence Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. al-Farabi was a leader in the Islamic Golden Age and taught how we all must work together. King Solomon taught that the best decisions are made with our heart, not our head.

By combining all of their teachings and making them a part of The Golden Thread of Truth’s curriculum, we create the perfect resource for parents raising interfaith children.

Get 'The Philosophers - Confucius, al-Farabi, Aristotle and King Solomon' for $29.95.

Ancient Wisdom Curriculum available here

April's Lesson - Ancient Hindu Stories

4/1/2021

Hinduism is ripe with stories that have been told through the generations to teach the basic truth of our oneness with God and the search for God within each of us. This month, we use the stories of the celestial entities, or gods, from the ancient texts to teach kids about religion. Note: The term “gods” do not indicate that there are several gods that are worshiped by Hindus. They call the Supreme Being, Brahman, which is that all reality and truth which we discover within ourselves.
For more: April: Ancient Hindu Stories

Hindu Curriculum available here

New Life: Easter and Spring

3/1/2021

Metaphysically, the story of Easter is the story of renewal...

Springtime is a time of renewal - of making old things new again. Many religious traditions celebrate holidays about renewal at this time of year. One of the biggest spring celebrations is Easter. Easter comes from the Christian religion, and celebrates the renewal Jesus experienced himself and taught about. Jesus was a wise teacher who shows us that all of us can renew our lives all the time, which lets us grow more and more magnificent.
During the Spring, we see renewal in the plants, animals, trees, all around us. This renewal comes every year, without fail. Just as the world renews and grows, you can have confidence in your growth. You can have confidence in the growth you see in the world around you. To teach kids about the religion connected with this time of year, we are going to focus on the Easter season and how renewal happens in every part of life.

Find the entire lesson at New Life - Easter & Spring

Buddha's and Zen Stories share the true gift of peacefulness

2/1/2021

Buddha was a man who embarked on the search for truth and experienced enlightenment. Buddhism is a faith with an emphasis on each individual looking at and thinking about our own lives. Buddhism shows us how to understand ourselves and how to cope with our daily problems. Buddha believed that all the sorrow of the world was caused by selfishness. He believed the secret to life is love. The book, Timeless Tales Volume 1, share these delightful Zen stories and make raising interfaith children simple.

Generosity: Love In Action: - ‘The Most Important Thing’, a tale of a man who travelled many miles to hear from Buddha the key to the most important thing in life.
Stillness: Feeling the Presence - “A Heavy Load”, has been told by Zen Buddhist for hundreds of years. It is a classic story of how our minds and thoughts are within our control.
Feeling Compassion - “The Farmer’s Luck”, which has roots in Taoism, going back several thousand years. It is a wonderful illustration of how the value that we attach to events in our lives can affect our peace of mind.

Buddhist Curriculum available here

Sharing the Parables of Jesus

1/1/2021

Jesus used stories to teach life lessons. To teach kids about the religion Jesus followed try exploring some of Jesus’s parables in our workbook Nature Parables of Jesus. In the parables, we are not necessarily instructed by Jesus, but instead invited to explore life through his eyes and stand with him to understand what the simple stories reveal. Parables to teach life lessons are found in every religion.

Don’t Hide Your Light Under a Bushel - Light does not struggle against darkness. When light appears, darkness simply disappears.
The Tree and Its Fruits - The fruit we see in our lives is a reflection of our thoughts or way of being. Our lives mirror the seeds we plant and nurture.
The Sower and the Seeds - Manifestations are always taking place, everywhere around us, from the thoughts and ideas put into law. There are no restraining or inhibiting actions that obstruct the harvest.
The Birds of Heaven & the Lilies of the Field - At each moment, we are at choice to live from a place of anxiety and fear, or from a place of peace and serenity.

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