Picture of Holding Hands

ChildSpirit Conference Logo

2nd Annual
North American Conference
on Children’s Spirituality

October 7-10, 2004
Asilomar Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, California

SPEAKERS | PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOPS | THE CONFERENCE | ACCOMMODATIONS | REGISTRATION

Small and large group presentations and discussions on numerous topics focus on educating the whole child, innovative spiritual and religious curriculum, research and theory, intuitive and imaginative development, and spiritual parenting, counseling and community. A partial list of workshops and topics include:

Educating the Whole Child

  • The Burning Heart: Children’s Spirituality
    Through Poetry Writing
  • Reconnecting with Earth: Nurturing the Spirit
    of the Child in the Public School
  • Montessori’s Education
  • Creating a Compassionate Classroom
  • Student Engagement in Alternative Education
  • Educational Choices for Spiritually-Engaged Parents
  • The Contemplative Classroom
  • The Examined Life: An Integrative Curriculum of Ethics, Resilience and Critical Thought
  • Educating for Humanity: Self, Community,
    Earth and Spirit
  • Nourishing Students Relationship With Nature
    From Breath to Feet: Dancing with Children
    of All Ages


Innovative Spiritual and Religious Curriculum

  • Sacred Song: A Gateway to God
  • Mindfulness/Meditation
  • Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
  • The Value of Myth and Fairy Tale in
    Children’s Lives
  • Rites of Passage and the Medicine Wheel
  • Self Understanding as Spiritual Curriculum
  • Moral Formation in Children
  • Godly Play


Research and Theory

  • Writing Ourselves Into Being: Adolescent Girls
    Diary Project
  • Secret Spaces of Childhood
  • Children’s Mystical Experiences: Implications for Human Development
  • Two Indigenous Spiritualities
  • Neurobiology and Spirituality
  • Children’s Spiritual Style
  • Resilience and Hope in Children


Intuitive and Imaginative Development

  • Imagination: A Doorway to the Infinite
  • Children’s Past Life: Revealing the Souls of Children
  • Psychic Experiences of Children: Blessing or Curse?
  • Feng Shui: The Inner and Outer World of a Child
  • Mapping Children’s Multi-Dimensional Perception
  • The Sixth Sense of Children
  • Children as a Source of Wisdom
  • Art, Creativity and Spirituality
  • Silence and Spiritual Knowing
  • Stories that Heal


Spiritual Parenting, Counseling and Community

  • What Babies are Teaching Us
  • Evolved Parenting: Tools for Parents
  • Integrating Children’s Spirituality Into a Medical Model Approach to Clinical Treatment
  • Healing in Pediatric Palliative and
    Bereavement Care
  • Consequences of Not Assimilating Childhood Spiritual Experiences
  • Spiritual Difficulties for Children
  • Transcendent Consciousness and the Cultures that Inspire It
  • When Hope Takes a Stand: Activism Among Youth
  • Spiritual and Religious Themes in Child Psychotherapy
  • A Language of Peace and a Culture of Violence

 


Picture of Child at the Ocean
Photo by Michael Eller

Youth Track:
Wisdom and Wonder

A special youth program is being presented to nourish wisdom and wonder in a playful and joyful environment. Young people will be able to develop their own innate spiritual gifts, share new friendships, and have fun as they meet with extraordinary teachers and other young people. This unique program will include:

  • Yoga for young people
  • Coastal tidepool adventure
  • Finding spirit through art
  • Tapping the power of meditation and prayer
  • A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • Movement and dance
  • Moving energy
  • Exploring children’s spiritual style
  • Discovering virtue and values

Picture of Child

Plus

Special Symposia on Mindfulness and Innovative Religious Education

Special children’s programs for youth ages 7-17

Networking with innovators from around the world

Stimulating small group discussion and engaging dialogic cafes

Music, performance and more!

Continuing Education
Credits (CECs). 

IONS is an approved provider of CECs by the following:

National Certified Counselors, MFCC, LCSW, Nurses, Social Workers. Most plenary sessions and workshops have been approved for CECs for all professionals.  Registration and a processing $25 fee for CECs must be done on-site prior to the start of your first CEC session.