Discussion List for Esoteric "Alternative" Christian, Grail "Sacred Union", metaphysical homeschooling or non-homeschooling families, parents and kids.

Visit our Eckhart Tolle for Kids Page for awesome Eckhart Tolle spiritual parenting advice, childrens book and book for teen-agers.

Books for Parents, Grandparents
 Spiritual Parenting by David Carroll  The author covers not only the spiritual education of children but also discipline, teaching children how to use and understand their bodies, spiritualizing the child's environment (the child's room, toys, reading, and television and movie viewing), teaching children values and virtues (honesty, patience, manners, forbearance, kindness), and teaching meditation to children.

 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing Your Child's Soul  by Mimi Doe, Marsha F. Walch
Also see Mimi Doe's website SpiritualParenting.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter full of great ideas.

BESTSELLER: Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad, by Rebecca Hagelin.  I really like this book.  It reveals tactics of the 24/7 onslaught of our perverse media "MTV culture" and tells how you and I can WIN the culture war; win for our children.

Starbright: Meditations for Children by Maureen Garth Moonbeam:  A Book of Meditations for Children by Maureen Garth Earthlight, by Maureen Garth

Celebrating the Great Mother : A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children, I own this book, too, and it's a favorite of the whole family, along with Circle Round

Spiritual Stories for Children & Teens
Stories are arguably the most effective and fun way to teach right from wrong.  It is from stories we learn about all aspects of life!  All human beings gain somehow from hearing or reading a religious / spiritual story, even we old adults.

Audio Stories with a Spiritual Theme

Your Story Hour   Dramatized stories taken from sacred/secular history and true-life situations, build character and equip today's youth for life's challenges and good decision-making. Your Story Hour provides wholesome character-building entertainment for the whole family.

Adventures in Odyssey These are Christian based dramatized audio stories.  You may happen to hear them on Christian radio. They are not overly dogmatic, but get across well the principles of honesty, gentleness of speech, avoiding jealousy, etc.

Storybooks
Collections of short stories to read to your kids -- approximate ages 4-14

The Book of Virtues A Treasury of Great Moral Stories edited by William J. Bennett  Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Faith. Everyone recognizes these traits as essentials of good character. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong. And the best places to find them are in great works of literature and exemplary stories from history. Mr. Bennett has collected hundreds of stories, an instructive and inspiring anthology that will help children understand and develop character -- and help adults teach them. From the Bible to American history, from Greek mythology to English poetry, from fairy tales to modern fiction, these stories are a rich mine of moral literacy, a reliable moral reference point that will help anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history, and our traditions -- the sources of the ideals by which we wish to live our lives.

The Moral Compass Stories for A Life's Journey edited by William Bennett The Moral Compass, the inspiring and instructive companion volume to The Book of Virtues, offers many more examples of good and bad, right and wrong, in great works from literature and in exemplary stories from history. Organized by the stages along life's journey, these stories and poems serve as reference points on a moral compass, guiding the reader through the ethical and spiritual challenges along the pathway of life: leaving home, entering into marriage, easing the burdens of others, nurturing one's children, and fulfilling the obligations of citizenship and leadership.

Read Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends  Ten-Minute Teadings from the World's Best-Loved Literature by Joan C Verniero

Great Stories Remembered II  edited by Joe Wheeler  Another sterling collection of tales, adventures, and life experiences destined to become instant favorites.

Great Stories Remembered III edited by Joe Wheeler More tales, adventures, and life experiences destined to become instant favorites.

Great Stories Remembered edited by Joe Wheeler A classic collection of quality family readings, original illustrations, discussion questions, and detailed historical background are included. [Limited availability]

Spiritual Books for Kids ages 1-10 All I See is Part of Me by Chara Curtis, Illustrated by Cynthia Aldrich

Books by Joy Berry:  Help Me Be Good Series are highly recommended because of their straightforward, to-the-point way of explaining to children the do's and don'ts of:			To the left is the link to Amazon offering the entire series. It is possible to find the books on-line new or used  elsewhere at a cheaper price, but finding all 26 books is a challenge.
Throwing Tantrums Being a Bad Sport Breaking Promises Being Lazy Being Forgetful Tattling Being Mean Being Messy Fighting Being Bullied	Being Selfish Being Bossy Interrupting Being Wasteful Snooping Being Destructive Showing Off Whining Overdoing It	Being Careless Teasing Complaining Being Greedy Lying Being Rude Gossiping Cheating Stealing Disobeying

Spiritual Books for Kids 12 and up

Chronicles of Narnia  by C.S. Lewis
The Lord of the Rings  by J.R.R. Tolkien

If you must have TV, you can take control with a Satellite System Our DishNetwork has spiritual stations (they call it the "religious" section) and amazingly, the programs are not all fundamentalist Christian. The Angel1 Network is Christian, but not obnoxiously so. Some of the shows are downright awesome and your children can learn bible stories (like you and I had to learn) but without all the guilt tripping, turn or burn, and "are you saved!?!" tactics of fundamentalists.  Get the timeless religious stories from the Holy Land (the cartoon versions are so cool!) without destroying self-esteem or damaging the young psyche. Our DishNetwork also has an awesome arts section: museums, fine literature, musical composers, dance, cultural arts, and learning channel type stations.  Using the remote you can specifically choose which channels can be flipped thru, skipping over any channels potentially harmful to developing human minds.  Most all the movie channels fit into the harmful category, although HBO Family during the daytime is culturally great.  Use the parental controls.  You deserve it.  Rest a bit easier when the boob tube is on. Just don't let 'em have their own TV or computer in their room!  Make screen-viewing of any kind -- TV or YouTube -- a family thing, like the "good old days" when we all plopped on the couch together to watch the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie.

I know there are a gazillion more great ideas, books, and links that are good for this page, so tell me about it.

Destroy your TV & YouTube!!

Hours and hours of unmonitored YouTube or TV watching  is the quickest way to waste a brain. Video and computer games are bad news, too. Kids can even get brain damage from all this screen-time. Like muscles, brains need exercise to thrive mentally and spiritually.

We all know it, but if you want to hear an expert say it, try these:
•ScreenTime Awareness  provides information so people can live healthier lives in functional families in vibrant communities by taking control of the electronic media in their lives, not allowing it to control them.

•The Impact of Television - A commentary/summary of a book by Tannis Macbeth Williams, who did the famous "Notel" study in the seventies - good information on this landmark research

• Kill Your Television Website by Ron Kaufman, journalist and teacher

•Four Arguments For the Elimination Of Television by Jerry Mander
Amazon reviewer says: The main idea I came away with was how telelvision is essentially an advertsing medium designed to bring across the narrowest view to the most amount of people. The advertsing dictates the content and not vice versa. The Super Bowl is the most obvious example. The commercials are the real show and the game itself is secondary. It is the same with other shows, such as Friends, ER etc, but just subtle. Mr. Mander also explains how even nature shows on PBS are the worst example of television, regulate the experience to the subjective view of a camera lens and high production values.

• Plug-in Drug by Marie Winn
The author takes a compelling look at television's impact on children and the family. Winn's classic study has been extensively updated to address the new media landscape, including new sections on: computers, video games, the VCR, the V-Chip and other control devices, TV programming for babies, television and physical health, and gaining control of your TV.