Brilliant stars
Photo credit: Tieshka Smith (http://photographywithoutthepretense.com/)
The Bahá’í view of children is that they are potentially the light of the world – Brilliant Stars. It is the responsibility of families and the community to help them cultivate the gems they inherently possess, so they can be agents of positive change in the world now and in the future. Through such spiritual education we, as parents and community members, can nurture our children’s innate nobility and support each other in our efforts to raise our children to become shining lamps and brilliant stars in this world.
“Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future.”
“Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future.”
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Importance
Providing spiritual education for children, aged 6 to 10, has long been an element of the culture of the Bahá’í community. In neighborhoods across the city and the country, Bahá’ís and their friends offer moral education classes that nurture the hearts and minds of children, complementing the education they receive at school.
Parents everywhere are looking for ways to give children this spiritual education, to lay the foundations for their children to have noble characters and fruitful lives. Developing the moral capacities in our children is of fundamental importance, not only to their own future happiness but also to the service and advancement of our society. 
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Spiritual and moral education
These weekly children's classes help the children to develop virtues and to create a strong moral framework in which they can achieve excellence in the material, intellectual and spiritual aspects of life.
Children's classes, both by studying sacred verses and talking through the questions that children face in their lives, help children apply spiritual principles – such as love, unity and justice – to their own lives, to their families and friends. They include short lessons, activities to build social skills and friendships, games, stories that illustrate virtues like love, kindness, generosity, and art and music. 
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Open to all
Drawing on the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, the classes aim to inspire in children a love for God and the Founders of all the great religions in the world. These classes are open to children of all backgrounds and are not classes of indoctrination.
The emphasis is on learning to think, to reflect and to apply spiritual laws to the life of the individual and society. Especially during the early years of childhood, great attention is given to the development of spiritual qualities and to those beliefs, habits and behaviors that constitute the essential attributes of a spiritual being. 
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ActivitiesWeekly children’s classes involve:
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GoalsThe goals of the classes include:
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"If...the child be trained to be both learned and good, the result is light upon light."
'Abdu'l-Bahá
| To upload a parental permission slip, please click below. |
To learn more about how to take part in a children's class, please contact us here.
Photo credit for this page: Tieshka Smith (http://photographywithoutthepretense.com/)
