Virtues in the Home

Let Bahá’u'lláh Inspire You: Interview with Musician Red Grammer

Posted on May 1, 2013 in Featured, Resources for Children, Virtues in the Home | 3 comments

Red Grammer is one of the premier entertainers of children and families in America. Described by Parent’s Magazine as “the best voice in children’s music” Red has set the gold standard for writing and performing music that playfully reconnects each one of us with the best in ourselves.  Teaching Peace, named by The All Music Guide as “one of the top five children’s recordings of all time” and the recipient of a rare Parent’s Choice Classic Award, was followed by the multi-award-winning recordings- Down the Do Re Mi, Red Grammer’s Favorite Sing Along Songs, and Hello World.

Beloved by children and parents around the world, Red’s children’s recordings are also a treasured resource for teachers who use them to communicate the themes of caring, excellence, oneness, and diversity in a language kids instantly understand and eagerly embrace.  BeBop Your Best! Music To Build Character By is his new Grammy nominated collection of songs for Kids of All Ages. (From Red’s website)

In this interview Red shares the story behind his music, how the Bahá’í Faith has influenced his work, and a few words of wisdom for young parents today.

Five Tips for Using the Radiant Hearts Program in Your Home

Posted on Apr 3, 2013 in Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 4 comments

Radiant Hearts was developed to aid families with young children to memorize Baha’i prayers and quotations of Baha’u’llah, and learn about spiritual qualities.  The set-up is that each Baha’i month a family studies a new lesson which focuses on a spiritual quality.  There is one prayer and one quotation per lesson, each put to music which is available on the Online Lesson.  All documents required to implement the lesson are available online, as well.

I would like to share five main points I feel are helpful in implementing Radiant Hearts as a tool for assisting spiritual education in the home.  I hope these points help you prioritize which parts of the program are best for you and will also help you enjoy using the program a bit more.

3 Rules for Unity (Free Printable)

Posted on Sep 4, 2012 in Childrens Classes, Creating a Spiritual Home Environment, Family Feasts, Maintaining Family Unity, Our Resources, Virtues in the Home | 9 comments

Presenting clear “Family Rules” or “Class Rules” (for teachers of Baha’i Preschool Classes) can be helpful in setting up expectations and encouraging appropriate behavior.

Making sure rules are clear, concise, and focused on the positive aspects of behavior is important.

This is one option of a set of rules, entitled “3 Rules for Unity.”

1. Kindly Tongue  (what comes out of your mouth)

• Use kind words
• Use a kind and appropriate voice
• Tell the truth
• Practice tactfulness

2. Gentle Hands  (what you touch)

• Use gentle movements
• Use gentle touching
• Be considerate of others’ space

3. Respect the Environment  (what is around you)

• Take care of the things around you
• Take care of the place you are in
• Take care of the outdoors
• Make choices that consider the earth’s resources

Our Experience with Radiant Hearts (Guest Post: Leanna GM)

Posted on Aug 22, 2012 in Prayers with Children, Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 4 comments

Leanna, mother of a two and a half year old, shares her family’s experience using the Radiant Hearts program.

When we started using the Radiant Hearts program in my family I wasn’t sure how much of the ideas were sinking into my son’s consciousness.  I tried to keep my expectations low – after all, he is just a two year old, having fun with songs and construction paper, right?

Yet as time has gone on, I’ve noticed that he has become comfortable with the vocabulary of the program and can easily use the language of virtues in our daily routines.  He knows what it means to use a “gentle” voice or to have “courage” before going to the doctor.  Just the other day, when I reminded him that we would have to wait a while for something to happen (his birthday!), he nodded and said, “Patience.”  All these concepts are still developing, of course, but I am constantly impressed by how much of the lessons he has absorbed and how they have given us tools to discuss appropriate behavior.

If you are not familiar with Radiant Hearts, it is a program for spiritual development designed for little ones, from babies to preschoolers. Which means that it gives parents tools to explain spiritual concepts in terms that kids can understand. What does friendliness mean, for example? Sharing your toys, saying hello, smiling, helping someone.

Introducing “Radiant Hearts” – Fostering Development of Spiritual Qualities

Posted on Mar 15, 2012 in From the Admins, Our Resources, Radiant Hearts, Virtues in the Home | 2 comments

We are excited to launch “Radiant Hearts” a full-year program for families to learn Baha’i prayers, Writings, and spiritual qualities together.  A lesson based on a spiritual quality will be ready for you to download before each Baha’i Feast starting Naw Ruz 2012, complete with activities including music, print-outs, and photo examples for every day of the year.

First things first…

What is Radiant Hearts?

Radiant Hearts is a program for parents to learn about and teach spiritual qualities to their young children, as well as memorize Baha’i prayers and quotations of Baha’u'llah.  Its mission is to help families with children from birth to four years old incorporate  learning about spiritual qualities into their daily, weekly and/or monthly routines.

The aim for the program is for families:

• To learn prayers together
• To learn quotations of Baha’u’llah together
• To learn about spiritual qualities together
• To create and use resources that will help them incorporate learning about spiritual qualities into their daily routines
• To have materials available to host a Baha’i Preschool Class and/or a Devotional, should they wish to

What does the program consist of? 

Nineteen lessons for each of the 19 Baha’i months, each focused on one spiritual quality.  Each lesson consists of one prayer and one quotation set to music, and using stories, songs, and simple activities suited to young children (up to one for each day of the month) helps families learn about spiritual qualities together.

How can I get the materials?

“Virtues In Us” CD – Interview with Musician Nabil Huening

Posted on Mar 12, 2012 in Radiant Hearts, Resources for Children, Virtues in the Home | 2 comments

“Virtues In Us” is the CD we recommend for our Radiant Hearts program.  There are 19 simple and easy-to-learn songs each based on a virtue (with versions in both English and Mandarin Chinese).  The tunes are upbeat and very easy to sing after you listen a few times to learn them, even without the CD for backup.  The CD was recorded by Nabil Huening with children singing in the background.

“Nabil is a singer, songwriter, musician and performer.  Nabil was born in Brazil and raised in America but considers himself to be a citizen of the world.  He has lived in China for over 12 years and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Nabil has performed at numerous venues across China, regularly appears on Chinese television and radio programs and has played lead roles on CCTV night time dramas and sitcoms. Nabil’s passion is creating meaningful music relevant to the needs of our time.”   (From Divine Notes.)

Here is our interview with Nabil.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.

A: My name is Nabil David Huening. I was born in Brazil, raised in America, I have family in Korea, and I currently live and work in China but I travel a lot.  I really love to travel, sing, and promote Baha’i music . I just spent two months in Brazil singing with the Baha’is of Florianopolis.  I have traveled extensively in China promoting Baha’i music.  I am now working on some projects in Dubai and am set to return to China soon.  I enjoy making music,  and I freelance as an educator, musician, and I frequently perform on Chinese television.

Q: How did you get involved with this CD?

How to Make a Virtue Tree

Posted on Jan 11, 2012 in Virtues in the Home | 0 comments

A Virtue Tree is a visual aid for your child to see and feel proud about the virtues they are practicing.  The idea is that at the end of each month that your family has studied a virtue, your children can add a leaf to the tree with the name of the virtue on it.  At the end of the year, the tree will be in full bloom.

A tree can be made in many ways.  Here are some ideas: