This is the sixth page in the “Online Introduction to Radiant Hearts” series, focusing on the Basic Lesson.
The Basic Lesson document for each spiritual quality is available to download from the Online Lesson. A description of the four pages included in each Basic Lesson follows.
Getting Started
The first page in the Basic Lesson is titled “Getting Started” and is meant to prepare you to teach the spiritual quality of the month.
It begins with an inspirational quotation which you might like to reflect on and refer to throughout the month, as you engage in the important work of teaching your children spiritual qualities and developing them in your own self.
Next there is a list of the materials in the Printables file. They generally follow this order:
Page 1: Spiritual Treasure Box Projects
Page 2: Devotional
Page 3: Booklet
Page 4: Radiant Hearts Book Template
Page 5: Monthly Letter Template
Extra pages correspond to additional materials required for the Daily Activities, if required.
The second half of the “Getting Started” page contains a set of questions to help you think about how you and your children currently model the spiritual quality of the month, and ways you would like to work on showing the spiritual quality in new ways or more fully.
This can help you focus on encouraging your child (and yourself) with behaviors that are upholding the virtue, and also identify areas for improvement.
Here are some ideas for using the Getting Started page:
- Reading the inspirational quotation each day for morning devotions.
- Filling in the Getting Started page as a couple (mother and father) to focus on what to learn and teach throughout the month.
- Giving the Getting Started page to parents in Baha’i Playgroup or Preschool Classes.
Foundation
The second page of the Basic Lesson is titled “Foundation” and consists of the prayer, quotation, introduction to the quality, and two simple songs.
Prayer and Quotation
Each lesson includes a Baha’i Prayer and a short quotation revealed by Baha’u’llah. All the prayers and quotations in Radiant Hearts have been set to simple tunes so children can learn and sing them well, without any accompanying music or instruments unless desired.
The songs have been recorded in two different formats to suit various needs: voice with guitar and guitar only. You can listen to the songs on the Online Lessons.
Introduction to the Virtue
After the prayer and quotation there is a brief “Introduction to the Virtue” and three discussion questions. These questions can help you gauge your child’s understanding about the spiritual quality and also trigger discussion about what it looks like in daily life.
Songs
Next, there are lyrics for two songs. One of these songs is from the Virtues in Us CD (for all lessons except Forgiveness). The second song can be heard on the Online Lesson. These songs were chosen for their simple words and easy tunes.
You may wish to recommend other related songs by contributing a comment to the Online Lesson.
These songs can be used:
- To sing over breakfast or lunch each day.
- As reminders throughout the day as the spiritual quality needs to be practiced.
- During car rides.
- In Baha’i Playgroups or Preschool Classes. (See the Acts of Service page for more details.)
Daily Activities
The last two pages in the Basic Lesson contain the 19 Daily Activities which will help your child learn about the spiritual quality and practice putting it into action.
The activities are separated into three groups.
The first group is activities included in every lesson:
- Spiritual Treasure Box Project (prayer)
- Spiritual Treasure Box Project (quotation)
- Assemble a booklet
- Make a page for the Radiant Hearts Book
- Make a Monthly Letter
- Add a jewel to the Crown of Virtues
The Radiant Hearts Book and Monthly Letter are probably best to complete at the end of the month after your child has learned a bit more about the spiritual quality. Otherwise the Daily Activities do not need to be completed in any specific order.
The second group of Daily Activities is games and role plays.
The third group of Daily Activities is creative arts (such as making a craft, creating a fingerplay, learning a poem, or preparing a snack).
All Daily Activities are simple and require only basic household materials. The crafts typically call for minimal art supplies, but they can also be modified to become as intricate as you wish. Furthermore, you can use the list of activities simply as a starting point to brainstorm your own original activities which may suit your child better. Photograph examples of several activities are included in each Online Lesson to stimulate creativity.
At the end of each Online Lesson there is a public gallery where you can upload your own photographs and add your own comments. You are encouraged to share your family’s experiences and variations on the activities, as these may be useful to other families using the Radiant Hearts materials.
Your family may wish to complete one activity each day of the Baha’i month or pick and choose activities on various days of the week. Here are some examples of ways families put these Daily Activities into practice:
- The parent preparing an activity to complete right after morning prayers
- Cutting up the Daily Activities and putting them into a jar or container for the child to choose from after mid-morning snack
- The parent pre-selecting activities which can be done over lunch, and planning for these a few times a week
- Choosing one or two mornings a week to complete two or three activities at once
- Completing an activity once a week when the family has a Family Dinner together
>>>>>> Go to the next page in the “Online Introduction to Radiant Hearts” series: What are “Printables”?
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