Dharma Kids

September 14, 21, 28 and October 12, 19, 26 Sundays at 11am A 6-week child-centered meditation course is planned for children between the ages of 5 and 9.   We will be working together with the children by training the heart/ mind with movement, singing and positive mental imagery for developing wholesome mental habits of calm abiding, clear perception and kindness.  Appreciating moments of inspired imagination as well as building the children’s growing capacity for quiet concentration and attention is a learning objective for the teachers.  Parents are always welcome to attend with their children but it is not a requirement that they do so. The Yellow Springs Dharma Center offers Dharma Kids without charge.  Our teachers also freely offer their work to the Dharma Center as well.  If you wish to attend this 6-week session it is necessary to register your child by September 7, 2014 by sending an email to the organizing teacher Dianeah Wanicek on our contact page. We will confirm your registration via email.

A little history…
Dharma Kids began in 1995. At that time it was called Children’s Hour, then it became Family Hour and now it is Dharma Kids. (Change is something Buddhists are quite familiar with). It has always functioned as a way for parents/caregivers and their children to come together for shared practice. This always meant, in one way or another, that the sessions were quite active, filled with laughter, movement, music, stories, mini-plays and of course moments of silence and meditation. To be familiar with spontaneity and able to effortlessly shift from pre-conceived lesson plans was an important quality for any teacher involved in the program. Children’s spontaneous offerings of youthful wisdom often held very essential dharmic qualities and it was important that these be included. They inspired themselves and their parents at these times! It was considered that coming to the Dharma Center and participating in Children’s Hour should not be felt as a “must do activity” or imposed obligation on the part of the parents and their children. Aside from all we taught about the Dharma we aspired to have it remembered by the children as something they enjoyed doing, something that in later years they associated with happiness and good feelings.

Every year in late August we put out an inquiry to see if there are enough interested parents and children to draw up a session. Sometimes there is and sometimes there is not. We have found that offering 6 week sessions at various times throughout the year are the most manageable for parents and teachers alike. There is no charge for Dharma Kids and there is no charge for the materials used as well. This is in accordance with the donation policies of the Dharma Center.

*The picture posted on this page is a 10th century drawing of a Bodhisattva drawn by a young child and discovered by archeologists in the early 20th century at the Dunhuang Caves in northwest China.