Rev’rence is more than just quietly sitting:
It’s thinking of Father above,
A feeling I get when I think of his blessings.
I’m rev’rent, for rev’rence is love.
When I’m rev’rent, it shows in my words and my deeds.
The pathway to follow is clear.
And when I am rev’rent, I know in my heart
Heav’nly Father and Jesus are near.
This is one of my favorite songs for children. (You can listen to the MP3 here.)
Recently on the Thomas Jefferson Education Facebook group, some topics came up about reverence and teaching reverence. One area of Leadership Education during Core and Love of Learning Phase that I think is sometimes misinterpreted is Play to Learn.
Yes, children should definitely learn through play. But to think that children should never need to sit still is where I feel the pendulum can swing too far the other way. Of course, like all things, balance is the key. There are times to learn through play, which can be rough or soft, rowdy or quiet, alone or with others.
My question is...how can a child learn to feel peace if they never have the opportunity to learn to be still and reverent?
Being reverent is not just an action of the body, but an action of the mind and spirit. When our children reach Scholar Phase, they will spend more time contemplating what their Mission in life is about. We begin to ask them to do things like "ponder". Before they reach Scholar Phase, they need to have an understanding of how to feel peace and interpret the feelings of the heart, their own heart.
The best way I know of to do that is through learning reverence. Reverence for God. Reverence for self. Reverence for others.
Teaching Reverence
I begin when my children are little to have "quiet time". This is time when we practice sitting quietly. I start when they are around 18 months to sit quietly with me on my lap. Within a few months, most children can sit for 15-20 minutes with practice. I've done this with all my foster children as well and most that do not have severe traumas can accomplish this in about 3 months time.
Over time and as their reverence skills grow, they learn to sit through long church meetings and in waiting rooms. I do expect them to learn and we emulate this skill ourselves.
We teach reverence through practice and through learning songs like the one mentioned above. We talk about why learning to be quiet and still is important.
Why is reverence important?
Here are some of the reasons I feel it is important and some of the therapy reasons we've learned with our foster children:
- Being reverent helps to center the mind and body. When a child learns to feel centered, it can help them learn important life skills to handle stress. We practice deep breathing techniques also that help children to enjoy being still and quiet. We discuss how deep breathing and being still brings feelings of comfort and peace. This life skill helps them to manage times when they are not in control of their surroundings and when they face disappointment from others.
- Reverence shows respect for God, self, and others. There are times when children and adults need to be still and quiet other than a church meeting. Some examples might be waiting for a doctor's appointment, waiting in line at the grocery store, listening to grownups speak to each other, and when grownups need to communicate with them. We teach children that if they want people to listen to them, they also need to learn to be still and listen to others. We practice this skill by taking turns listening and repeating what was said. Sometimes we practice using "inside voices" so that they learn the proper volume their voice needs to be at a "listening time". We show respect for ourselves and others by practicing listening and appropriate volume skills.
These are just a few of the ways we teach, and the reasons why we teach, reverence. An attitude of reverence is key, I feel, to helping our children and ourselves to truly be in tune with our life Mission.
