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| Christian Meditation with Children |
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My name is Lisa.
I am a Primary School teacher within a Catholic school in New South Wales, Australia.
I have been subscribing to the WCCM -Meditation with Children E-Newsletter for almost a year and was
drawn to it because of my personal interest in meditation. I am a daily meditator and have been for several
years now.
I began to incorporate meditation into my Year 5 classroom (30 students) throughout the last half of 2007
and the children were drawn into it immediately. We began with 3 minutes and gradually built it up over a
few weeks until the children were rejoicing their ability to be still and silent for 10 minutes.
They are encouraged to meditate but know that they do not have to participate if they do not wish to - the
only rule we have is that everyone must keep their eyes closed and not disturb anyone else's meditation.
In my experience, meditation is an experiential form of prayer, of just being still with God and, for me, the
divine presence can be felt throughout the meditation period. I find that the children are able to experience
this sense of peace and calmness within a very short time. My enthusiasm and sharing of my own
meditation experiences and the things I perceive throughout is very helpful to them. We sometimes have a
voluntary sharing time of what they felt or perceived throughout their meditation.
Meditation has become part of our daily routine and the setting up of the sacred space the prized task for
the day within our classroom, so much so, that I had to draw up a roster to ensure fairness.
Sometimes we have chant music playing quietly in the background and sometimes we have silence. We
begin with a prayer before meditating, silently repeat our mantra throughout our meditation period, and
usually finish with a hymn. The children are encouraged to sit comfortably (they chose the floor), legs
crossed, palms face up on the knees/lap and spine reasonably straight. We sit in a spiral formation (we
are pressed for space in our classroom and cannot all fit in one circle).
The children quickly began to own our meditation time and bring in special objects from home from time to
time to add to our sacred space (eg. an angel bear, candles, crystals and precious rocks). A couple of the
boys voiced that we needed a sign for our door to make sure that we were not disturbed during our
meditation time and lovingly made this sign for our door.
The children are quite indignant if we miss our meditation time if there is a variation to our routine and
ensure that they remind me throughout the day so we can make the time to meditate later in the day.
I found and continue to find that the environment of the classroom and the relationships between the
children on the playground are much calmer and more positive when we make the time to meditate early
in the day as part of our daily routine. The children are better able to concentrate and are generally happier
and more relaxed throughout their day.
In the fast paced and somewhat stressful world we live in today, I believe that it is absolutely essential that
we provide the children in our care with the opportunity to learn to meditate, a form of prayer that allows
them to experience God in the stillness, and develop the ability to calm and relax themselves in this way.
What a gift for the adults of a more peaceful world in the future. I feel blessed to be instrumental in giving
such a precious gift.
Lisa S.
I am a Primary School teacher within a Catholic school in New South Wales, Australia.
I have been subscribing to the WCCM -Meditation with Children E-Newsletter for almost a year and was
drawn to it because of my personal interest in meditation. I am a daily meditator and have been for several
years now.
I began to incorporate meditation into my Year 5 classroom (30 students) throughout the last half of 2007
and the children were drawn into it immediately. We began with 3 minutes and gradually built it up over a
few weeks until the children were rejoicing their ability to be still and silent for 10 minutes.
They are encouraged to meditate but know that they do not have to participate if they do not wish to - the
only rule we have is that everyone must keep their eyes closed and not disturb anyone else's meditation.
In my experience, meditation is an experiential form of prayer, of just being still with God and, for me, the
divine presence can be felt throughout the meditation period. I find that the children are able to experience
this sense of peace and calmness within a very short time. My enthusiasm and sharing of my own
meditation experiences and the things I perceive throughout is very helpful to them. We sometimes have a
voluntary sharing time of what they felt or perceived throughout their meditation.
Meditation has become part of our daily routine and the setting up of the sacred space the prized task for
the day within our classroom, so much so, that I had to draw up a roster to ensure fairness.
Sometimes we have chant music playing quietly in the background and sometimes we have silence. We
begin with a prayer before meditating, silently repeat our mantra throughout our meditation period, and
usually finish with a hymn. The children are encouraged to sit comfortably (they chose the floor), legs
crossed, palms face up on the knees/lap and spine reasonably straight. We sit in a spiral formation (we
are pressed for space in our classroom and cannot all fit in one circle).
The children quickly began to own our meditation time and bring in special objects from home from time to
time to add to our sacred space (eg. an angel bear, candles, crystals and precious rocks). A couple of the
boys voiced that we needed a sign for our door to make sure that we were not disturbed during our
meditation time and lovingly made this sign for our door.
The children are quite indignant if we miss our meditation time if there is a variation to our routine and
ensure that they remind me throughout the day so we can make the time to meditate later in the day.
I found and continue to find that the environment of the classroom and the relationships between the
children on the playground are much calmer and more positive when we make the time to meditate early
in the day as part of our daily routine. The children are better able to concentrate and are generally happier
and more relaxed throughout their day.
In the fast paced and somewhat stressful world we live in today, I believe that it is absolutely essential that
we provide the children in our care with the opportunity to learn to meditate, a form of prayer that allows
them to experience God in the stillness, and develop the ability to calm and relax themselves in this way.
What a gift for the adults of a more peaceful world in the future. I feel blessed to be instrumental in giving
such a precious gift.
Lisa S.
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