The purpose of the children’s program is to provide spiritual education for children.

Providing spiritual education means helping children learn about the qualities they inherently possess (like love, truthfulness and justice) and giving them an opportunity to develop their understanding of these qualities.

Emphasis is placed on learning to think, to reflect and to apply spiritual qualities (like love, kindness, generosity, and truthfulness) to their daily lives. The elements of a children’s class are games, art/drama, storytelling, memorization, music, and prayer.

Spiritual education gives children a strong foundation for the choices they will make in their lives as they grow older. The curriculum of the children’s program comes from the Bahá’í teachings which cover themes that are universal and apply to children of all religions and backgrounds.

Across the Atlantic region, the institute works with community members and organizations to offer weekly children's classes — led by parents and youth, using prayers, stories, games, and art from the children's class curriculum. These classes nurture the hearts and minds of children and connect families in a common purpose to spiritually educate their children. You can view a sample lesson here.

  • Children's classes begin with Grade 1, for children aged 5 or 6, and continue through age 11 or 12. The classes are built around a training track:

    • Teaching Children’s Classes, Grade 1

    • Teaching Children’s Classes: First Branch Course of Book 3

    • Teaching Children’s Classes: Second Branch Course of Book 3

    • Teaching Children’s Classes: Third Branch Course of Book 3 (material in development)

    • Teaching Children’s Classes: Fourth Branch Course of Book 3 (material in development)

    A group of families in the same neighborhood can organize themselves and through training develop the capacity to offer the classes to children in their neighborhood or network.

    Especially in these early years, the classes place great emphasis on the development of spiritual qualities — the beliefs, habits, and patterns of conduct that form the essential attributes of a spiritual being.

  • A weekly class starts when a few families in the same neighborhood organize together: picking a one-hour block of time, a location, and inviting other children to join. The institute helps identify or train a teacher for the class.

  • Over summer and other school breaks, camps for children draw on the children's class curriculum alongside art, sport, and academic enrichment activities — a chance to make friends and keep learning through school breaks.

  • Free homeschool materials let parents teach the children's class curriculum at home in just 30 minutes a week.

“I’ve seen so much change in my children since they first got involved with the institute. […], for example, was very timid and now she’s so involved, she can speak to people, and she’s very responsible in what she does. She can speak confidently too. ”
— Parent of a child who participates in the children’s program.

Let’s Serve Together

Do you think these programs would be beneficial for the families and children in your neighborhood? Are you interested in connecting with the training institute and begin serving your community through its programs? Are you an organization that would like to collaborate with the Atlantic Regional Training Institute? Then we’d like to hear from you.