Infusing Faith in Children

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Providentially, I received my newest book, The Heartbeat of Faith: 59 Poems, Fingerplays, and Prayers, on my birthday. I wrote this book because a teacher at a workshop I gave commented how useful she found my poem about etiquette in church. Strangely I didn’t even remember writing it! If this poem was a help to her, I reasoned that a book full of such poems would be welcomed by other teachers, parents, and grandparents. The faith is caught at an early age. Psychologists tell us that basic attitudes are formed in the first five years of life. My book is for children from ages 3 to 7. I like to tell the story of the father whose son was very quiet in his room. The dad cracked open the door and peered inside just in time to see his little boy get up from his train set, run to the statue of the Sacred Heart and kiss it. “Why did you do that?” the father asked. “Because he’s a good guy,” the tot replied. He already knew about Jesus. Click to continue

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