Welcoming Children with Special Needs: A Guidebook for Faith Communities by Sally Patton (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004) provides a thoughtful perspective and specific approaches for inclusion in religious education. Ideas pertain to multiple special needs and are applicable to adults as well as children.

Nurturing Children and Youth: A Developmental Guidebook by Tracey L. Hurd (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2005). Find a detailed map of developmental traits one can expect to see in children and youth in a faith education setting, and strategies for engaging different ages.

The Gift of Faith: Tending the Spiritual Lives of Children by Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar (Boston: Skinner House Books, second edition 2003).

Tapestry of Faith offers two multi-chapter guidance resources online:

Spirituality and the Arts in Children's Programming is by Dr. Nita Penfold, creator of the Spirit Play program. Making Music Live, by Nick Page, provides guidance for incorporating music into religious education, including how to teach songs even if you are not a musician.

Environmental Stewardship

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2006) highlights the value of encouraging children’s first-hand experiences in the outdoors.

The Outrageous Outdoor Games Book by Bob Greyson (Torrance, CA: Frank Schaffer Publications, Inc., 2001) includes more than 100 group projects, games and activities. These include activities for multiple intelligences and a variety of learning styles. All games are easy to play, require little or no preparation, are adaptable to a variety of situations and skill levels, and provide step-by-step instructions.