We felt that for too long this has been overlooked, ignored or brushed aside yet it's the driving force behind every decent person on earth.

It's time for people to think about this most important part of a person's life because without healthy spiritual development, materialism, with its lack of morals, integrity, and respect, produces a self-centered human being.

CRC was established in 1975 when music and art were first used with children who were experiencing low-self esteem and problems with attention span. Today, those same children would be labeled ADD or ADHD. They probably would be on Ritalin.

Over the years, our program has continued to evolve and is now used in schools, preschools, clinics, and homes throughout the United States. A Scottsdale, Arizona school administrator has called The Mind Garden "the most comprehensive prevention and primary intervention program available."

High praise for this multi-faceted program, but it's more than that. The Mind Garden recognizes that the spirit of a child needs nourishing and nurturing before all else because if a child's spirit is crushed or ignored, nothing else functions properly. There will be a lack of ethics, integrity and respect. Sound familiar in the climate and culture of today?

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
This web site will be different from anything you have ever read on educating young children simply because Children's Resource Center has dared to be different for over a quarter of a century and has succeeded where other programs have failed.

Why? Because we recognize the innate intelligence, curiosity and desire of boys and girls to learn and develop their individuality. We know that children have an inborn desire for truth, beauty and goodness--spiritual qualities that guide people of all ages to a moral, just, creative and productive life in the world.

It's time to put a stop to the drugging of our young children. They are the hope of the future, the leaders of tomorrow and they are being unintentionally mistreated by well-meaning but misguided adults who are losing touch with not only the real meaning of education but also their own childlike qualities that allow us to truly understand and communicate with children.

BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR CHILD
Education literally means "to draw out of a child what is hidden within." We've lost sight of that wonderful descriptive process and instead of bringing the best out of a child we continually force-feed him with subjects that are the polar opposite of spiritual growth.

Anything that takes a person away from introspection and insight is feeding the mind with thoughts of a material nature. And today, nothing is more material than high technology: computers, television, video games, cell phones, pagers and lack of personal contact.

There's nothing wrong with this technology; on the contrary. It has brought incredible advances to people all over the world. The secret is to have a balance in life and not be attached to any of our possessions. We all know the helpless feeling of a computer crashing. Our blood pressure soars and we feel at the mercy of a technician. The trick is to realize it's a temporary situation, a machine that can be repaired, not a life-threatening illness.

It provides us with an opportunity to do something creative, something with our children that might never be done. Go outside and look at the ever changing shapes of clouds that morph from animals to faces. Watch ants. They're fascinating and intelligent little creatures. Go to the library. Go to a park and take your journal. Play games with your child.

YOUR CHILDREN NEED YOU
On this web site, you'll find activities to do with your children. We urge you, as parents, to spend time with them, getting to know them as more than the physical child you see before you, but as a child with a spirit that needs nurturing.

As teachers, counselors and medical professionals, we ask that you look at your students and patients in a different light, that you respect them as spirit-filled children, not simply a body taking up room in your classroom or office.

You'll develop lines of communication and insights that will last the rest of your lives.

It is our hope that the following pages will provide some food for thought.

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Message from the President/CEO of Children's Resource Center

As you read through these pages of Spirited Child, you will learn the importance and necessity of art in our lives. The power of art is hidden in painting, music, sculpture, dance and poetry and as we learn to respond - rather than react - we become immersed in the meaning of the artist's expression. All art must be experienced to be appreciated.

Some art is good, some is mediocre. Some is very poor and occasionally, we are fortunate to meet a truly gifted artist whose work stirs our soul. Such an artist is Donald W. Gill, whose work is seen here by the public for the first time. Click on his picture and you will be taken to a display of photographic genius.

I encourage you to leisurely navigate through the site and experience a variety of magnificent photographs as Don captures the essence of life by developing a relationship with the intimate nature that surrounds us.