Children's Program

KCC has a children's dharma program, for children aged 4-13. This program is intended to teach children skills that will help them increase kindness, patience and other virtures. The children meditate and study the authentic Buddha-dharma as practiced in the Mahayana. The curriculum for the children's program is approved by the lead teacher, Jeffrey Gray, and the Program Council.

If you are interested in the kids program, please contact the lead teacher, Jeffrey, at jeffrey@tryonfriends.org. We request that you consider committing to bringing your child a minimum of 3 Sundays per month. Parents must be present at the dharma center for their children to participate. The program serves a maximum of 9 children at this time.

KCC also has a Dharma Daycare program. The Dharma Daycare program at KCC runs the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month from 9-11am. During the summer months there is no daycare offered. This program is offered in partnership with the KCC Children's program. The daycare is offered primarily for children birth to three years who are too young to enter the Children's program. It is also offered to children of all ages who do not come consistently enough to be part of the Children's program.

The purpose of the daycare is to support families in their practice by embracing their children's presence at KCC. The daycare provides children a place of belonging in a spiritual community as well as an opportunity for familiarity and comfort to develop before entering the Children's program. Dharma Daycare has no set Buddhist curriculum. Exposure to stories with Buddhist themes and simple activities to cultivate awareness may be introduced when appropriate. Kindness, cooperation, caring, respect, and responsibility to community are all values of the daycare. We emphasis working together, caring for the Center and celebrating the natural world. Art projects, neighborhood walks, story times and play, with developmentally appropriate toys, are some of the common activities of the daycare.

Dharma Daycare is primarily run by Sonia Arion and Judy Zimmerman. We are actively looking for volunteers if interested. Please contact Sonia at 503-750-1326 or arion31@gmail.com with any questions, comments or inquiries.