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SUMMER 2010 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMMING
Gather the Spirit is a multigenerational program that teaches stewardship with a focus on water. Stewardship can take many forms: donating money to our congregations and to causes we care about; volunteering to teach, to lead or to physically maintain our congregations; helping to meet the needs of others and protecting our shared resources in our local and global communities.
Gather the Spirit: Stewardship of water is crucial, timely topic relevant to people of all ages, and Gather the Spirit is a multigenerational program, with information and activities designed for multi-age groups. The program might serve children as young as seven and adults as old as anybody in your congregation. For more information:
http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/153473.shtml
For each Sunday, we will be offering one Multi-Age Religious Education Class at 9:30 a.m. only. Class format will be similar to regular classes-families will begin service together in the auditorium with children being sung out to the class. For each session, the goal is to have a total of four adults in the room. (Two, in some cases will be representatives from the Social Justice Action Groups). I would like the volunteers from the Social Justice Action Groups to share their information, but not be relied upon as the lead adults in the room - only during their specific sharing time.
First Unitarian Church of Des Moines Religious Education Programming 2010-2011
K-1 Creating Home and Wonderful Welcome Sunday, 9:30 am
Both Creating Home and Wonderful Welcome are UUA Tapestry of Faith Curricula. The Wonderful Welcome curriculum engages and challenges leaders and children alike to explore how and why we are willing to welcome others into our lives. We welcome not only strangers, but family, our peers, our neighbors and even entities that are not people such as our animal friends and nature itself. Creating Home helps children develop a sense of home that is grounded in faith. Together with your group you will ask questions about the purpose of having a home and the functions a home serves, for us as humans and for other animals. The program speaks of home as a place of belonging and explores the roles each of us play in the homes where we live. The program introduces the concept of a "faith home" — your congregation — which shares some characteristics with a family home. Like a family home, a faith home offers its members certain joys, protections, and responsibilities.
Grades 4-6: Toolbox of Faith and Windows and Mirrors Sunday, 9:30 (and 11 am) Both Toolbox of Faith and Windows and Mirrors are UUA Tapestry of Faith Curricula. Toolbox of Faith invites fourth- and fifth- grade participants to reflect on the qualities of our Unitarian Universalist faith, such as integrity, courage, and love, as tools they can use in living their lives and building their own faith. Each of the 16 sessions uses a tool as a metaphor for an important quality of our faith such as reflection (symbolized by a mirror), flexibility (duct tape), and justice (a flashlight). Windows and Mirrors nurtures children's ability to identify their own experiences and perspectives and to seek out, care about and respect those of others. The sessions unpack topics that lend themselves to diverse experiences and perspectives—for example, faith heritage, public service, anti-racism and prayer. The program teaches that there are always multiple viewpoints and everyone's viewpoint matters.
Multigenerational Grade 2-Grade 8: SUUper Plays Sunday, 9:30 am
In this class, children and youth can engage in short drama plays, each related to Unitarian Universalism. Play categories include: Unitarian Universalism, UU Principles, Belief, Knowing Oneself, Right and Wrong, Helping, and Special Times and Holidays. Plays will be read and acted out, most sessions, within the 50 minute class periods with some discussion beginning and following the play.
Preschool: We are Many, We are One and Friendship Finders
Sunday, 11 am (9:30 am Preschool children go to childcare)
Ages 3-4 (Children must be potty-trained)
We are Many, We are One is a preschool curriculum which offers children the grounding of a religious community and tradition, along with the freedom to discover and express their uniqueness. The underlying theme throughout is anti-bias and multicultural education, which celebrates diversity and interdependency. In Friendship Finders, children are introduced to one another and to preschool at First Unitarian Church through ritual and classroom structure as well as fun and games. Curricula will be alternated.
Grade K-1: Picture Book Bible Stories and Picture Book Unitarian Universalism Sunday, 11 am
UU Author, Kate Covey has written Picture Book Bible Stories and has selected the fourteen best books that illustrate classic Bible tales that Unitarian Universalist children should know. There are also sessions on introducing the Bible to young children. The children in this class will also be learning about the foundations of Unitarian Universalism and also helping to develop a Unitarian Universalist identity through a curriculum written by the same author, called Picture Book U.U.
Grade 2-3: Experiences with the Web of Life and UU Super Heroes Sunday, 11 am
In Experiences with the Web of Life, children explore the ways that specific living things relate to the rest of life -- what the earthworm eats, what eats it, what it contributes to the soil, how that helps plants and helps us who grow food in that soil. Concepts come to life through direct experience. Throughout the curriculum, our spiritual connection with all living things is brought out. A closing ritual at the end of each session helps the children internalize their learning, sometimes with a story that summarizes the day's experience. In UU Super Heroes, Unitarian, Universalist and UU super heroes include Sophia Fahs, King John Sigismund, Lewis Latimer, Theodore Parker, Olympia Brown and a dozen more. Each lesson’s story begins with the super hero as a child, so that young children can relate to this distant person. It then goes on to tell a few instances in the super hero’s life which illustrate one or more of our UU principles. Exploring the out-of-doors, inventing, participating in a class pentathlon, creating a class magazine and cooperating on a social service project are examples of the activities which allow children to physically incorporate their new learnings.
7th-8th Grade: The Gospel According to the Simpsons, Listening Between the Lines and Popcorn Theology Sunday, 11 am
These three specific curricula will engage youth and help them to examine and articulate their UU religious values and beliefs. Listening Between the Lines is a musical response to pop culture, with each lesson taking an individual song and encouraging discussion around the lyrics and message of the song. Popcorn Theology is a curriculum built around popular movies on issues of theological and ethical relevance to Unitarian Universalist youth. All movies are PG or PG-13. In the Gospel According to the Simpson, this famous TV cartoon show is presented in light of its questioning conventional wisdom and values and also its quirky support of God, faith, and family.
7th-8th Grade: Our Whole Lives Human Sexuality Curriculum Wednesday evenings, 6:45-8 pm
Lead by specially trained volunteers, Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
Please see classrooms for specific class locations. Classroom numbers may change as space needs differ for each class.
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