Registration form for 2011-2012 – please print, complete, bring with you to submit to Jennifer Coleman or an RE teacher.
- Nursery care is now available for ages 0-4. Drop off at the classroom, adjacent to the Lodge (our service location), starting at 10:45.
- The children’s classes (grades K-5) meet in a classroom adjacent to our service location in the Lodge, starting after story time during the service.
- Grades K-2 will be using the “Wonderful Welcome” curriculum, which engages and challenges leaders and children alike to explore how and why we are willing to welcome others into our lives. Children learn about intangible gifts such as love, forgiveness, protection, and acceptance.
- Grades 3-5 will be using the “Toolbox of Faith” curriculum, which invites participants to reflect on 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.
- Jr. High Youth (grades 6-8) meet first and third Sunday evenings, 6-8pm, using the curriculum “Heeding the Call: Qualities of a Justicemaker“. Youth are encouraged to view themselves as agents of change in the world as they develop qualities crucial to justice work. They reflect on their own lives while making connections to the lives lived by others, building self-awareness while growing as leaders. Includes a Justicemakers Guide to help youth track their activities outside the workshop and a long-term Faith in Action project to lead youth, step-by-step, in becoming allies to marginalized communities.
- We emphasize skills that help children live UU values in their everyday lives (“Take it out into the world”). We incorporate social justice work into our programming throughout the year.
- The purpose of faith development is to nurture, not indoctrinate, the inherent spirituality of children. We teach respect for ourselves, for others, and for the independent web of life of which we are a part.
- What will my child learn about the “Big Questions?” We will learn together that all big questions have many answers, and it is our responsibility to seek responsibly our own answers. For example, there are as many ideas about God as there are people. Death is a mystery that is linked inextricably to life; how we live out lives each day is of utmost importance.
- Visitors are invited to try out the program. We recommend visiting at least three times. After three visits, families are invited to formally register in the Religious Exploration Program by completing a registration form.
- The Religious Exploration programs for children grades 5 & under functions as a parent cooperative and requires a volunteer commitment. We don’t ask parents to volunteer right away. It is recommended that parents attend the adult service for at least six months before participating in the cooperative. This allows new families a chance to really get comfortable in the church before taking on a volunteer commitment.
- There is no registration fee.
Contact Jennifer Coleman, Acting Director of Religious Exploration for questions regarding current programming, or call her at (704) 706-2373.
