2007-2008

Sunday Morning Youth Religious Education Classes!

Sunday morning Religious Education classes are available to children and youth from birth through 12 th grade from September through May.  This year our program for preschool began on Sept. 2nd.  All other classes began on Sept. 9th (except track 2 of our Senior High group). 

We follow a bi-annual theme rotation (one year on UU History and Identity and then one year on World Religions).

This year our program theme is World Religions.

NOTE: The Youth Religious Education Committee sets the vision, mission, and policies for YRE classes.  The Director of Religious Education (DRE) and the Assistant Director of Religious Education design and implement the program.

Each of our 12 classes has its own course of study (please see class details below).  Serving some 280 children and youth, our program is the largest in the Thomas Jefferson district and is supported by over 100 volunteer teachers.  While all parents are required to volunteer in some way to support our program, Youth Religious education is funded and supported by the entire congregation.

Our YRE programs are intentionally inclusive.  We encourage parents to complete special needs forms for their children if there are particular ways we can improve the experience of your child.  Children with special needs are encouraged to follow a staggered entry into classes so that they may benefit from a class environment that has already established its routine.

All youth RE classes end at 11:45.  Parents are asked to respect class end times; please be aware that our class sessions do not end early or late due to variations in the service length. 

Preschool Classes

Dreamers: Two-years old BY Sept.  9, 2007.  Our two year old class is the first structured religious education class for little UUs. It is meant to transition children from the nursery into a Sunday School classroom.

Understanding that continuity is very important at this age, we have a devoted lead teacher, Carol Squillace, who teaches almost every Sunday.  Carol is assisted each week by a volunteer trained teacher.  In addition, we will assign each family THREE Sundays to stay with the 2s class as an extra 'parent helper'.  Parents are also welcome to attend with their child on other weeks as well if they want to.

Carol has worked with our preschoolers for many years now, and this year she will use her very own curriculum!!   Her curriculum is based on her primary goals for the 2s, which are to experience UUFR as a caring community, to explore the world through a variety of methods and senses, and to gain familiarity with structured classroom RE at UUFR.
Each class session includes free time, circle time, an activity, a snack, and more free play.

Discoverers: Three-years old BY Sept. 9, 2007. Our preschool class introduces simple morning rituals and increases the amount of structure for little UUs on Sunday Morning. Our emphasis is on feeling part of a caring community, and introducing simple ideas about interacting with our world and others. The preschool class requires routine, and meets every week during our RE program year. This year's fabulous lead teaching team has chosen to use selected lessons from all three of the preschool curriculum available through the UUA:  Celebrating me and my World', 'We are Many, We are One', and 'Chalice Children'.  These curricula encourage children to practice cooperative play and work, to express feelings, to recognize likenesses and differences among people, to experience the religious community as a place to make friends, and to appreciate the gifts of nature.

Due to the size of our threes class and the special care they need, we require families with 3 year olds to serve as helping parent volunteers in the class room three times per year.  This allows our lead and assistant teachers to provide a higher quality of experience for our 3s!

The 3s class meets all Sundays at 10:30 Sept. 2 through the end of May EXCEPT during the two week RE break during the winter holidays.  CHILDREN SHOULD ARRIVE BETWEEN 10:20-10:30 AND BE PICKED UP PROMPTLY AT 11:45.

Spirit Play Classes

Spirit Play 1, Spirit Play 2, Spirit Play 3 (4 year olds through first graders):

Spirit Play is a Montessori based religious education program. The sessions follow a distinct routine, while allowing the children to make their own choices about their religious exploration during ' work time'. The emphasis is on building a child community within the class room.  Children are let in by a doorkeeper, who helps them settle down to be 'ready' before entering the room.  Once children have all arrived to the circle, they will have an opening ritual, be guided through a story told in conjunction with physical materials, with be asked 'wondering' questions that help them explore that story, will enjoy self-selected work time, and will end with a feast.  More information is available at www.spiritplay.net

This year's stories come from the UU sources. We will also have four liturgical lessons, explaining the origin of our congregations established rituals and will repeat the telling of many of our stories from the previous year (which focused on the 'promises' or principles).

Wonderers are divided into THREE multi-aged classes.  Class assignments are made by the YRE office upon registration.  Children in all three classes attend the first portion of the service with their families and are picked up by parents at 11:45.

Elementary Classes

Spirit Play (4 year olds through first graders): See Spirit Play class description above.

Explorers: 2nd Grade. This class will use the curriculum, 'Stories About God', and the companion storybook 'Hide and Seek with God', by Mary Ann Moore. This class explores God as the central symbol in a religious communication system. The liberal curriculum is story-based, covering three themes: God is a oneness that takes many forms; God is love and worth that can take many forms; and God is mystery that can take many forms. In the Explorer's class children begin to develop a language with which to talk about God, to hear a wide variety of stories about God, and to express their own thoughts and feelings about God.

Many UUs have concerns about using the word 'God', because it is so strongly associated with a certain set of beliefs rather than our own understanding of such forces as ultimate reality, value, and mystery. This curriculum encourages exploration of these fundamental human concepts through the word 'God', and encourages an openness to thinking about the word in many different ways.

Each Sunday the Explorers go to the service with their parents for the first portion of the service. After a time for all ages, they will leave with their assistant teacher, who will be holding a green flag.  The Explorers meet in the Emerson room in lower Peace Hall.  Class ends at 11:45.  When there is a Worship for All Ages, children attend the service with their families.

Interpreters: 3rd and 4th grades .  In the first semester, the Interpreters will study stories from the Hebrew Bible, using the curriculum, 'Timeless Themes.' Children are introduced to some of the religious literature most central to North American culture and UU heritage. They will explore some of the human issues that inspired these scriptures: the timeless themes of transcendent power, human responsibility, love of freedom, speaking out against injustice, respect for the beliefs of others, love of one's neighbor, and forgiveness. The Bible stories are taught from a UU value structure, and use gender-inclusive language.

During the second semester the interpreters will have two intensive units on Buddhism and Islam. During each unit, we will use a curriculum by Rachel Brown. Her curricula introduce the children to the beliefs, history, and traditions of Buddhism and Islam through activities and discussion. Resources are available through the Youth RE office for parents who would like to learn more themselves about Buddhism or Islam. Parents are also encouraged to attend the fall learning circle on Houston Smith's, 'The World's Religions'.

Each Sunday the Interpreters go to the service with their parents for the first portion of the service. After a time for all ages, they will leave with their assistant teacher, who will be holding a blue flag.  When there is a Worship for All Ages, children attend the service with their families. The Interpreters will be a 'double sized' class this year, and will meet in Clara Barton in Peace Hall as a large group with break-out space in Charles Dickens.  Class ends at 11:45.

Orienteers : 5th and 6th grades. This year our Orienteers will learn about the life and teachings of Jesus, distinguishing between the historical and 'spiritual' Jesus. The class will use the fantastic curriculum Jesus and His Kingdom of Equals, by Cheryl Gibbs Binkley and Jane Mitchell McKeel. The year long curriculum introduces students to the historical Jesus, the times in which he lived, and to his teaching about forgiveness, equality, and justice through Gospel stories (canonical and gnostic). While based on the stories as told in the Gospels, this curriculum uses insights from modern Biblical and historical criticism where appropriate. It focuses on Jesus' basic themes of love and justice, which are relevant in any era. Parents are encouraged to strengthen their own knowledge of this famous teacher, and invited to participate in a companion learning circle for adults on The Five Gospels. Families are also strongly encouraged to purchase their own copy of the Jefferson Bible, which we hope to offer through the Fellowship book store.

Each Sunday the Orienteers go to the service with their parents for the first portion of the service. After a time for all ages, they will leave with their assistant teacher, who will be holding a purple flag.  The Orienteers will meet in the Music Room next to the sanctuary.  Class ends PROMPTLY at 11:45, as other groups need to access that room following the service.  When there is a Worship for All Ages, children attend the service with their families.

Youth ('Teen') Classes

Orienteers : 5th and 6th grades. See Orienteers class description above.

Voyagers : 7-8th grades.  This year the Voyagers will use the curriculum, 'Neighboring Faiths, Exploring World Religions with Junior High Youth', by Christine F. Reed and Patricia Hoertdoerfer. The youth will explore the history and development of different faith traditions. Participants plan their own program by choosing which religious groups to learn about, visit and relate to their own growing faith. On some Sunday mornings, the class will take field trips so that they can experience the services of other traditions. On those weeks parents are asked to drive and supervise their own youth or to transfer guardianship to another parent or adult.  Youth who choose not to attend field trips should plan in advance to volunteer in a class room with younger children or should attend the service with their families. Parents are encouraged to participate in the companion learning circle this fall on Houston Smith's, 'The World's Religions'.

Youth attend intergenerational worship services, but on all other Sundays will meet at 10:30 for class in Founder's Hall.  Class ends at 11:45, when social hour begins, and parents are advised that supervision of middle school youth is their responsibility promptly at 11:45.

Philosophers: 9th-12th grades. This year the philosophers will be using a curriculum based on the Simpson's and on Bill Moyer's special series on the World's Religions.  This curriculum is developed by Tryst Chagnon.  The Philosophers will explore ethical, philosophical, and religious questions. They will have an opportunity to view video clips together and to discuss the central themes of the segment that relate to life's big questions and struggles. The emphasis will be on developing skills of self-expression and articulating our thoughts within the context of a safe group. The leaders of the Philosophers serve primarily as facilitators, helping participants work through their ideas and practice open and respectful dialogue. The Philosophers are also encouraged to participate in planning class activities, and will attend many of the services as a group.

Due to our LARGE group of High School students and the limited space available to them in the Teen Cave (and also because we want them to begin to experience 'adult' services on a regular basis), this year our Philosopher's class will run on a TRACK program.  Students will alternate between class sessions and service attendance in month-long blocks. In May both tracks will meet together to assist with the planning of our annual graduation service.  When students are 'tracked out', they may sit together in the sanctuary if they wish to.

The CLASS SESSION schedule is:

Track 1: September, November, January, March  Track 2: October, December, February, April

In addition to Sunday morning programs, UUFR will be running middle and high school youth group programs and two middle school Our Whole Lives courses.  For information about those programs, please visit our website.