Faith Development at UUFR: Middle to Upper Elementary-Aged Children

Seeking Belonging and Affirmation

Education is a kind of continuing dialogue, and

a dialogue assumes....different points of view.

-Robert M. Hutchins

We have three multi-aged classes for children in 2nd through 5th grades. Children in these classes attend the first portion of the service with their families every week before leaving for class. These classes all follow the Workshop Rotation model of religious education, which is based on exploring stories through multiple types of intelligence. Religious Education classes help develop the young school aged child’s sense of belonging to a religious community, which supplement’s the parent’s work teaching about the traditions, values, and beliefs of their own family.

Philosophy

Our philosophy is that the spiritual development needs of middle to upper elementary aged children are to feel a part of a religious community, to learn about diverse perspectives, and to respond to them using their developing sense of scientific inquiry and fairness. These children benefit from an environment that allows them to safely form friendships with children that are different from them, and from the experience of being accepted and cared for by adults outside of their families.

The middle to upper elementary-aged child:

At this age, children are exploring differences, but want to fit in with other children their age. Children leave magical thinking and adopt a more scientific approach; the free 'wondering' and the tenancy to accept the authority figure's word as true are replaced with an interest in logical explanation and discussion of ideas. Children of this age worry about fairness, and often believe that 'good' and 'bad' actions should be rewarded and punished.

During this stage of development, it is very important to children to know the core stories of their society, family, and congregation; their keen interest in being taught about religious ideas and identifying themselves with others usually makes them eager both to learn about different points of view and to share their own perspective with others.

During this stage, children develop individual learning styles and domain-specific intelligence; often their ability to succeed as students is a source of self-esteem.

Our classes for middle to upper elementary children support their

spiritual development by:

✓ Including them in a portion of our Worship Services, which affirms their need to feel part of a religious community.

✓ Introducing core stories of our own Unitarian Universalist history, helping them feel part of the larger context of our religious tradition.

✓ Offering workshops that teach through multiple types of intelligence, helping every child to truly learn our core stories and affirming the value of all types of learners.

Introducing them to many adults from UUFR, affirming them that they are important to our community and that many different adults care for them.

✓ Providing opportunities for them to think through problems and to make their own decisions.

✓ Introducing stories about the lives of historical figures whose lives also exemplify their own moral and religious beliefs, providing children with opportunities to explore those beliefs through the stories.

Taking time to talk about religious and moral questions.

Encouraging the child to explore what many different trusted adults believe.

✓ Providing opportunities for them to explore their moral opinions and their interest in 'fairness'. Holding family meetings about big issues, encouraging the child to participate in problem solving, and soliciting input from the child about their role as stewards are all wonderful ways to encourage this exploration.

✓ Affirming the child, and practicing Positive Behavior Support at home.

✓ Continuing to teach the child how to identify and express emotions.

✓ Distinguishing between your fondness of their actions and your love for them.

Intentionally exposing your child to differences in people and families.

Talking about ‘same’ and ‘different’, honoring both.

✓ Helping their child to navigate challenges and to learn how to identify and solve problems.

Offering opportunities for decision-making.

Finding ways that the child can contribute to the family.

Modeling active participation in religious community.

Modeling acceptance of diverse theological differences.

Providing opportunity for the child to feel a part of a family, and to feel accepted for who they are; and establishing family rituals of celebration, connectedness, thankfulness, and rites of passage.