Children's RE Program

M U F L I N K S

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 2007-08:
WORLD RELIGIONS

Traditional Classes Sundays at 9:00 am
Nursery Care at 9:00 and 11:00 am

Nursery (6 months-three years) Our Nursery welcomes our youngest children to play together in a room furnished especially for them. Tender loving care is abundantly supplied by volunteers and paid staff.

3 Year Olds: Celebrating Me and My World celebrates the wondrous qualities of children and the animals, objects, and people around them. It provides preschoolers with experiences and opportunities to grow in trust and caring and to develop their self-identity and sense of connectedness with all of life.

4 Year Olds and Kindergarten: Treasure Hunting involves children in the excitement of the search for meaning in life at the concrete level of their understanding. Each week through games, crafts, songs and stories, the children explore the meaning behind a Unitarian Universalist principle or value. They create symbols of themselves, friendship, peace and other 'treasures' ideas and feelings to fill their personal Treasure Chests.

First and Second Grade: Stories About God, Our Whole LIves and Age of Reason: Stories About God looks at God as the central symbol in a religious communication system and covers three themes: God is a oneness that can take many forms; God is love and worth that can take many forms; and God is mystery that can take may forms. Our Whole Lives is age appropriate sexuality education. It supports parents in educating children about birth, babies, bodies and families. Age of Reason is a rite of passage curriculum with a rainbow approach to teaching the principles and a final celebration.

Third and Fourth Grade: Holidays and Holy Days helps children prepare for and participate in significant celebrations from various cultures and religions. Each holiday is correlated with one of the Unitarian Universalist principles. The diversity of celebrations develops an appreciation for our world neighbors.

Fifth and Sixth Grade: You the Creator and God Images You the Crator allows students to explore the power that creativity has to shape the world. God Images engages children in their own religious quests; allows for personal decision making in the context of lively discussion and creative activity and presents God images that are derived from the Jewish and Christian traditions, from several world religions, and from modern science.

Seventh and Eighth Grade: Neighboring Faiths and Coming of Age Through study, guest speakers, and visits to houses of worship, our junior high youth explore our pluralistic religious world. Then they will complete the Coming of Age program "Passages", a Fellowship-developed rite of passage that emphasizes individual reflection, service, and creation of a personal credo statement. Members of the congregation become mentors to our young people as we welcome their increased participation in congregational life.

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a human sexuality curriculum that explores personal and societal values related to sexuality in the context of our UU faith. The program provides comprehensive factual information to support individuals in making informed and responsible decisions about 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 provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. We currently have trained facilitators for the Junior High and Elementary OWL curricula. These programs are run on alternating years. An Adult OWL program was launched in early 2008. The Religious Education Council is seeking to further expand the OWL program into a Lifespan Sexuality Education Curricula. For more details on the OWL program, visit the UUA website at http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/ourwhole/

Senior High Youth Group (Ninth through Twelfth Grades) meets from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sundays. Youth Group is a safe, sacred space where our senior high youth can learn about themselves through worship, leadership building activities, community service, reflection and fun in the context of Unitarian Universalism. Youth Group at MUUF has a proud tradition of putting our values into action and offers youth the opportunity to work with the Community Soup Kitchen, Interfaith Council for the Homeless and other local organizations. A major focus of our Youth Program is our annual Habitat for Humanity build.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 2007-08: WORLD RELIGIONS

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 2007-08:
WORLD RELIGIONS