Youth Religious Education Lesson Descriptions

March 15th at 10:15am

PreK & Kindergarten – Chalice Children
Dreams
Religious educator Sophia L. Fahs identifies a child’s realization that the world of reality sensed during wakefulness is different from the reality sensed in sleep as one of the 12 main types of experiences connected with natural religious development in young children. She suggests that this realization leads to an appreciation for that which is invisible in the personality. In this session, we celebrate the wonder of dreams!

1st & 2nd Grade – Looking Inward
Our theme this month is “Renewal.” In this lesson, we reflect on how UUism uses covenanting to renew our faith. We trust and hope that our actions will be governed by the promises we make in our covenants. Often, we make promises in the beginning of the academic year, in September. This month invites us to revisit and renew those promises and commitments we made. It’s all a way of celebrating how our faith reminds us, “It is our promises that make us feel safe, connected and strong.”

3rd & 4th Grade – Spirit of Adventure
Building: Jell-O by Unitarian Peter Cooper
In this playful, hands-on session, children experiment with building structures using Jell-O while learning about Peter Cooper, a Unitarian engineer, inventor, and generous philanthropist.

5th & 6th Grade – Amazing Grace
The Seeds of Character
This session returns to the Amazing Grace curricula and is the first of four that focuses on ethical development. This one uses the metaphor of a garden and growing plants to explore how it is that we can develop the positive qualities we want to see in ourselves.

7th & 8th Grade – Coming of Age
Writing Your Credo
In this session, participants begin the important process of writing their personal credo—a statement of what they “set their heart to.” Through reflection, discussion, and journaling, youth explore the values, beliefs, and experiences that shape their understanding of the world. By identifying what matters most to them and how those values guide their actions, youth take the first steps toward crafting a credo that expresses who they are and what they believe at this moment in their journey.

High School Youth Group
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Polarized Times
The youth group will be joining the Adult Learning in the sanctuary.
Hard conversations don’t wait for the right moment, they show up at the coffee hour, in the classroom, at family gatherings, and across the political divide.