2022-23

Preschool (3 – 5 years old)

Chalice Children

Chalice Children delves deep into our Unitarian Universalist faith. It strives not just to teach about our faith, but also to provide experiences around the strength of community, the wonder and awe that transcend everyday understanding, and life issues we all share. Early childhood is filled with curiosity and wonder. In a group setting, with loving adult guides, young children can engage in spiritual seeking, develop their openness to sharing, and experience the benefit of a supportive community. Their time in Chalice Children can set a pattern for the rest of their lives and bring lasting benefits. This class is for preschool age children (age 3-5) who have not yet begun Kindergarten.

Kindergarten – 1st Grade

Our Houses, Our Homes

Our Houses, Our Homes is a curriculum designed to help children feel at home in the world. It explores the concepts of birth and death that are presented with age-appropriate learning experiences that include a visit from a pregnant parent to hear a baby’s heartbeat, watching the journey of a butterfly from their beginnings as a caterpillar, and a visit to Lone Fir Cemetery to honor the full cycle of life. There is also an opportunity to create a village of houses in which the children get to paint and decorate large boxes that become their homes for a few Sundays during the year. By exploring being at home in their church, we hope children will experience the spirituality of family and a larger understanding of community. Parents/caregivers provide essential support by assisting in the classroom periodically throughout the year for this labor intensive, but very fun, curriculum.

2nd & 3rd Grade / 3rd & 4th Grade

Signs of Our Faith

Rev. Peter Morales asks us to think about religion as the practice of being faithful to what you love. In order to do this, you must decide what you love and do your best to live that love faithfully every day. Signs of Our Faith guides children to do their best to live faithful lives every day. It presents fourteen traits or values that most Unitarian Universalists love, including the quest for knowledge, reverence for life, supporting one another on our faith journeys, and public witness. Children examine how their lives do and can exhibit these traits and values, and come to understand that their faith is a living faith whose histories and teachings are fortifications for living faithfully in a complex world. One Sunday per month our 2nd-4th graders all join together for a Game Day to support community building and offer additional opportunities for active bodies.

5th & 6th Graders

CartUUns

There is no reason why children can’t have fun while they are learning! CartUUns uses animated shorts from Pixar and Disney (most have won numerous awards worldwide) as the basis for discussion about the values inherent in Unitarian Universalism.  These short animated films run only 3-ll minutes long and are followed by discussion and fun activities to keep children engaged and coming back for more.