Religious Education Class Schedule
Our Religious Education program is cooperative in nature. Classes are led by congregational volunteers supported by our professional staff. We offer Religious Education Programs for Children and Youth on Sunday mornings during our 9:00 am & 11:00 am church services and welcome visitors every Sunday. Adult Volunteers monitor our Playground during fellowship hour from 10:00 – 11:00 am. We ask that you register your child for our RE program after attending three times. Classes are taught by teams of screened volunteers using carefully selected curriculum from UU sources. In addition, we engage in “Faith in Action” activities several times a year, working together on projects to promote fairness, peace & justice.
Children join their families for the first portion of the church service one Sunday per month and we have monthly Children’s Worship Circles in the Religious Education Building. These services offer a time to gather and celebrated in community and include ritual, music and stories on spiritual and holiday themes.
Fall 2011 Religious Education Programs
Sunday morning 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Nursery Care (infants and toddlers)
We offer loving care and playtime with our Childcare Staff, trained in infant/child CPR and First Aide. Fun activities and stories for toddlers are led by our childcare staff. Our caregiver to child ratio is 1:3.
PreSchool (age 3 & 5)
Curriculum – Chalice Children
This curriculum is based on the premise that young children learn best...through experience. Chalice Children helps nurture spiritual growth, creativity and a sense of community through imaginative activities and rituals such as songs, games and finger plays. It includes lessons that introduce children to concepts such as birth and death, dreams and the natural world. A perfect introduction to church for our little ones!
Kindergarten (age 5 & 6)
Curriculum – Wonderful Welcome
The Wonderful Welcome curriculum engages and challenges leaders and children alike to explore how we welcome others into our lives. We welcome not only strangers, but family, our peers, our neighbors, our animal friends and nature itself. This curriculum is part of the new UUA Tapestry of Faith Series.
First Grade (age 6 & 7)
Curriculum – Love Surrounds Us
At the core of our UU community are our 7 Principles. The Principles encompass all the ingredients of a good and faith-filled life based on equality, freedom, peace, acceptance, truth, care, and love. This program explores all the Principles in the context of a Beloved Community of family/home, school, and neighborhood. Participants engage in activities that emphasize the love they feel in community.
Second/Third Grade (ages 7-9)
Curriculum – Love Will Guide Us/Picture Book World Religions
In this program, children learn to seek guidance in life through the lens of our UU Sources, with an emphasis on love. Together we ask questions and apply wisdom from our Sources to help answer these questions. Participants will learn that asking questions is valued in Unitarian Universalism, even as they begin to shape their own answers. On one Sunday per month we will discover & explore World Religions through captivating stories and related activities.
Fourth/Fifth Grade
Curriculum – Love Connects Us/Bibleodeon
Love Connects Us celebrates important ways that UU's live our faith in covenanted community. Moved by love and gathered in spirit, we embrace our responsibility toward one another and the world at large. We encourage one another's search for truth and meaning. We strive to be active in peace-making and other efforts to improve our world. Later in the year we will study classic Old Testament Bible stories from a UU perspective and relate them to our experiences today.
Sunday morning 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Nursery through 5th Grade: See the 9:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m schedule
Sixth Grade (age 11 & 12)
Curriculum – Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace: Exploring Right and Wrong—helps sixth graders understand right and wrong and act on their new understanding. Its purpose is to equip them for moving safely and productively through their middle and high school years, when they will be continually pulled between both ends of the ethics continuum. Through their involvement in this program, youth will come to recognize and depend on their UU Identity and resources. In addition - 6th Graders will dedicate one Sunday per month for Faith in Action Activities.
Seventh Grade (age 12 & 13)
Curriculum – Riddle & Mystery
The purpose of this curriculum is to assist youth in their search for understanding. Each of the sessions introduces and processes a “Big Question.” Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Does God exist? What happens when you die? The final three are increasingly UU: Can we ever solve life’s mystery? How do I know what to believe? What does UU ism mean to me? With deep inquiry and a playful spirit we will address these questions. Rather than trying to answer them, we provide opportunities for youth to reflect and develop their own understandings. In addition - 7th Graders will dedicate one Sunday per month for Faith in Action Activities.
Eighth Grade (age 13 & 14)
Curriculum – Neighboring Faiths
Neighboring Faiths explores a variety of religious traditions and practices. During the year, youth will study various religions and visit several places of worship: The Jewish Congregation Har Shalom, the Buddhist Shambala Mountain Center, Protestant and Catholic churches and more. This curriculum will help youth learn about our UU faith tradition and compare it to other religious practices. In addition - 8th Graders will dedicate one Sunday per month for Faith in Action Activities.
YRUU - Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (Grades 9-12)
Our High School Youth Group
Our high school youth group has a social action/awareness emphasis (which works well with our principle of “justice, equity, and compassion for all”), and also focuses on worship, Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes, fellowship, and fun. This group has a strong emphasis on building youth leadership skills. Our Youth Coordinator, Allison Fink, will be present in the classroom most Sundays, assisted by volunteer youth advisors.
YUUMS (Youth of UUism in Middle School)
Join us for monthly fun activities with other Middle School age kids – outdoor activities, fun field trips, social action projects, board games and more! Contact eleanorv@foothillsuu.org for a schedule and to join our Yahoo! group.