PreK - Grade 6 Religious Education Overview

Unitarian Universalist Association Principles and Purposes for Children     

The Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association

All congregations, churches, fellowships and meeting houses, of the Unitarian Universalist Association can agree on and promote these following values:

• Every single person is important, everyone's life has value;
• All people should treat each other they way they would like others to treat them;
• We think that being a member of a UU congregation means you are interested in learning about  others' beliefs and forming your own beliefs.  It is normal and a good thing to have beliefs that change and grow as we change and grow.
• When we try to make sense of life's important questions, no one will tell us what to believe.  We will never harm anyone in any way because they believe differently than we do or tell them their beliefs are wrong.  There are an unlimited number of possible answers to everyone's questions about life;
• In our UU congregations and in the whole world, we think it is fair for everyone to share their opinion when making rules and laws.  We believe that everyone should get to vote on matters that will effect them;
• We live our lives so we do not harm others, we know that building communities near and far where people are treated the way we all want to be treated will help our world be a more peaceful and helpful place;
• We respect and care for planet earth and all living creatures.  We know people can use resources wisely so the world will be a happy and healthy place for people to live for many, many more years.

Unitarian Universalism has used the knowledge and experience of many other people and traditions to create our religious tradition:

• We know what is good and right in our own lives, the choices that we make each day teach us what is right and important;
• Many people who have lived before us have lived lives that made the world a better place for all people;
• We learn about other religions in the world because of the positive, life-affirming messages they share;
• Our religion has it's roots in the Christian and Jewish religions;
• Humanist teachings remind us that through science and self-knowledge we all have the ability to understand how our world works;
• Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions remind us that nature is important and that it is important to value our own feelings and ideas, even if we can not fully explain them.

We are grateful that our religion is so diverse.  Because of this, we are inspired to always grow and learn and admit that we do not have all the answers to life's questions and problems all the time.  What is most important is that we all agree to keep growing and learning together, always treating each other with love and respect.

Curricula for preschool - elementary children  includes developmentally appropriate and comprehendable concepts of theology and relationships of self to the outside world. As children get older, they grow in ways they are ready to explore the purpose and choices they have in the way they relate to the world. They are ready to begin to understand the values and ideals of Unitarian Universalism.  They also begin to understand that there are other religions that influence the world they live in as well.  We draw stories from many world religious and spiritual traditions in the lessons we share.  As their relationships broaden and expand, so do the levels of interaction. The function of religious education throughout this growth and development is to help children organize and make sense of the relationships they are experiencing while at the same time encouraging them to use their mind, body, heart, and soul in bringing meaning and purpose to these new found relationships.  They are encouraged to put into everyday interactions the Unitarian Universalist values that we share.  

This Year In Religious Education

Celebrating Me and My World.

Our youngest learners engage in a year of learning more about themselves and our faith community. Movement, stories, music, snacks and projects fill the class time.

This curriculum is offered for children age 4 – Kindergarten at 11:00AM.

Elements: Connecting Bodies, Minds and Spirits to Planet Earth

Through stories, projects, drama and community building, our elementary age students will learn about the sacred connections we share with water, fire, air and earth. This is a story based curriculum, the stories being drawn from different ethnic, religious, scientific, literary and artistic genres. Rather than an arts or crafts project for each session, long term projects such as story beads, elements collages and a classroom notebook and mural are integrated into sessions with a goal of project culmination at the end of the program year.

This curriculum is offered for children in Preschool – Grade 6 at 9:00AM in one large multiage classroom. At 11:00AM this curriculum is offered to children in three different classroom – Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4, and Grades 5-6.

A copy of this curriculum is available below.

Singing Sundays

Every other week, members of the UUFA Music Committee provide an opportunity for children and teachers in all classroom to come together in a large group to learn songs from our hymnal. The music committee provides an accompanist and song leader to be with the children for 15-20 minutes of singing at the end of the religious education instruction time.  Parents and other interested UUFA members are welcome to join in this activity.  

What does a Parent Helper do?**

GREETING: Arrive at the Fellowship 15 minutes early. Introduce yourselves to the Greeters at the Greeters Table in the Fireside Room. Stay near the table to welcome new and returning families. Take visitors and new families to the classroom their child will be in to meet the teachers. Explain the Up and Down Arrow system that we use. Encourage visitor's to sign the guestbook, listing their children's first names, ages, and grade in school so we can communicate with them about future RE events.

CLASSROOM MANAGMENT: A few minutes before class or the service starts, check in with the lead teacher in the classroom that you will be helping in. The lead teacher will tell you how they expect you to assist during class time. You may be called upon to assist with activities, prepare snack from the snack cupboard, reading a story, etc. In general, modeling appropriate class participation and behavior is all that is necessary.

SNACK: Parent helpers usually are responsible for preparing the snack for the class. You may use any snacks in the snack cupboard in the RE kitchen. You will bring the snack to the classroom and distribute it at the appropriate time. If you wish to bring a snack from home, that is fine. Please remember, NO PEANUTS OR NUT PRODUCTS ARE ALLOWED as snacks. We are “green” fellowship, which means we use washable dishes and cups for snacks. Please help keep the kitchen tidy. Also, please run the dishwasher when it needs to be run, or unload it when necessary – watch the sign on the dishwasher door to determine if the dishes are clean or dirty.

CLEAN-UP: Plan to stay 10-15 minutes after the children leave to assist the teacher with clean-up. All supplies should be returned to their proper places on the supply shelves, and the rooms should be ready for the next class to use or the custodian to clean.

** If you are unable to be a parent helper on you assigned day, you will need to contact another person to fill in for you. You can swap dates with another family in your child's class or you can ask any other member of the UUFA congregation to fill in for you. A list of your child's classmates and their families is available from the UUFA office. (292-5960 or uufa [at] uufames [dot] org (uufa [at] uufames [dot] org))