Curriculum Overview

This is going to be an exciting year -- we’re using the new Tapestry of Faith curricula that the UUA has developed. If you like, you can read all about it online.

There are many advantages to using these programs, not the least of which is that they are available online. This will make it much easier to share with parents and guardians what we are doing in the classroom. The programs have multiple parts, some of which are intended for use outside the classroom, many of which we will never have the time to get to in only one hour a week. There are Faith in Action pieces for almost every lesson, Taking it Home information for every lesson, and many optional activities. Be sure to register your child(ren) and we’ll email you links throughout the year.

The children’s religious education committee, our volunteer teachers, and I are looking forward to these new ways that we can partner with parents and guardians in our children’s religious education.

(Please note that no preK-Kindergarten programs have yet been developed for Tapestry of Faith. In this case we will be using Chalice Children, which is a tried and true standard.)

PreK
Celebrating Me and My World. This classic UU curriculum encourages young children to feel good about themselves. Each session focuses on a theme, supported by stories and creative activities, from singing and dancing to painting and cooking

Kindergarten-First Grade
Love Surrounds Us. At the core of our Unitarian Universalist community are our seven 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 Beloved Community of family/home, school, neighborhood. Participants engage in activities that emphasize the love they feel in community.

Second-Third Grades
Love Will Guide Us. Participants learn to seek guidance in life through the lens of our Unitarian Universalist Sources, with an emphasis on love. Together we ask questions such as, "Where did we come from?" "What is our relationship to the Earth and other creatures?" "How can we respond with love, even in bad situations?" "What happens when you die?" Sessions apply wisdom from our Sources to help participants answer these questions. Participants will learn that asking questions is valued in Unitarian Universalism, even as they begin to shape their own answers.

Fourth-Fifth Grades
Windows and Mirrors. In spirit, we embrace the contribution of diversity to our collective ability to pursue truth, fairness, justice and love. In practice, however, we often fail to embrace all the experiences and viewpoints in our communities as respectfully or as wholly as we might. Sometimes, we fail to even see differences among us. We seem most prone to gloss over differences when to acknowledge them requires acute self-examination and may lead to pain, shame, discomfort or guilt.

Sixth-Eighth Grades
Heeding the Call: Qualities of a Justice Maker. This social justice curriculum not only explores linked oppressions in our society, but also encourages participants towards personal growth in values that counteract the marginalization of others. Workshops on empathy, courage, abundance, joy, and other qualities ask participants to recognize how these standards can be tools for justice. Additionally, the program includes more concrete tools, such as suggestions on how to be a good ally and tips on the language of conflict resolution. True stories of courage, sacrifice and collaboration, role-plays, games, and a program-long justice project will feed youth’s rising realization that as people of faith we are all called to love justice—not just with our words, but also with our deeds.

We will also be taking advantage of the monthly themes that are being used in worship. Once a month there will be a story for all ages associated with the theme. On those Sundays, rather than the regular curriculum, each class will focus on the story from the worship service. We can in this way weave together what everyone in the congregation is doing.

This should be a vibrant and exciting year; we look forward to sharing it with you.