Grand Valley UU Children's Religious Education (RE)
We offer children's programming each Sunday in a combined preK-5th grade class at 10:30am. Teachers lead classes drawing from the Soul Matters curriculum while making use of creative activities including music, art, theater, and story. The Soul Matters curriculum presents the same themes the adults engage in during service in an age-appropriate format. Our classes and services are designed to foster community, empathy, and a sense of social responsibility among our children and youth.
From Director of Programming and Community Outreach Maya Kraushaar
August 2024
Last month, we spent our time together exploring the importance of deep listening. Listening to our
inner voices and to the voices and needs of others, whether we agree with them or not. We learned
that listening is so much more than what we do with our ears.
This month we will bring our awareness to what is so and what is changing. We will gain a better
understanding of how we can manage hard emotions through practices of repair and care.
Our November theme is Living Love Through The Practice of Repair. Let’s take our cue from the fall
season’s natural pattern (especially in the northern US) of leaves dying and being let go of by their
trees, birds migrating south, and animals and insects going into hibernation.
We see these cycles mirrored in our individual lives through the ebb and flow of change, new
realities ever unfolding, and what we currently know transitioning into what is next. As we reflect on
what is so and what we are required to let go of, we might find hidden lessons and opportunities for
healing and repair.
A major goal this month is to help our children understand the many tools we have available to heal
each other and the world. We also hope to impress on our children that all of these ways of going
about repair matter, regardless of how supposedly “large” or “small” they may be.
With gratitude,
Maya
inner voices and to the voices and needs of others, whether we agree with them or not. We learned
that listening is so much more than what we do with our ears.
This month we will bring our awareness to what is so and what is changing. We will gain a better
understanding of how we can manage hard emotions through practices of repair and care.
Our November theme is Living Love Through The Practice of Repair. Let’s take our cue from the fall
season’s natural pattern (especially in the northern US) of leaves dying and being let go of by their
trees, birds migrating south, and animals and insects going into hibernation.
We see these cycles mirrored in our individual lives through the ebb and flow of change, new
realities ever unfolding, and what we currently know transitioning into what is next. As we reflect on
what is so and what we are required to let go of, we might find hidden lessons and opportunities for
healing and repair.
A major goal this month is to help our children understand the many tools we have available to heal
each other and the world. We also hope to impress on our children that all of these ways of going
about repair matter, regardless of how supposedly “large” or “small” they may be.
With gratitude,
Maya
Children’s Religious Education
December 2024 -Welcome to The Practice of Presence!
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December 1st 10:30 a.m.
Thanksgiving Weekend - No RE Childcare Provided December 15th 10:30 a.m. Presence & Darkness: Look for the Gifts Hidden in the Darkness! (Exploring the Invitation of Winter Solstice) This session invites children to use the pagan tradition and understanding of solstice to see things differently. Instead of something to be afraid of, times of darkness can be seen as spaces of rest, renewal and even rebirth. And from this perspective, we are all called to take on the practice of looking for and being present to the many gifts hidden in and emerging from the darkness. |
December 8th 10:30 a.m.
Presence & Attention: Look for the Gifts Already Given! (Exploring Tools to Battle the Busyness of the Season) In this session, we will be exploring how, during the winter holidays, our society often tells us that this is the time of year that we should be busy doing: busy buying, party planning, and making to-do lists. However, our faith tells us that this is a time to notice the presence of stillness and the gifts already given. December 22nd 10:30 a.m. All Ages Holiday Service Join us for this festive service, which will lead us through a reflection on various faiths and connection as the center of our shared experience. |
​Childcare provided every Sunday from 10:15am-11:45am during Sunday Worship.
Thank you volunteers!
A big thank you to our incredible teachers! Volunteers make our RE program fantastic!