CHILDREN'S RE ~ PRE-SCHOOLTHROUGH GRADE 6

We offer Sunday morning programming for children to welcome them into our faith community as well as nurture their spiritual growth and Unitarian Universalist identity. 

After our children enjoy the first part of each worship service with the larger congregation we "sing them out" to their Religious Exploration (RE) classes. When they get "downstairs" they'll encounter one of 4 different types of offerings:

Kids-In-Action - during most 1st Sundays of the month children of all ages meet in our Gathering Room to participate in a hands-on social justice project chosen by our 5th & 6th graders. This is how we DO our faith - and it's a lot of fun!

Sunday School Curriculum - mid-month we follow Tapestry of Faith curricula that our RE Council has chosen from the UUA. More information about each curriculum is listed below.

Music with Claudia - to wrap up each month in Religious Exploration our Music Director, Claudia Frost spends the worship hour with our children, teaching them songs and instrumental rhythms that allow them to participate more fully in our worship services throughout the year

 

Pre-K/K – Faithful Play

Children will come together on Sunday mornings to share a story, song or activity with an accompanying ritual to welcome and engage them in becoming eager participants in the First Universalist community.

Grades 1/2 – Love Surrounds Us

At the core of our Unitarian Universalist faith are seven principles. This program explores the principles as they relate to our sense of being part of a Beloved Community.  Throughout the year, the principles will be introduced to children using a variety of activities including stories and song.

Grades 3/4 – Love Will Guide Us

Recognizing that we all are seekers on a spiritual path, children will explore a variety of questions (i.e., Where did we come from? What is our relationship to the earth? How to we learn to respond in love? What happens when we die?) by applying wisdom from the sources that inform our Unitarian Universalist tradition. 

Grades 5/6 – Toolbox of Faith

Throughout  the year, children will reflect on the qualities of our UU faith (such as integrity, courage and love) as tools they can use in living their lives and building their faith.  Each session uses a tool as a metaphor for an important quality of our faith.

 

NURSERY CARE

Children three and under are invited to visit our nursery during Sunday morning services. Our nursery is located on the second floor of the RE wing (from the exit door at the front of the sanctuary, follow the corridor almost to the end where you’ll find the nursery on your left). You and your child will be greeted by our regular caregivers who arrive by 10:15 a.m. Please let them know what they can do make your child’s visit to the nursery an enjoyable one. You are welcome to stay with your child to help her/him feel more comfortable. If not, we ask that following the end of the service, you go directly to the nursery to pick up your child before going to coffee hour.

Registering for RE

All children and youth participating in the RE Program must be registered yearly. Parents are asked to please stop by the Welcome Table in the vestry before or after church to fill out registration forms or click here to download a form.

 

simplicity parenting... the power of less

Simplicity Parenting Workshops Presented in seven sessions

by Group Leader Laina Clugston

Based on renowned educator Kim John Payne’s successful book Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids, this workshop series invites parents to learn more about an effective pathway to simplify their home environments, family rhythms, schedules, and exposure to media to reduce stress and allow more room for connection, creativity, and relaxation with their children.

Simplicity Parenting Group Leader, Laina Clugston is an experienced Waldorf Parent Educator and group facilitator. She has an MA in Human Development, 20 years plus experience in Parent Education and is a group facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage and Renewal. http://www/CourageRenewal.org  She facilitates retreats for mothers, parents, clergy and others seeking renewal.

Contact:  Laina Clugston Renewal Parenting PO Box 441 South Freeport, ME 04078 lainaclugston@gmail.com    865-0865

      

 

Experience more calm and connection at home.

WHAT IS A SIMPLICITY PARENTING GROUP?

If you have “had it” with parenting books that are packed with brilliant ideas, but no clues as to how to actually make them happen at home, this group might be for you....

The group experience is

                        * Based on the book, Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

                        * Led by a trained Simplicity Parenting Group Leader

                       * An effective blend of support, learning, and discussion

                        * A chance to use new understanding of how change happens

                        * Supportive of sustainable simplifying self-selected change

            * Enhancing of loving connection at home

                        * Uniting parents in the shared endeavor of parenting

                        * A place to explore your values as a parent

                        * A place to connect your parenting style and skills with your values

                        * Building community with other “Simplicity Families”

You will

                        * Explore Simplicity Parenting – why, how, when

                        * Understand the four realms for simplifying

                        * Self-select small changes in each realm

                        * Learn how to design a change plan with your co-parent or friend

                        * Give and receive support for enacting and sustaining  it at home

                        * Build new connections  in the group and at home

For More Information, please contact:

Laina Clugston: lainaclugston@gmail.com