Scroll down for "Child Nature Resources ~ A Shopping List for Children's Gifts: Holidays or Special Occasions"
 

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.

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE MORNING CIRCLE READING GROUP ~ 11/11/11

The book, The Last Child In the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder {Richard Louv, www.cnaturenet.org} prompted some grandparents in this congregation to offer encouragement to parents/grandparents/caregivers to get their children outdoors and to recommend reading that might inspire young people to venture out on their own. 

As the holidays approach, we hope this shopping list of resources will help you choose gifts that encourage children to learn and care about nature.  While sharing our own love of nature with a child is the best gift of all ~ curling up in a cozy place to read together;  sharing outdoor time near or on the water, in the garden or woods, up in the mountains;  a simple walk together ~ gifts can also be life-changing.  

Our list will be a work in progress during the coming weeks.  You will be able to see it in several forms: 

  • On our First U Website:  Go to Programs, Children’s RE, Nature: A Shopping List ~ open.
  • Updated paper copies will be available at coffee hour:  RE Bulletin Board, FIA Bulletin Board, handouts.

Keep checking!  We will add more titles and resources each week. Some are old books and some are new books and links.    Can’t buy new copies?  Look for old ones on-line.

GOOD LOCAL SOURCES:  Local book sellers such as Yarmouth’s Royal River Bookstore [207 846-8006  www.royalriverbooks.com ], Falmouth’s Rainbow Toys [207 781-4265 www.rainbowtoysme.com ] and the gift shop @ Gilsand Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth [207 781-2330  www.maineaudubon.org Gilsand Farm].   Gulf of Maine Books, Brunswick [207 729-5083];   Amazon.com for author and price info.  

Children need nature:  If each of us helped a least one child to love the earth … we would give them the gift of a life-long friend, provide life-changing memories, and support caring behavior. 

NATURE:  A SHOPPING LIST [updated 12/1/11]           

Bird Log: A Kid’s Journal to Record Their Birding Experiences by Deanna Brandt ~ designed for active participation.

Nature and Observation Notebook, a handy spiral book with many prompts and spaces for sketches and observations.  $12.00 Eebo Co.

The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination, a new and outstanding poetry anthology that should inspire adventures.  $19.99 hc

YOUNGEST READERS

GOODNIGHT FARM (board book), Adam Gamble

DAHLOV IPCAR’S FARMYARD ALPHABET, (board book)

MOO MOO BROWN COW, Jakki Wood

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PICTURE BOOKS

APPLES AND PUMPKINS, Anne Rockwell

BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL, Robert McCloskey

CHIMNEY FARM BEDTIME STORIES, Henry Beston

CHARLOTTE’S WEB, E. B. White

EGG IS QUIET, SEED IS SLEEPY, & A BUTTERFLY IS PATIENT, Diana Hutts

A FRUIT IS A SUITCASE FOR SEEDS, Sean Richards

FRIEND OWL, Pirkko Arjas and Sally Butcher

GRANDPA GREEN, Lane Smith

HERE COMES JACK FROST, Kazuno Kohara

IF ONCE YOU HAVE SLEPT ON AN ISLAND, Rachel Field

THE LITTLE ISLAND, Margaret Wise Brown

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, Robert McCloskey

MY WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TREE, Dahlov Ipcar

MISS RUMPHIUS, Barbara Cooney

NIGHT TREE, Eve Bunting

OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS, Alice Martin Provensen

OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW, Kate Messener

OWL MOON, Jane Yolen

ROXABOXEN, Alice McLerran

A STAR IN MY ORANGE: LOOKING FOR NATURE’S SHAPES, Dana Meachen Rau

THANKS TO THE ANIMALS, Allen Sockabasin

THE LITTLE POLAR BEAR SERIES BOOKS, Hans de Beer

THE TOMTEN AND THE FOX, Astrid Lindgren

TIME OF WONDER, Robert McCloskey

UP, Jim LaMarche

WALKING WITH HENRY ( Henry David Thoreau), Thomas Locker

WHEN THE MOON IS FULL: A LUNAR YEAR, Penny Pollock

WHOSE NEST IS THIS?, Heidi Roemer

WINTER TREES, Carole Gerber

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WONDERFUL AND WACKY

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS: 47 REMARKABLE STORIES FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, Jennifer S. Holland 

HOW TO CLEAN A HIPPOPOTAMUS:  A LOOK AT UNUSUAL ANIMAL PARTNERSHIPS, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

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BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS

THE BOY WHO DREW BIRDS: A STORY OF JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, Jacqueline Davies

EVERYBODY’S SOMEBODY’S LUNCH, Cherie Mason

HATCHET, TRACKER, and BRIAN’S HUNT, Gary Paulsen

MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN & ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN by Jean Craighead George

PROJECT PUFFIN: HOW WE BROUGHT THE PUFFINS BACK TO EGG ROCK, Stephen Kress

ROOTS, SHOOTS, BUCKETS & BOOTS: GARDENING TOGETHER WITH CHILDREN, Sharon Lovejoy

SEEDFOLKS, Paul Fleischman

SUNFLOWER HOUSES, Sharon Lovejoy

ROOKIE READ-ABOUT GEOGRAPHY BOOKS ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACES, SCHOLASTIC;  [LIVING IN A: DESERT, RAIN FOREST, ARTIC, FOREST, MOUNTAINS, SAVANNAH, TUNDRA, NEAR A RIVER, NEAR THE SEA, NEAR THE WETLAND, ON FARMS, ON THE PLAINS.]

THE ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN, Michael Morpurgo

THE STARS, H. A. Rey

WALDEN, Henry David Thoreau

WHITE FOOT, Wendell Berry

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DVD’s

INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES, Nova, PBS

WINGED MIGRATION, Jacques Perrin & Philippe Latro

A solid family reference book: NATURAL HISTORY: THE ULTIMATE PHYSICAL GUIDE from the Smithsonian $50.00

LINKS

NATURE.ORG/GIFTS [800] 84-adopt 3678: symbolic adoption contributions on behalf of animals. 

MAGIC CABIN.COM 1-888-623-6557 WALDORF EDUCATION-INSPIRED TOYS

WILD ANIMAL BABY ADOPTION CENTER FOR SYMBOLIC ANIMAL BABY ADOPTION, National Wildlife Federation, www.shopnwf.org   1-800-756-3752

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHILDREN’S GIFTS AND DVDS, www.shopng.org  1-888-225-5647

CRICKET BOOKS AND MAGAZINES FOR CHILDREN, www.cricketmag.com  1-800-821-0115  Babybug for 0-3 yrs; Ladybug Click for 3-6 yrs, Ask Spider for 6-9 years, Cricket Cobblestone Muse for 9-14 yrs.

Last edit 12/1/11

 

 

 

from the Morning Circle Study Group