Things are
hopping in our classrooms on Sundays! Read below to find out what's going on for children and youth in our community, and for this coming Sunday.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. CHILDREN’S CHOIR: Hello families of young
singers! Liz Bucklew and Lisa Maynard are putting together a children’s choir
again for a couple of upcoming services.
·
March 10: The choir
will join speaker/singer Nick Page in one song at this multigenerational
service.
·
March 31: The choir
will sing something special for Betsy’s official installation as our Director
of Religious Exploration – note that this is Easter Sunday.
We hope your elementary or middle school child would like to
participate! We’ll rehearse from 12 to 12:30 on March 3, 17, and 24. Please try
to make all three rehearsals, but if you can’t, we’ll have sound files so you
can practice at home. We’ll also have a short rehearsal around 10 am on March
10 and 31. Please let Lisa (l.maynard@comcast.net)
or Liz (liz.bucklew@becu.org) know
if your child is interested. Thank you!
2.
Pick-Up from Classes:
Our classes are designed to be about 50 minutes in length. Our pick-up time is
11:50am. The two classes that need attention at this time are our K-2 and
Grades 3-5 groups, in the classrooms on the third floor. Middle and High School
youth are free to meet you in the Social Hall once their classes have ended.
Young children can be picked up on the first floor between 11:50 and 12:00.
a.
K-2 in the Cloud Room
– These teachers are planning to close a little earlier, and to engage the kids
in an activity at the very end of class that is less structured. They welcome
you to enter the classroom at 11:45, even if the door is closed, to visit and
pick up your child. We would like to move the crowds from the hallway into the
classroom. You do need to sign your child out.
b.
Grades 3-5 in the Youth Room
– Please wait outside the classroom until the class has ended. You also need to
sign your child out. However, if you are comfortable meeting your child
downstairs in the Social Hall, please sign
a release form with the teachers.
3.
Chalice Palace: Friday,
February 15th is our next Chalice Palace night! This is a great opportunity
for children, youth and adults to try out and share their talents and new
things they’ve been learning (starting an instrument, or telling stories…).
It’s a long-standing multigenerational event in our community that truly
supports each of us in finding the courage to present and perform to give joy
to others. Encourage your child(ren) to sign up for Chalice Palace during the Social
Hour, or contact Linda Anderson (linda587@comcast.net) to put your name on the list.
4. Youth
Visioning Summary: Summaries from our
Youth Visioning session in January are available on the greeter’s table. Be
sure to see where we are in identifying our priorities for the growth of our
youth programs!
5.
Spring Semester Curriculum: You can
learn more about the spring semester focus for your child or youth in several
ways:
·
A WSUU RE spring
prospectus from the greeter table at church
THIS
WEEK:
Story Time: This week our children will share a story and snack together.
Please let the teachers in the class know if your child has a food allergy.
Spirit Play: This
week’s story is “Drop of Honey,” an Indigo promise story – Insist on a
peaceful, fair, and free world for all. In this story, a queen learns that it’s
important to attend to even the small stuff with the intent to contribute to a
peaceful, fair and free world. Her first reaction to spilling a drop of honey
from her rice cake is that it was not her problem. Ultimately, it led to
disaster in her kingdom. We want the kids to leave this week with a sense that the
little things they can do to be kind and fair with one another are important!
Kindergarten through Second Grade: “Wonderful Welcome”: This
week’s class in the Wonderful Welcome
curriculum focuses on “The Gift of Kindness,” an important topic for all of us!
Learning to live the gift of kindness in a very concrete way can be powerful
for our little ones. This is a lesson they can truly understand, and their
insight about the value of kindness can be a foundation for many other gifts we
talk about, including remembering the gifts already introduced. For example, forgiveness comes more
easily when you apply kindness and the golden rule. In their Wonder Box, the
kids will find a golden ruler, and they will bring the golden rule home with
them.
Third through Fifth Grades: “Windows and Mirrors”: This
week’s lesson in the Windows and Mirrors
curriculum is “Building a Community of Forgiveness”. This is such a deeply
important topic, with a wonderful introduction – “The practice of forgiveness
is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” And the kids
will learn that our faith community is a perfect place to practice! In this
class they will learn about stories of forgiveness, talk about where they might
want to offer forgiveness, and practice three parts of moving to forgiveness –
recognizing your feelings, knowing the response you would like, and offering
your forgiveness sincerely.
Middle School: “Riddle and Mystery”: This
week’s lesson in the Riddle and Mystery
curriculum is titled “Thinking of God.” This week’s big question is “Does God
Exist?” One of the heavy-hitter questions! The core of this lesson is to
understand that there are many varied beliefs about God, and varied approaches
across religions. And to take the time to reflect on our own individual
beliefs, and to be able to articulate them, knowing that they’ll change over
time. This class will end with a media broadcast again (this happens every
week), this time taking place in an International Camp of Faith.
High School: “Our Name is Earl”: Our next class is
February 17th, with Suki and Jeff who are going to focus on creating
a new covenant.
Youth Group
will meet in the Social Hall from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, focusing on membership in
the YAC (Youth Adult Committee), and planning their upcoming morning service for
March 3rd. Shelby and Suki will be advising this week.
See
you Sunday!
Betsy
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