Children’s and Youth Religious Education
Wildflower strives to support parents by providing a meaningful religious education program
that makes a positive difference in children’s and youth’s lives.
Ages of Children We Serve
Our children and youth religious education (CYRE) program serves babies and children through 18 years. The second Sunday of each month is a Zoom-only church service with no in-person CYRE program. The CYRE program meets on the first, third, and fourth Sundays of the month.
Children 6 weeks to 5 years of age are welcome in the Childcare room. Children in Pre-K through 1st grade attend the Roots class. Children can transition from the Childcare room to the Roots class at age 5. Children in grades 2 through 5 attend the Seedlings class. Youth in grades 6 through 12 attend the Youth Group. Infants under 6 weeks remain with their parents.
What Happens on Sunday?
Children and youth stay with their parents for the first 15 minutes of the worship service, which begins at 11:45 am. After the congregation “sings the children and youth out,” teachers lead them to their classes. The children’s program ends at about 1:00 pm, usually 15 minutes after the Worship Service ends. Children attending childcare (age 6 weeks to 5 years) do not have to begin in the service. To promote child and youth safety, two adults are present in childcare and all classes. In accordance with our Safe Church policy, all RE teachers and care providers undergo background checks.
What do we teach in Religious Education?
1st Principle: Each and every person is important.
2nd Principle: All people should be treated fairly and kindly.
3rd Principle: We accept one another and keep on learning together.
4th Principle: We are free to search for what is true and right in life.
5th Principle: All people need a voice.
6th Principle: We work for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
7th Principle: We care for the Earth and all living things.
8th Principle: We work together for diversity and against racism and oppression.
Volunteering
Our wonderful volunteers make this program possible by allowing us to adhere to our Safe Church policy of having two adults in every class. Volunteers offer their unique perspectives and experiences and are equally enriched by hearing our children and youth express their points of view. For more information related to volunteering, please click here.
The Unitarian Universalist faith doesn’t pretend to give children all the answers to the big questions. Unitarian Universalism puts its faith in people’s ability to explore the unknown together.
-Terry Stafford (UU Religous Educator)
Getting Started in Religious Education
Before your child’s first Sunday in the religious education program, please register them by filling out a Registration Form. Parents are always welcome to visit the RE and childcare classes.
Religious Education News/Blog
Welcoming All Butterflies
This week we began a two-part lesson based on a story about butterfly friends who seek shelter from a storm. The flowers they hope to hide under will only accept the butterflies that mirror the color they are. Luckily, the clover accepts butterflies of all colors. We...
The Interdependent Web of Life
This Sunday, the kids explored the interdependent web of life. We made a web, connecting any part of existence that we could think of to each other, from video games to the sun, from farmers to fungi! Then the children created weavings to represent this interdependent...
Women’s World Cup
This week we talked about the Women's World Cup in soccer and their grievance over not receiving equal pay. The kids analyzed our 7 UU principles to find which ones speak to the issue of paying some people more or less based on their gender. Then we created soccer...
Yoga Stories
This Sunday we discussed the importance of staying healthy not only in our bodies, but also in our thinking. In addition to knowing how to care for our own mental health, our UU principles suggest that we help others who are struggling as well. How can we encourage a...
Self Care for Kids
This Sunday we discussed self-care for mental health. In the younger group, students heard a story about various strong emotions and practiced a calming meditation & yoga sequence. The older group brainstormed ways to stay healthy physically and mentally and...
Mother’s Day
This week, both groups in Children's Religious Education discussed the many different types of families that exist in the world, using a book to spark the conversation. The older group also discussed stereotypes about mothers, comparing those to the unique human...
The Chalice Story
This week both classes learned the story of the origin of the UU chalice symbol. Did you know that the chalice symbol was used during World War II by an underground network of individuals helping persecuted people make it out of Nazi-controlled areas? Each class then...
The 7 Principles
This week we welcomed our newest addition to the Children's Religious Education program, Solveij Rosa Praxis. We are so excited to have her join us! The older group worked on creating an illustrated poster of our 7 UU Principles to hang in our beautiful new classroom...
Fun and Games
This week we met in the Community Room to accommodate the exciting remodeling activities that are happening in our classrooms. I can't wait to show you all our beautiful new set-up in the coming weeks. To strengthen the bond between children from the two classes, we...
Clay Special Project Continued
This week, we continued with our special clay project as kids created animal or plant shapes to attach to the clay rattles, using a crosshatching technique and slip to fasten them securely. Karen will bring them to her studio to fire them in her kiln and bring them...