Elementary School
Curricula for 2017/18
Kindergarten-2nd Grade
Spirit Play™
Spirit Play combines the Preschool and K – 2 classes. Spirit Play™ uses a Montessori style classroom and fosters a spiritual community of children, where each child’s unique learning style is valued and supported.
We see the purpose of religious education as helping children in living into their own answers to the existential questions: Where did we come from? What are we doing here? How do we choose to live our lives? What happens when we die?
We use the Montessori approach and Berryman’s morning-as-worship approach for the structure of the morning. As in Montessori, the key elements are the prepared classroom environment and the teachers. These elements free the children to work at their own pace on their own issues after an initial lesson or story within a safe and sacred structure shepherded by two adults.
The Stories use inclusive language and include our Seven UU Principles (called promises in this class), UU liturgical lessons and worship traditions, and the Six Sources of our faith:
- Transcendent wonder and awe inspired by the “spirit of life” known by many names;
- Wisdom in historical world religions and in native and earth-centered traditions;
- Traditional stories specific to our Jewish and Christian heritages;
- Words and deeds of women and men who use justice, compassion and love to build a better world;
- Humanist teachings that heed the guidance of reason and the results of science;
- The interdependent web and our part in it.
3rd-5th Grade
Although most parents believe social action is important for children, and most children have a natural desire to make the world better, it can be difficult to find meaningful and relevant social action experiences for tween-age children.
Harry and UU is based on the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling, books that immerse children in the idea that one can work to make the world better.
The curriculum includes many fun wizarding activities, but the main purpose of the curriculum is social action. The class forms a chapter of Dumbledore’s Army and fights against seven Horcruxes during the year . The Horcruxes are real world social action projects.
The curriculum spends about four classes on each Horcrux fight, with three classes devoted mainly to education and small projects, and one class devoted entirely to action. The goal is to produce tangible results on seven real-world problems.
In addition to the wizarding activities and Horcrux fights, additional games are included that can be used for All Ages days or parties, allowing the Harry Potter theme to be spread throughout the congregation.
