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OUR PHILOSOPHY

Our youth programs are designed to prioritize the immediate needs of the youth above the regularly scheduled programming, recognizing that these can be turbulent and fruitful years with a high degree of need for compassionate mentoring and social support.

Our formal programming aims to help participants notice their experiences with the sacred, clarify their own personal values while learning what it means to be Unitarian Universalist, and gain practice expressing their own religious convictions through action toward a better world.

It is our goal that these aims be accomplished through adult/youth partnerships rather than direct teaching, so as capacities develop in our youth for leadership, space is made for a greater portion of our time together to be directed by youth, while adults lean into a mentoring and advisory role.

Check our what to expect in YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) below!

HOW TO REGISTER

Before the service, we ask that parents register their children for OMG!. You can do this by scanning the QR code outside of room 10 (upstairs) or at the Welcome Desk OR by using this link. Registering helps us create the safest possible learning experience for your child!

While youth are permitted to check themselves in and out of OMG!, we ask that you and your children be aware that we do not permit children or youth to linger unsupervised in the classroom wing. This provides a layer of safety for both our children and adults, and helps us ensure that our youth are an integrated part of our larger congregational community. Thank you for your support in this area.

WHERE TO GO AND WHEN

Youth should obtain a nametag, just like their parents, either at the welcome desk or from the nametag racks, depending on how long you’ve been attending.

Youth begin with their families in the sanctuary for shared worship. It is important to us that our youth know that they are part of a larger community than just what takes place in the classroom wing. We want them to know and be known by all the members of the Fellowship, and understand their importance in our community.

After the time for all ages, our Junior Worship Associate will light the classroom lantern from the chalice, and the congregation will sing Go Now Children. At this time, all children and youth will follow the lantern to their classrooms.

THE EXPERIENCE

When youth arrive in room 10, we will always start with a chalice lighting and brief check-in about how things are going in life, to help get centered in a spirit of community and worship. If appropriate, we move into the lesson for the day. After the session, we’ll have some closing words, extinguish the chalice, and youth are invited to join the wider congregation in the social hall. Light snacks are provided during the session, and donations for the cause of the month are accepted in the social hall after services.

This year, the youth are using the Mosaic antiracism program provided by the UUA. Each week they will review their group covenant, play games, engage in exploration around topics relating to our shared values and the curriculum, and have a chance to engage in shared leadership with their advisors.

Please send any questions about our children’s and youth programs to the Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

OUR PHILOSOPHY

The Seeker Space is designed to capture the energy and enthusiasm that are characteristic of this age group. Lessons around our shared values are kept short and interactive, and followed each week by child-initiated project-based learning and community building.

In this space, we prioritize:

• Open communication of needs between children, parents, and RE staff so that the highest needs of each child can be honored.
• Facilitated investigation of truth, beauty, and wonder.
• Social-forward projects and play that are centered on the passions and interests of the children who share this space, and emphasize learning through doing rather than learning through listening.

Registering for Seeker Space

Before the service, we ask that parents register their children for Seeker Space. You can do this by scanning the QR code that is on the bulletin board outside of the classroom and at the Greeters’ Desk, OR by using this link. Registering helps us create the safest possible learning experience for your child!

Please do not allow your children to be unsupervised in any of our classroom areas, and please make sure you check out with one of our classroom volunteers before leaving with your child. When a child is not properly checked out, it initiates an emergency protocol and creates panic. We also ask that you pick up your child before attending coffee hour so that our volunteers may have plenty of time to engage with their spiritual community as well. If this becomes difficult, check in with Skyla for help coordinating a pickup plan.

Where To Go, And When

Children should obtain a nametag, just like their parents, either at the welcome desk or from the nametag racks, depending on how long they’ve been attending.

Children begin with their families in the sanctuary for shared worship. It is important to us that our children experience being part of our larger congregation. We want them to know and be known by all the members of the Fellowship, and understand their importance to our community.

After the time for all ages, one of our Junior Worship Associates will light the lantern to carry the light of community to the classroom wing. As the congregation sings Go Now Children, and all of the children and youth will follow the lantern to their classrooms.

The Guides

Seeker Space is staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides who have been hand-selected for their adventurous spirit, patience, and fun-loving energy.

Our guides model the values of curiosity and joy as they share stories and answer questions. They seek to create a calm and engaging environment that is conducive to exploration and community building.

Everyone who works with children and youth at the Fellowship undergoes a criminal background check and, in alignment with our Safe Congregation Policies, works in teams of two unrelated adults so that no child is ever one-on-one with a non-parental adult while in our care. The safety of our most vulnerable members is our highest priority!

The Experience

This year’s Seeker Space kids are exploring antiracism through the UUA’s Mosaic curriculum. They meet in room 9 for a brief lesson, and then engage in embodied activities that help them build deep connections with one another and their adult guides.

You may find them creating art for the holiday fair, learning to tie knots, or playing chess and ping-pong on the mezzanine. When they are not in the classroom at pick-up time, they will leave a note on the bulletin board outside the room to let parents know where to find them. This group moves around!

Please send any questions about our children’s and youth programs to the Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Spirit Play is based in story and ritual, play and creativity. It gives children the tools to make meaning of their lives and questions such as Who am I, Where did I come from, and What is my purpose, within the container of Unitarian Universalism. We use the Montessori approach with key elements of a prepared classroom environment, child-directed activities, and trained guides. These elements free the children to choose their own focus after an initial lesson or story within a safe and sacred structure shepherded by two adults.

This style of learning environment encourages independent thinking through wondering questions, offers children real choice within a structure, creates a mixed age community, and develops an underlying sense of spirituality and mystery. Children who participate in Spirit Play will learn to trust their inner authority and ask for help when they need it.

Check out what to expect in Spirit Play below!

Registering for Spirit Play

Before the service, we ask that parents register their children for Spirit Play. You can do this by scanning the QR code that is on the bulletin board outside of the classroom and at the Greeters’ Desk, OR by using this link. Registering helps us create the safest possible learning experience for your child!

Please do not allow your children to be unsupervised in any of our classroom areas, and please make sure you check out with one of our classroom volunteers before leaving with your child. When a child is not properly checked out, it initiates an emergency protocol and creates panic. We also ask that you pick up your child before attending coffee hour so that our volunteers may have plenty of time to engage with their spiritual community as well. If this becomes difficult, check in with Skyla for help coordinating a pickup plan.

Where To Go, And When

Children should obtain a nametag, just like their parents, either at the welcome desk or from the nametag racks, depending on how long they’ve been attending.

Children begin with their families in the sanctuary for shared worship. It is important to us that our children experience being part of our larger congregation. We want them to know and be known by all the members of the Fellowship, and understand their importance to our community.

After the time for all ages, one of our Junior Worship Associates will light the lantern to carry the light of community to the classroom wing. As the congregation sings Go Now Children, and all of the children and youth will follow the lantern to their classrooms.

The Guides

Spirit Play is staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides who have been trained in the Montessori approach to classroom management. This means they allow the children to make choices and even struggle a bit, only offering help when it is requested or safety is a concern.

Our guides model the values of curiosity and joy as they share stories and answer questions. They seek to create a calm and engaging environment that is conducive to exploration and community building.

The Experience

The Spirit Play classroom is a highly prepared environment. Children arrive and sit on the rug for a check-in and shared activity like a story or craft. After a discussion about the communal activity, which is designed to highlight one of our UU values, the children are invited into “work time.”

During work time, children can select their own activity from the prepared trays and activity spaces around the room. They may choose to work alone or form a collaborative group to build, paint, write stories, read books, or investigate our natural world with science trays. It is not uncommon to find the whole room silent, as children are deeply invested in their chosen project. On other days, though, you’ll find a raucous explosion of enthusiastic sharing.

We may have playground time, even in wet weather, so we encourage your child to arrive in appropriate clothing for the season. When we do, you’ll find the sign on the door of the Spirit Play classroom. To check your child out from the playground, please pass through the classroom, and find the two exit doors. The door on the left of this pair will take you to the playground. The door to the right will take you to the parking lot. Again, please make sure that a Guide knows you are taking your child.

Please send any questions about our children’s and youth programs to the Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org