Learning

Care for all toddlers and preschoolers will return on September 12th! Go ahead and register HERE so you’re ready to drop off when we reopen. In the meantime, families with young children are welcome to stay together during the service and the gallery in the sanctuary has been made comfortable for napping, playing, and nursing. If you have questions or would like to be paired up with a willing set of helping hands during the service, please contact Skyla (dre@uucorvallis.org).

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Chalice Children, our space for toddlers and preschoolers, is located in room 4 of the classroom wing. this is a space where our youngest members can build the foundational trust and sense of community necessary to flourish as spiritual and emotional beings at UUFC and beyond. At this age, we want our youngest children to experience feeling loved, being comfortable with our building and the people in it, and feeling like they are a part of something larger than themselves. Our care providers offer a light lesson followed by free play, encourage sharing and good citizenship, and prioritize having fun!

We know that attachment styles vary widely from family to family and child to child, so parents are always welcome to stay in Chalice Children to help their child become acclimated. We encourage parents to share their own preferences around things like how long to let their child cry for them before calling them out of the sanctuary and best methods of soothing during those initial trust-building days. We’re here to make this as comfortable and positive a transition as possible for our tiny friends!

Below is a little look at what you can expect in Chalice Children at UUFC!

REGISTERING FOR CHALICE CHILDREN

Before dropping your child off for the first time, we ask that you register them. You can do this by stopping at the tree stump in the classroom wing and clicking “Chalice Children” on the iPad, OR you can register them in advance with this link. This allows us to provide the safest possible experience and to contact you if you are needed during the service. Once registered, our care team will be able to check your child i whenever you drop off.

Please do not leave your child unattended in the nursery when no childcare provider is present, or take them without checking out with a care provider. We also ask that you pick up your child before attending coffee hour in the social hall so that our caregivers can have time with their spiritual community as well.

THE NURSERY TEAM

The nursery is staffed with a combination of paid childcare providers and fully background-checked volunteers from our Grandfolks Squad who are eager to provide a caring and uplifting environment for our smallest members.

THE PHYSICAL SPACE

From building to cooking, driving to climbing, there’s something to spark any imagination in our nursery! Our space is thoughtfully prepared with diverse, non-biased books, toys, and puzzles that encourage creativity, curiosity, and self-exploration. There is always water available in the nursery, but because allergies are still being identified at this age, we do not provide snacks or allow snack sharing in the nursery.

For everyone’s safety, we ask that parents take care of their child’s diapering and potty training needs. A changing station and diaper pail are provided in the bathroom beside our classroom.

Grandfolks Squad for Event Childcare

When parents of young children wish to attend UUFC events other than the Sunday service, they can request childcare from the Grandfolks Squad by filling out this request form. Every effort will be made to arrange for a team of Grandfolks to care for your child, free of charge, while you attend a UUFC sponsored event. Please note, Grandfolks are not available for non Fellowship gatherings.

As mentioned above, grandfolks are volunteers who are background checked and serve in teams of two, in accordance with our safe congregation policies.

Spirit Play will return September 15th! Go ahead and register HERE so you’re ready. In the meantime, we have set up a Soul Work shelf in the sanctuary with lots of quiet activities for all ages to engage with during the service. If you have questions, or would like to be paired with a willing set of helping hands during the service, please contact Skyla (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 visiting the tree stump in the classroom wing and tapping on “Spirit Play Registration,” 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 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 and place in our community.

After the time for all ages, the congregation will sing Go Now Children, and a Spirit Play guide with the sign you see to the left will lead the children to room 6 in the classroom wing for their Spirit Play time.

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 chalice lighting and a shared story with a basket of physical supporting elements to help bring the story to life. After a shared discussion about the story, 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 Director of Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org

YRUU will return September 15th! Go ahead and register HERE so you’re ready! In the meantime, we have set up a Soul Work shelf in the sanctuary with lots of quiet activities for all ages to engage with during the service. If you have questions, please contact Skyla (dre@uucorvallis.org).

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 YRUU. You can do this by visiting the tree stump in the classroom wing and tapping on “YRUU Registration,” 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 YRUU, we ask that you and your children be aware that we do not permit teens 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 and place in our community.

After the time for all ages, the congregation will sing Go Now Children, and a Spirit Play guide with the sign you see to the left will lead the children to the classroom wing. Youth will follow in that general direction and split off to meet their advisors in room 7.

THE EXPERIENCE

When youth arrive in room 7, 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.

For the 2024/25 Fellowship year, we will be using the Harvard Justice Course, an introduction to moral and political philosophy. It explores classical and contemporary theories of justice and applies these theories to contemporary legal and political controversies. We will be weaving in events and prominent figures in UU history, as well as thinkers and philosophers from a diversity of life experiences, examining our religious heritage with a critical eye toward justice.

SPECIAL EVENTS

In an effort to provide more space for young UUs to deepen their connections with one another and between communities, we provide a regular special events for youth. Often, neighboring communities are invited to join, or we travel to them to ensure that our teens are getting experiences beyond our local congregation. You can check out the most current YOUTH EVENTS CALENDAR HERE. Types of events that you can expect include the fall trip to the corn maze, the spring youth coast retreat, and a summer outdoor movie and camping on the lawn. All youth are welcome to join.

Annual Middle School Programming

Every year we offer special programming specifically for 6th through 8th graders. We alternate between our Coming of Age program and our OWL (Our Whole Lives, comprehensive sexuality education ) program. Both of the programs are central to our UU tradition and community building, and we encourage everyone to take them in the middle school years. These programs are also generally well attended by non-fellowship youth. Space is limited, with priority registration given to member families.

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

This year’s adult religious exploration programs are centered on our congregational theme of the year: Ancestors, Descendants, and Us.

We will deepen our understanding of our UU religious ancestry, practice articulating our own religious beliefs and spiritual impulses, and explore ways to improve our relationships with ourselves and our fellow travelers in this river of life.

We very much appreciate you taking the time to pre-register so that we can arrive well-prepared to provide you with the best RE experience possible.

Some upcoming Adult RE opportunities include:

Music Theology (November-December)

Fail Fest 2024 (December 28th)

Adult OWL (Our Whole Lives, human sexuality program (January-March)

Elevator Speeches (April)

Common Read: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families (July)

ONGOING OFFERINGS:

Parent Peer Support Group (3rd Thursday of each month @ 7:15 in the library, free childcare provided)

Neurodivergence and Mental Health Peer Support Group (Third Sunday of each month @ 11:45 in Room 9)

All past RE event listings can be viewed here!

If you have a special interest and would like to facilitate an exploration opportunity for adults, email Skyla King-Christison at dre@uucorvallis.org. Teh RE Council loves when our members help co-create the gatherings they would like to see, and I’m happy to support you in launching your RE-related ideas.