Play is spiritual work.

In Spirit Play, children encounter stories from our Unitarian Universalist tradition while building friendships, practicing agency, and discovering their own inner authority.

This is an age for discovering: I have an inner voice, and I can listen to it. Our Guides create a safe, Montessori-style container, resisting the pull to step in simply because children encounter friction, play with something differently than intended, or navigate a social dilemma in a way an adult wouldn’t choose. When children invite us into their play, we say yes—and let them lead.

Through all that playing, negotiating, wondering, choosing, compromising, and trying again, children discover both that it’s good to know what they want and that they belong to a community where other people’s wants matter, too.

Our hopes are concrete: a favorite story from our tradition, a Sunday BFF, and at least three adults at the Fellowship who know their name and would say hello if they met out in the world.!

What Sundays look like

Spirit Play children begin in the sanctuary with their families and leave together after Time for All Ages. Spirit Play happens in Room 6C, near the bottom of the stairs in the classroom wing.

Once in Spirit Play, we light our lantern, check in with one another, hear a story, and move into child-directed exploration in our Montessori-inspired space.an.

Participation can look different

Children may opt out of any activity. They can watch. They can sit nearby. They can take their time.We believe engagement requires trust, and trust requires time. We also believe that more learning happens from the sidelines than most adults realize. Proximity to learning is often excellent learning.What children may not do is make participation difficult for everyone else. If a child’s way of opting out becomes disruptive or communicates to other children that their participation is embarrassing or “lame,” we’ll first invite them into a more relational way of being present. If that’s simply not possible for their body that morning—which can be entirely developmentally appropriate!—we’ll lovingly reunite them with their family in the sanctuary. They’re welcome to try again another Sunday.

Why all this play matters

This year, children are hearing stories from our religious tradition, organized around our JETPIG values. We want them to know that they inherit a legacy of values-driven justice-making—and that someday they’ll help shape what this faith becomes.But the relationships they’re building are every bit as important as the stories.Shared stories, shared experiences, trusted adults, and real friendships are what transform “the church my family takes me to” into my community. Those relationships become especially important as children grow old enough to have much stronger opinions about whether they want to spend Sunday morning here.

Good to know

Spirit Play children begin Sunday in the sanctuary with their families and leave together after Time for All Ages.

We don’t serve snacks in Spirit Play, and Guides don’t provide diapering or toileting assistance. If your child needs bathroom help, we’ll come find you.

Pick-up is at 11:15 AM, or immediately following the service if it runs long.

Helpful links

Register for Childen and Youth for Religious Exploration →

Free Childcare Form →

Safe Congregation Policies and Practices →

Resources for Families →

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

Belonging begins with being known and cared for.

Before children are old enough to wonder what they believe, they are learning whether this is a place where they are safe, known, and loved.

Some of the earliest work of faith formation doesn’t look much like religious education at all. Young children are learning to share space and resources, ask for what they need, reasonably expect that caring adults will respond, and notice the needs of other people. They’re also building a habitual relationship with this place and these people—one rooted in safety, familiarity, and care.

That foundation matters. Before children can deeply explore stories, values, theology, or questions of belief, they need a community they trust enough to explore them in.

Our hope at this age is wonderfully simple: this place feels familiar, these people feel safe, and I belong here.

What Sundays Look Like

The Rainbow Room opens at 9:50 AM, allowing parents to bring children directly to Room 4 in the classroom wing and meet the Guides who will care for them.

Children play as friends arrive, then gather to sing, place a felt flame on our felt chalice, hear a story centered on our JETPIG values, and create something together. Afterward, there’s plenty of time to play with friends until families return.

Parents and caregivers are welcome to stay for as long and as often as they’d like. If you need to remain nearby but don’t want to miss the service, ask us about livestreaming the service into the room.

Your child, your family

You know your child and your family’s needs better than we do, and we want to know what works for you.

Maybe you desperately need 45 minutes to tend to your own spiritual life and would like us to try every reasonable soothing strategy before coming to find you. Maybe your family’s approach to attachment and consent means you’d like your child brought to you the first time they ask. Tell us.

Care preferences shared on your registration form are available to our Guides, and we encourage you to talk with the adults in the room at drop-off, too. That communication helps us care for your child in ways that support the values and practices of your family.

Babies, too?

The Rainbow Room is designed primarily for walkers through pre-K, but infants in arms are welcome when the number and activity level of children in the room make that safe.

And when she’s not subbing in an RE space, you may occasionally find our Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration making her Sunday rounds with a happy baby on her hip—with parental permission, of course. Sometimes a grown-up needs a break, too. If you need that, please ask! Skyla knows who many of the happy baby holder in the sanctuary and social hall. There are plenty of willing surrogate grandparents just waiting to be asked. Ask for what you need!

Good to know

Children may visit once before registering; please leave contact information for the adult responsible for them with the Guides. After that first visit, we ask families to register for Religious Exploration.

We don’t serve snacks in the Rainbow Room, and Guides don’t provide diapering or toileting assistance. If your child needs bathroom help, we’ll come find you.

Pick-up is at 11:15 AM, or immediately following the service if it runs long.

Helpful links

Register for Childen and Youth for Religious Exploration →

Free Childcare Form →

Safe Congregation Policies and Practices →

Resources for Families →

Please send any questions you have about programs for children, youth, or parents to the Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration, Skyla King-Christison, at dre@uucorvallis.org