Middle School Age Kids: RE Learning Groups

Our Learning Group sessions are concurrent with Sunday morning services at 9:15 and 11:15. They run one hour and 15 minutes.

Sixth Grade:

UU Traditions

This curriculum teaches an understanding of UU faith that can replace the vague “we believe anything we want to” statement with: “We come from a long tradition of questioning and searching. We come from a long tradition of loving kindness and good works.” The teachers and learners will experience stories from our history, practices of our present, and hopes for our future, through a wide and fun variety of activities.

Seventh Grade:

Neighboring Faiths

The Neighboring Faiths curriculum acquaints students with the diversity of faiths worshiped in the United States. Teachers talk with students about the foundations of such faiths, as well as take the class on field trips to neighboring places of worship. The learning group may modify and augment units to explore the religions practiced in the local area and to encompass the specific interests of the students. The curriculum focuses on values including: appreciation of religious cultures; interest in, and acceptance of, diversity; and pride in one's own religious faith(s).

7th & 8th grades: Coming of Age

Coming of Age:

Youth are invited to embark on a series of experiences which help them to build awareness that all life is a journey, a series of transitions toward greater responsibility. Meeting twice a month on occasional Sunday evenings, and through other activities, including a retreat, service projects, and trips to historic UU sites, these youth celebrate their maturation in a church ceremony in the springtime.

Eighth Grade:

Our Whole Lives

This third segment of the lifespan comprehensive sexuality education program lasts the entire church year. The purpose of Our Whole Lives is to help young teens gain the knowledge, life principles and skills they need to express their sexuality in life-enhancing ways. It is a unique opportunity for youth to get honest, helpful information about sexuality from adults and each other. Youth will be free to bring up any sincere questions, concerns, or opinions to the group, and their issues will always be respected and addressed in age-appropriate ways.

The program is based on the assumptions that 1) all persons are sexual, 2) sexuality is a good part of the human experience, 3) sexuality includes much more than sexual behavior, 4) human beings are sexual from the time they are born until they die, 5) it is natural to express sexual feelings in a variety of ways, 6) people engage in healthy sexual behavior for a variety of reasons, including to express caring and love, to experience intimacy and connection with another, to share pleasure, to bring new life into the world, and to experience fun and relaxation, 7) sexuality in our society is damaged by violence, exploitation, alienation, dishonesty, abuse of power, and the treatment of persons as objects, and 8) it is healthier for young adolescents to postpone sexual intercourse.

Our Whole Lives is based on the value that every person is entitled to dignity and self-worth and to his or her own attitudes and beliefs about sexuality. By logical extension then, the program stresses that being romantically and sexually attracted to another gender, both genders or the same gender are all natural in the range of human sexual experience. The curriculum stresses that healthy sexual relationships are consensual, nonexploitative, mutually pleasurable, safe, developmentally appropriate, based on mutual expectations and are caring and respectful.

Please note: In order to maintain the sense of community and trust needed for the sensitive discussions that occur in this class, no students will be admitted to OWL after September. Newcomers in eighth grade are invited to attend our class about world religions, Neighboring Faiths.

UU “Tweens” (UUTs):

This younger youth group for sixth, seventh and eighth graders meets about monthly, outside Sunday morning times. UUTs is open to both youth who are enrolled in Sunday morning learning groups, and to those who are not enrolled, but whose families are affiliated with the church.

Together they forge friendships, develop a sense of themselves as Unitarian Universalists, envision contributions to the larger community, and provide a safe and supportive space for one another as they reflect on their personal values and spiritual journeys, and enjoy events, such as camping trips, bonfires, social service projects, potlucks, and general good times. One of the objectives of the UUTs program is to encourage youth leadership. Keep an eye on the RE News section of the Arlingtarian for new activities as they are planned.

Teaching Team Aides:

Often middle- and high-schoolers gain as much from guiding others as they would from enrolling in the Religious Education Program themselves. It is possible to attend their own learning group during one session and to help younger children in the other. Teen aides must be in grade seven or above and will participate in the teacher training sessions scheduled in the fall and winter. Please contact the MRE if you are interested in assisting a teaching team.

Parents & Guardians

• Overview

• What to Expect

• Registration & Attendance

• RE Calendar

Learning Groups for Kids

• Infants to Four-Year-Olds

• Elementary School Age Kids

• High School Kids

• For kids in elementary through high school grades: Learning Outside The Classroom