UUCC OWL Parent News for January 1, 2017
Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season before your children headed back to school! I am glad to have had my middle daughter home from college for a little while.
You may have noticed the new header graphic! I’m reading about stages of faith for a credentialing program for religious educators, and thought I would include some information about the phase your child is in, and how they best will learn about Unitarian Universalism, here at RE classes and at home with you.
OWL students are in the phase when nothing you do is cool, everything is fun in a crowd, and one smart kid will keep reminding you, “Yeah … I Know.”
Now you will begin to realize just how embarrassing you can be. Figuring out the new rules for your social behavior can be intimidating. When is it acceptable to “like” their Instagram post, and when are you allowed to openly comment? When are you expected to show up to the game, and who parents are you not supposed to talk to? When are you supposed to dress up and be impressive, and when are you supposed to just be casual?
Insecurity is an unspoken force that keeps this phase wonderfully awkward. Even the most confident eighth grader may choose a group Halloween costume. (Let’s go together as rock, paper, scissors!”) they walk the hall in pairs. They go to the mall with a herd. They build unfathomably large social media platforms. The name of the game is to never be caught alone and to always associate with the coolest crowd possible.
You may be surprised at how smart kids in this phase really are. In fact, there may be no phase quite as smart as this one—just ask them. Being so much smarter than everyone else can really become a burden. Sometimes the patience just runs out, and they simply can’t explain it to you one more time. The important thing will be what they know, and how they begin to personalize it in this phase. So look for ways to encourage their process (just remember that it’s their process and they know it!).
REMINDER: We are back to two sets of Sunday School and two services at 9:00 am and 11:00 am in the morning and regular evening classes. This week, only Big Questions and OWL meet on Sunday evening.
Make sure to read to the bottom for important news and events!
Yours in faith,
Robin
Upcoming Events
Congregational Meeting this Sunday, January 8th.
Please plan to attend the congregational meeting this Sunday, where you will be discussing and voting on budget priorities for next year. I’d love your support for some new initiatives in RE! Childcare will be available.
Parents & Caregivers as Sexuality Educators! Next class Sunday, January 8th, 5:00-7:00 pm Facilitated by Doug Miller, Steph Silver, and Robin Slaw.
Elementary Our Whole Lives (OWL) classes for Grades K/1 and Grades 4/5 are starting!
Good news! We will be scheduling OWL classes for both grades K/1 and grades 4/5 to start in February! New facilitators are being trained in January, and parent meetings will occur as follows:
Sunday, January 22, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm: Fourth and Fifth Grades, Parents and Students attend mandatory parent orientation.
Sunday, January 29, 9:00-10:30 am: Kindergarten and First Grade, Parents and Students attend mandatory parent orientation.
Classes will run through April 2nd. Kindergarten and First Grade 9:00-10:00 am, Fourth and Fifth Grade 11:00 am-12:30 pm.
News
I am looking for parents to start some family initiatives. Please let me know if you are willing to be one of several coordinators:
Mystery Buddy: Mystery Buddy is a popular Unitarian Universalist program that encourages communication between the generations! Many times it has been the foundation of wonderful friendships. It’s a great way for children and adults of our community to learn more about one another in a wonderfully fun way! Commitment: about 6 weeks on Sunday mornings at either/both services, dates flexible, during the winter. This job can be shared with another family or two! Email Robin Slaw.
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