UU PK RE
Since Z has done so well at the Petit Alliance French classes, I decided to try a new experiment. Usually when I go to church, I have dropped Z off in the nursery, where he eventually kicks up such a fuss they have to come get me out of the service to come calm him down. I thought maybe the organized activities of the French class were more congenial to him than the unstructured noise of the nursery, so today I signed him up for the pre-K Religious Education class.
This being Unitarian Universalism, that's not quite what it sounds like. As elgecko says, UU RE classes are not about "faith indoctrination," but rather "instruction on being respectful to other people, [and] on being champions for the dignity of other people." At Z's age this mainly consisted of sitting in a circle and listening while each child said their name and something they like to do. To facilitate this, they had "speaking stick" that they passed around the circle; whoever had the stick got to talk. The kids were surprisingly good about it.
The way it works is that the kids all sit in the sanctuary for the first part of the service--the introduction, lighting of the chalice, and first hymn. During the second hymn, the kids get up and go out to their RE classes. I escorted Z to the pre-K classroom and sat with him through the introductory exercise and the hello song. In an echo of the adult ceremony, the pre-K teacher lights a candle and has the children repeat (as well as they can), "we are Unitarian Universalists. We have heads that think, hearts that love, and hands that help." What a great thing to instill in children, no matter what your faith!
Z was very clingy and unsure at first, but he got very into a game that involved dancing to music and identifying colors, so I was able to sneak out. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, just to make sure he wouldn't suddenly notice my defection and throw a fit, but peeking through the door window, I could see that he was completely absorbed in the game. So I went off to the rest of the service with a clear conscience. When I went to pick him up afterwards, he was sitting at a little table completing a craft project that involved stringing colored pony beads on a piece of yarn.
This whole class-without-mommy business is a little harrowing, but it's kind of cool to feel like I'm entering the next stage of motherhood, and Z's entering the next stage of childhood. I feel a bit nostalgic over it, but mostly I'm very, very proud of him.
This being Unitarian Universalism, that's not quite what it sounds like. As elgecko says, UU RE classes are not about "faith indoctrination," but rather "instruction on being respectful to other people, [and] on being champions for the dignity of other people." At Z's age this mainly consisted of sitting in a circle and listening while each child said their name and something they like to do. To facilitate this, they had "speaking stick" that they passed around the circle; whoever had the stick got to talk. The kids were surprisingly good about it.
The way it works is that the kids all sit in the sanctuary for the first part of the service--the introduction, lighting of the chalice, and first hymn. During the second hymn, the kids get up and go out to their RE classes. I escorted Z to the pre-K classroom and sat with him through the introductory exercise and the hello song. In an echo of the adult ceremony, the pre-K teacher lights a candle and has the children repeat (as well as they can), "we are Unitarian Universalists. We have heads that think, hearts that love, and hands that help." What a great thing to instill in children, no matter what your faith!
Z was very clingy and unsure at first, but he got very into a game that involved dancing to music and identifying colors, so I was able to sneak out. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, just to make sure he wouldn't suddenly notice my defection and throw a fit, but peeking through the door window, I could see that he was completely absorbed in the game. So I went off to the rest of the service with a clear conscience. When I went to pick him up afterwards, he was sitting at a little table completing a craft project that involved stringing colored pony beads on a piece of yarn.
This whole class-without-mommy business is a little harrowing, but it's kind of cool to feel like I'm entering the next stage of motherhood, and Z's entering the next stage of childhood. I feel a bit nostalgic over it, but mostly I'm very, very proud of him.