Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

From the Asst. Minister of Religious Education

October 25, 2009
Rev. Dan Harper

On one recent Sunday, the preschool children (Red group) danced the Hokey-Pokey together, and did other creative movement activities.

The Yellow group (grades K–1) have been learning about our church. They have taken a tour of the church buildings, and they have been introduced to some of the people who work at our church. On one Sunday, they made small flaming chalices out of playdough, and then their teachers put candles in each chalice and lit the candles for the children to admire.

The Green group (grades 2–3) got to know each other one week by telling about their favorite sports, including everything from soccer to gymnastics to baseball. More recently, they made a huge timeline showing the history of human communication from cave paintings to electronic communications.

The Blue group (grades 4–5) have been building a time machine. This machine, with interchangeable control panels, will allows the children to travel back in time to meet famous Unitarians and Universalists of the past. This group has had up to 16 kids in Room 9, and it's amazing how well they get along in spite of the crowded conditions.

The Purple group (middle school grades) have been focusing on building community. Community-building activities have included lighting the chalice together each week, singing together, and carving jack-o-lanterns together. The jack-o-lanterns turned out well, and will be on display as long as the pumpkins hold out.

The 11:00 Sunday school class (grades 1–8) spent three weeks learning about John Murray, one of the founders of Universalism in North America. You can read detailed accounts of their classes at my teaching diary.