Our Children
We are committed to our community's children and youth whether they come with their families or on their own.
We teach openness and tolerance at Shawnee Mission UU Church and practice this in our classrooms. Our classrooms often include children from a variety of backgrounds, learning styles, and families. Our goal is to include all children in a welcoming and open atmosphere. We work closely with our children to practice acceptance by teaching and living our first principle — we believe that each and every person is important.
The Unitarian Universalist faith doesn't give children absolutes – ours is a religion that embraces paradox, complexity, and diversity. Our faith doesn't pretend to give children all the answers to life's big questions – we put faith in our own ability to explore the unknown together – we don't pretend to take away the mystery.
Religious Education at Shawnee Mission UU Church is designed to foster independent thinking, to give kids the tools they need to make up their own minds about life's big questions. We do this by providing a foundation in the history and principles of our own religious movement and the stories, beliefs, theologies, and practices of the world's great religions and great thinkers. We help children develop strong values and a sense of respect and acceptance for difference.
UUs want their children to stay open to their own inner knowing. We want children to trust themselves, the world we bring them into, and ultimately to take responsibility to make our world more trustworthy. We want them to grow up knowing that it matters that they are alive and that they can and do make a difference.
SUNDAY MORNINGS
Most Sundays, all children, 0 to 18 years old will start in the sanctuary and then go straight to their respective classrooms after Time For All Ages (children younger than Pre-K age will go to the Nursery). They remain in programming until Service in the Sanctuary has concluded, around 11:30am. Like Sunday School, we will do our UU rituals, mindfulness, socialization, games, nature play and more!
During whole church services (the first Sunday of each month), children will stay for the entire service.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES
6:00-8:00 p.m. for 2nd through 12th grade, with childcare for 1st grade and under. Wednesday night activities feature games, outdoor play, nature mindfulness, and socialization.
Religious Education Curriculum
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Learners from Pre-K through Middle School work with Soul Matters theme-based curriculum. This curriculum provides ideas for experiential learning, hands-on engagement, our Unitarian Universalist spiritual values, and it is adaptable for all learning styles.
Each month teachers and students go on a journey to discover how to look at life through a variety of themes. For example, one monthly theme was Vision. What does it mean to be a people of vision? We look at vision from the angles of how it fits in with our UU traditions, the visions our founders had for our faith, and vision in terms of justice.
We explore one theme per month. If your student misses out on a Sunday, it is easy for them to be connected in the conversation when they return.
Each session allows facilitators to draw from stories, music, media resources, movement, meditation, our Unitarian Universalist Association’s Tapestry of Faith resources, and more.
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This program is designed for high school youth. Originating at SMUUCh, it is offered at Unitarian Universalist churches across the nation.
Students spend a year articulating their faith through ritual, mentoring, service work, and creation of a credo.
All high school youth participate in the curriculum the alternating years that it is offered. For most students, this program ends in a trip to Boston where we see first hand where our faith’s roots began.
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Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education curricula for use in both secular settings and faith communities.
Drawing on our Unitarian principles that each person is important, deserves compassion and acceptance, and should be supported in their search for truth this program provides sexuality education for students Kindergarten through High School.
Trained facilitators work alongside families (with the understanding that parents are their children’s primary sexuality educators) to explore in an age-appropriate way correct terminology, ideas of consent, sexuality in media, gender identification, sexual preference, healthy relationships, body acceptance, and respect.
Religious Education Policies
We offer Religious Education for all ages on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. The policy for indoor activities is as follows:
No one shall enter the Religious Education hallway or PreK room unless you are a staff person, volunteer or child in that class. The safety of our congregants and children in our care are our top priority.
All volunteers that interact with children have had a background check.