SPIRITUAL PARENTING

With the most active children attending a religious education class less than 50 hours a year, it becomes clear that parents are the primary religious educators for their children. We support parents in their role as "resident theologians" and we have many recommended websites available.

Covenant with Parents

As a partner in the work of religious education, parents of children participating in RE programs agree:

• To volunteer time to the RE program
• To be present on Sunday mornings
• To make an annual financial pledge to UUCA
• To stay informed by reading Cliffhanger & mailings
• To respect starting and ending times of classes
• To strive for regular participation
• To communicate with teachers, RE Council & staff

Child Supervision Guidelines

1. Board of Trustees acknowledges that parents are ultimately responsible for their minor children at all times.
2. During designated periods, UUCA assumes responsibility for children in place of parents. These periods include during RE classes or at any other time the child is checked into childcare. Parents are expected to meet their children immediately after RE.
3. At all other times, a parent or designated adult is expected to be responsible for children and youth. Based on the age and maturity of the child, adults should exercise reasonable judgment about the extent of direct supervision necessary.
4. To ensure the safety of everyone, children, youth, and their parents are asked to abide by the following guidelines:
   

   • All children on the playground should be under direct adult supervision. Older children are expected to be mindful and considerate of younger children at all times. Violence, either in words or actions, is unacceptable and will result in the child being asked to leave the playground.
   • In compliance with national fire codes, no stairs or exits may be blocked at any time.
     
   • Children should not use the stairs going up to Cliff Valley Way, or be in any parking area, unless they are under the direct supervision of an adult. Sliding down the railings on any stairway is not permitted.
   • Inside the building, children and youth (and adults!) are expected to use "walking feet and indoor voices" at all times.
5. All adults in the community accept the responsibility for the care and nurture of the children in our midst. All adults are encouraged to model and encourage safe behaviors. Any concerns should be reported to Pat Kahn as soon as possible.

Playground Rules

1. The playground is for UUCA and affiliated program use only.
2. Children must be under adult supervision at all times.
3. Please be courteous and use common sense when playing on this playground. Equipment should be used as intended.
4. This playground is designed for small children.
5. No climbing on trees, rails, fences, or wires.
6. Plants and property are for everyone’s enjoyment. Please treat them with respect.
7. Play safely. Older children should be mindful of the safety of younger children

Classes for Parents

Being A UU Parent -- April and May Classes

Building on the success and interest in the "Parents as Resident Theologians" class that met in Feb/March, Pat Kahn will offer a four-week series called "Being a UU Parent" on Sunday afternoons from 12:30-2 pm on April 13, 20, 27, and May 4.

Please register for the class by April 6 by emailing Pat at pkahn@uuca.org; childcare is available by reservation at least a week in advance at uuca.org. Bring your own lunch!

WEBSITES

Tell us about YOUR favorites!

Unitarian Universalist related:

• Phil’s Little Blog on the Prairie is the blog of Rev. Phil Lund, Director of Lifespan Programs for the Prairie Star District.
• Caring Corner Resources for religious school teachers looking for curriculum ideas, or parents looking for inspiration, or couples looking for interfaith resources
• HUUmans on the Web, the web place for Unitarian Universalists homeschoolers and kindred spirits
• REC-Room has RE curriculum and resource information
• "Between Sundays", part of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, helping parents answer kids religious questions
• Partner Church Council, fostering and supporting partner church relationships between North American congregations and congregations in all other countries where partnering sought and welcomed.
• Project Harvest Hope is working to create a regional response to the new challenges of globalization and social renewal facing Transylvanian villages.
• UU Ministry for Earth (formerly the Seventh Principle Project) is an affiliate organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association whose mission is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists by affirming and promoting the Seventh Principle of the UUA, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."
• Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography, an online biography of famous UUs from the UUA
• RE games and resources from First Parish Universalist Church in Stoughton , Massachussetts.
• Spirit Play, Unitarian Universalist adaptation of Jerome Berryman's Godly Play for Montessori based RE
• Unitarian Universalist Association, for Religious Education, Church of the Larger Fellowship, and a wealth of UU information including a special section for the UU Family Network.
• UUWorld, monthly periodical of the UUA, including a section each month for kids called UU& Me.

Other favorites related to Parenting:

• Putting Family First is a grassroots, community wide organization, raising awareness about finding balance in our over-scheduled lives co-founded by UU Bill Doherty.
• Raffi - Child Honouring Home of Raffi's award-winning music and the global Child Honouring movement.
• The vision of the Virtues Project is to serve humanity by supporting the moral and spiritual development of people of all cultures, by helping them to remember who they really are and to live by their highest values.
• Veteran journalist and UU Meg Cox offers fresh insights and resources on contemporary family traditions.
• Family Communication Inc was founded in 1971 by Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”).
• Spirituality and Practice created by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, is devoted to resources for spiritual journeys. The site's name reflects a basic understanding: spirituality and practice are the two places where all the world's religions and spiritual paths come together. With respect for the differences among them, we celebrate what they have in common.
• Mindseed offers articles and resources for developing culturally competent children and families.
• The International Institute for Humane Education examines the challenges facing our planet, from human oppression and animal exploitation to materialism and ecological degradation. It explores how we might live with compassion and respect for everyone: not just our friends and neighbors, but all people; not just our own dogs and cats, but all animals; not just our own homes, but also the earth itself, our ultimate home. Humane educators inspire people to live examined, intentional lives so that what they do today helps the planet, animals and all people tomorrow.
• Spiritual Parenting - the web site of Mimi Doe and the Spiritual Parenting newsletter
• Adopting.Com provides a comprehensive index of adoption related sites
• Pact's goal is to create and maintain the internet's most comprehensive site addressing issues for adopted children of color, offering informative articles on related topics as well as profiles of triad members and their families, links to other internet resources, and a book reference guide with a searchable database.
• Transracial Adoption resources and articles
• ChildSpirit Institute, nurturing the spirituality of children and adults
• Pagan Parenting Page, articles, rituals, stories and songs and more
• Holidays on the Net, a beautifully done collection of multimedia holiday celebrations...More than just works of art, though, each holiday celebration also offers a wealth of information about the holiday, including its history and holiday-related activities
• Interfaith Calendar, primary sacred times for world religions
• Workshop Rotation Sunday School, Workshop Rotation website
• Children's Ministry, "Changing the lives of children together", a Christian Resource with articles of interest to UUs
• Family Ministry, "Empowering Through Faith", a Christian Resource with articles of interest to UUs
• Faith-at-Home, ideas for exploring and enjoying faith with kids, managed by an Episcopalian
• Search Institute, an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. To accomplish this mission, the institute generates and communicates new knowledge, and brings together community, state, and national leaders. Includes Yes Magazine and Assets
• Youthworker, "for in-depth articles addressing the personal and professional needs of youth workers in the church", a Christian Resource with articles of interest to UUs
• http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/bibliotherapy.htm Internet School Library Media Center 's (ISLMC) Bibliotherapy Page. You'll find bibliographies of books, articles and other information on using children's books to help youngsters deal with problems.
• The Dougy Center’s mission is to provide support in a safe place where children, teens and their families grieving a death can share their experiences as they move through their grief process.
• The Centering Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education and resources for the bereaved.
• Earth Scouts is a new national program developed by Earth Charter Communities USA that fosters respect and caring for the community of life for boys and girls from 3 to 15 years of age and engages them in actions.
• The mission of Scouting for All is to advocate on behalf of its members and supporters for the restoration of the traditionally unbiased values of Scouting as expressed and embodied in the Scout Oath & the Scout Law, and to influence the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to serve and include as participating members ALL youth and adult leaders, regardless of their spiritual belief, gender, or sexual orientation
• Prevent Child Abuse Georgia provides education and resources to help adults prevent child abuse.
• Becoming WonderWise means being open to learning about the humanity of children--what they bring into the world and how they grow. It means becoming more trusting of one's intuition as a parent and accepting the uncertainty and magic in all relationships. Parents are treated here as intelligent and caring human beings capable of making their own decisions about child rearing.

Gay/lesbian parenting:

• Youth Pride, a place where coming-out is shared, celebrated, and safe.
• MEGA Family Project, a nonpartisan, statewide organization dedicated to educating, empowering, and strengthening the LGBT community. Through our programs and outreach activities we hope to build a stronger, more cohesive community to advance LGBT equality in Georgia .
• COLAGE (Children of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere) engages, connects, and empowers people to make a better place for children of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents and families
• Family Pride Coalition, equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents and their families
• Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, working to ensure safe and effective schools for all students

Special Needs related:

• Embracing the Spirit of the Child, inspirations for parents, caregivers, and faith communities involved with children with special needs and challenges.
• Interfaith Disability Connection,
• All Kinds of Minds, helping students who struggle with learning measurably improve their success in school and life by providing programs that integrate educational, scientific and clinical expertise.
• LD Online is the leading website on learning disabilities, learning disorders and differences for parents and teachers.
• Parent to Parent of Georgia, providing support and information to parents of children with disabilities
• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, part of a broad Federal effort to improve results for children with disabilities. Includes a wonderful fact sheets about individual disabilities.

Green/sustainability/anti-commercialism:

• www.timeday.org Take Back Your Time is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment.
• New American Dream, helping Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice.
• Turn Off Your TV, support for eliminating or reducing TV time
• Seeds of Simpilicty, organizing and educating for voluntary simplicity
• The Lion and Lamb Project, working to stop the marketing of violence to children
• Alternatives for Simple Living, "living simply so that others may simply live"
• Freecycle, a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.

Education related sites:

• Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. Kohn has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores."
• Best of Homeschooling has many resources.
• Educators for Social Responsibility, creating schools where young people want to be and teachers want to teach
• Rethinking Schools, improving education in classrooms and schools, and working to help shape reform throughout the public school system in the United States .
• Susan O'Hanian, with comments on standardized testing and No Child Left Behind
• Young Children, the journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children

Social Justice related:

• The Freechild Project provides resources, training, and consultation to individuals and organizations interested in youth voice, youth-led activism, meaningful youth involvement, and youth-adult partnerships.
• Peace Corps for Kids, where kids can join their pal, Traveler, as she explores the globe and learns about making a difference. Come on in to the home of adventure and service. program designed to encourage young people ages 5-15 to become peacemakers dedicated to living in the spirit of the words May Peace Prevail on Earth.
• Interfaith Children’s Movement of Metro Atlanta (ICMma) is an interfaith advocacy movement focused on the well-being of children in metropolitan Atlanta .
• Read to Feed is about global education, awareness, and action. Children are motivated to read books so they can help impoverished people around the world
• UNICEF, supporting child survival, protection and development worldwide through education, advocacy, and fundraising
• Hands on Atlanta, helping individuals, families and corporate and community groups find flexible volunteer opportunities at more than 400 service organizations and schools.
• Kids Voting USA, is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that teaches students about the concepts of citizenship, civic responsibility, democracy and the importance of political participation.
• Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center's web project to fight hate and promote tolerance
• National Association for Humane and Environmental Education, offers, among other things, humane-themed publications for teachers and students. Its kid's publication, KIND News, also talks about good character, respect for natural habitats, good citizenship, and peaceful conflict resolution.
• The World Peace Prayer Society, a program dedicated to nurturing inner peace and global awareness in children around the world.
  

• Kinderart's large selection of free art lessons
• Crizmac, Art & Cultural Education Materials, Inc. which publishes curriculum resources and offers a wide selection of folk art from around the world
• Children's Music Network, connecting people who celebrate the positive power of music in children's lives by exchanging ideas, visions, and music
• Word Search to make your own word search and other puzzles
• Kidsinmind rates most popular movies in terms of violence, sex and nudity, and profanity.