We divide our faith program offerings for young people by general age group. We tailor our offerings to the biggest questions and skills of each developmental stage. There are multi-generational, all-ages gatherings throughout the year for us to connect and learn together beyond these Sunday offerings.

Nursery

Nursery Care for infants and toddlers ages 0—4 years.
Children who turn four after August 31 remain in the nursery until the following September.

We offer nursery care at all in-person Sunday services.  The nursery is located at the back of the sanctuary.  It has a large viewing window into the Sanctuary, as well as a volume-adjustable speaker so adults can listen to the service.

Our Childcare Coordinator staffs this room alongside a team of volunteers. We ask that parents help fill any care need – if there are more than two infants or five toddlers, please be prepared to remain in the room and support.

Parents are required to check in with the nursery caregivers before leaving their child. Please provide the following:

1. your name and contact information;
2. your child’s supplies clearly marked with their names; for example, a diaper bag labelled with a sticker name tag;
3. any special instructions about diet or care should be communicated to the nursery staff, including bathroom use needs. Children with allergies may bring their own snack, if desired.  Otherwise, please refrain from sending your child with food.

Preschool and Elementary Grades

Preschool children must be four by September 1, we follow school district age guidelines.

This year, the religious exploration classrooms will be exploring the same themes that the adults will be exploring in the sanctuary during Sunday services and beyond. Given a monthly theme, our classrooms will be filled with games, stories, and hands-on activities which will engage the mind and help each child walk their own path of discovery around our worship themes of Vision, Sanctuary, Memory, Mystery, Possibility, Trust, Journey, Wholeness, Curiosity, and Beauty.

Throughout the year, we weave profound justice making into each Sunday in our elementary spaces. With the goal of increasing awareness, having the ability to respond to events within our community and beyond, and creating on-going partnerships between our congregation’s families and the plate partner organizations, we strive to create collaborative projects that will benefit the organizations and build future justice makers for our global community.

If you would like to explore some of the sources of our stories, games and activities, please visit the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Tapestry of Faith children’s curricula here.

Dedicated volunteers from the congregation team-teach, or guide, the class in their yearlong exploration.  All parents/guardians/adult family members are strongly encouraged to assist the teachers when you see that more adults may be needed.

Parents, please remember to check your child in at their classroom and to pick up your children from class promptly at the end of the service and stay to help clean up as needed.

Our Whole Lives for 1st/2nd and 4th/5th Grades

As part of our mission to provide age-appropriate, honest, and accurate information about sexuality, we are thrilled to offer the much acclaimed Our Whole Lives human sexuality curricula here at the Boise UU Fellowship. For the elementary grades, we will alternate every other year between the 1st-2nd grade curriculum and the 4th-5th grade curriculum.

During the 2018-19 program year we will be offering the Our Whole Lives for 4th and 5th grade program for the second time here in Boise! This is an 8-session program for learning about and discussing the physical and emotional changes of puberty. Participants will read It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris, and examine topics such as values and sexuality, communication and decision making. Each session includes a HomeLink – a homework activity for parents and children to complete together. This program will be facilitated by congregation members who will be trained and certified for this particular class.

More information about all of the Our Whole Lives program can be found here.

Junior High Youth

Youth in 6th-9th grade meet every Sunday morning during our second service and participate in one adult service on the first Sunday, or Justice Sunday, of the month. The goal of this youth group is to create community and respect for one another through weekly discussions and lessons taken from a variety of curricula through the lens of the monthly themes the entire congregation is exploring. One source of curricula is the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Tapestry of Faith series of youth. All programs are designed to deepen youth’s understanding of the dynamic, fascinating, and varied world in which they live. We seek to broaden their knowledge of humanity and embolden their spiritual search.

On Justice Sundays, the first Sunday of the month, we have “Youth Sundays”. The sermon topics are justice oriented and “youth friendly” and help the youth understand the role of the Unitarian Universalist faith in our lives. The Junior High youth will provide all the Sunday volunteer duties that support the Sunday service (e.g. lighting the chalice, collecting offerings, greeting and handling the microphones).  Jr. High youth will also attend the service during this Sunday.  Youth Sundays are a long-standing tradition here that have increased the exposure of youth in our congregation to social justice sermons and the work done around justice making, as well as giving them a strong sense of what a Unitarian Universalist service is all about.

It’s important that every family creates a profile on KidCheck and then signs their middle school youth in at our check-in station in the north (elementary) vestibule on Sunday when you arrive. All children, infant through senior high, must be registered here at BUUF to ensure their safety while attending services and to keep families “in the loop” for communications about all things happening at BUUF. For more information about registering your youth, please click here.

The Coming of Age program is offered every other year, alternating with the Our Whole Lives for 7th-9th graders (please see below).  Coming of Age will be offered this program year, 2021-2022.  If you have a child who is interested, please contact Emmie Schlobohm and plan on attending one of our upcoming Parent/guardian Orientations to be held on Sunday, August 19 and Sunday, September 9.

The Coming of Age program is an important rite of passage for young Unitarian Universalists entering 7th-9th grades.  This program invites our youth to be more active as a participant in the general congregation as they grow into young adulthood.  Youth interested in participating in the Coming of Age program will be matched with adult mentors.  Mentors and youth are encouraged to spend time together getting to know one another through the year and work together at a community service project.  Our Minister, Sara LaWall, and our Director of Religious Exploration, Emmie Schlobohm, will also meet with the youth and their mentors once a month to discuss spiritual topics and answer questions regarding the writing of a faith statement or personal credo that is presented to the congregation in May.

As a culmination of the Coming of Age program, the Jr. High youth also make a pilgrimage to Boston, Massachusetts.  Their fundraising efforts are led by enthusiastic parents.  The trip is led by the Director of Religious Exploration with the able assistance of several adult chaperones from our congregation.  All Jr. High aged youth are eligible to participate with the understanding that taking part in the accompanying year’s Coming of Age program is a prerequisite.  The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is located in Boston, along with many important sites in UU and US history.  The trip offers youth the opportunity to get a sense of the larger movement of which we are a part and appreciate how UU history is intertwined with US history.

Our Whole Lives – a Sexuality Curriculum (OWL) written by Pam Wilson, a nationally known sexuality educator and speaker will be presented again in the 2019-2020 program year to our 7th-9th graders.  Trained facilitators teach this 25-session class. Class schedules have varied throughout the year. We will set the schedule in the fall of 2019. Youth may not drop into this class.  They must be registered and have parental consent to take part.

For more information about our OWL programs here, please click here.

More national information about all of the Our Whole Lives program can be found here.

Senior High Youth

Senior High youth meet weekly during our second service on Sunday mornings.  This group is youth-driven with an emphasis on social justice, community service, and connecting with our congregation and youth in our region. We draw from various UU curricula and other programs for our lessons and discussions. We strive to build community through Sunday morning discussions, attending and participating in Sunday adult services, community field trips, social events, community service opportunities, and regional youth conferences.

Senior High Bridging – Each spring, youth who are 17-18 yrs. old and/or graduating from High School have the opportunity to participate in Sr. High Bridging activities and a Sunday service that honors them as they pass from youth to young adults in the congregation.  If an eligible youth is interested in bridging, they can speak to Emmie, the Director of Religious Exploration.  Watch for information in the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship newsletter, our website, Facebook pages, and Orders of Service for announcements and information about our Senior High Bridging.

Our Whole Lives for 10th-12th grades

We are thrilled to be offering this series of workshops for the first time here at the Boise UU Fellowship this coming fall 2018! Using a comprehensive approach, this program helps senior-high youth gain the knowledge, life principles and skills they need to express their sexuality in life-enhancing ways. Includes a parent orientation and 12 sessions. For more information about Our Whole Lives here and nationally, please click here.