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.

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. The registration form is at the bottom of this page!!

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.

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.

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. We are following the Faithful Journey curriculum as we deepen our monthly themes with an exploration of how to be Unitarian Universalist every day.

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. Program Registration includes information about volunteering.

Parents, please remember 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 K-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 K-2nd grade curriculum and the 4th-5th grade curriculum. K-2nd OWL is being held this autumn, 2024 with registration closing mid-September.

During the autumn of 2025 program year we will be offering the Our Whole Lives for 4th and 5th grade program. 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.

Junior High Youth

Youth in 6th-12th grade meet every Sunday morning during our service and attend in one adult service a month. The goal of this youth group is to create community and respect for one another through weekly discussions and lessons taken from the Building Bridges curricula through the lens of the monthly themes the entire congregation is exploring. This year we will be taking a world religions deep dive as we follow the Building Bridges curriculum, which can be found here. Each month we will explore a different religion of the world. This program is designed to deepen youth’s understanding of the dynamic, fascinating, and varied world in which they live.

On Multi-Gen Sundays, we invite children and youth to remain in the service. Our goal is to help the youth build a connection to the community as a whole and build an understanding of the role Unitarian Universalist faith plays in our lives. The Junior High youth are strongly encouraged to participate in Sunday volunteer duties that support the Sunday service (e.g. lighting the chalice, collecting offerings, greeting and handling the microphones).  

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 next program year, 2025-2026.  If you have a child who is interested, please fill out this form to be contacted when further information (orientation dates, welcome letter, schedule) is available here.

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) will be presented in the spring of 2025 to our 7th-9th graders.  Trained facilitators teach this 25-session class. Class schedules have varied throughout the year. 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 to visit the OWL page of our website. If you have a child who is interested, please fill out this form to be contacted when further information (orientation dates, welcome letter, schedule).

Senior High Youth

Senior High Youth, 10th through 12th grade, are invited to join the High School program at this time.

With youth interest and helpers, we may add a separate monthly meeting specific to this age group that will focus on building 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 Senior High Bridging activities and a Sunday service that honors them as they pass from youth to young adults in the congregation.  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. If you have a youth who is interested, please fill out this form to be contacted when further information is available.

Our Whole Lives for 10th-12th grades

We anticipate to be offering this series of workshops this the spring of 2026. 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.

Program Registration

We require program registration for those who have joined us three or more times. For safety protocol, we ask that all newcomers and visitors complete day-of registrations and hand these to the RE Helpers before class begins (mid-service) – this provides contact information that we will keep on hand in case of emergency. Here is a preview of that Day-Of Registration form.

Google Forms Registration

Direct link to google form: https://forms.gle/tBcjvdqc4swmkhNJ8