Family resources for September: ‘We are a community of vision’– one of the wonderful things about theme based church is that there are multiple opportunities for parents and children to explore a specific idea throughout each month. This means there are also lots of opportunities for ideas and inspirations we come across on Sundays at South Church to find their way into our lives throughout the week.

This month, as we explore the theme, think about ways you might take those conversations home to your dinner tables, night time rituals, car drives, and morning routines.  Here’s a small framework to whet your palate, let me know if you have any great family moments!

[From Soul Matters RE Packet:] Playing off our monthly theme question of “What does it mean to be a people of Vision?”, we invite parents to ask “What does it mean to be a parent of Vision” or “What does it mean to be a family of Vision?”

As you use these resources to engage these questions, keep in mind some additional ways to use them with other parents or your church community:  

• Read it and reflect with those in your family.
• Share and discuss them with other parents or another family.
• Use them in a Parent Circle that meets on Sunday afternoon or mid-week.
• Use them at a Wonderful Wednesday night that includes dinner, spiritual practice and activities on the theme, including times together as families, and separate as kids and adults. Be sure to gather at the end for a goodnight hug and lullaby!

Video:

• TED talk: World Peace Game with John Hunter https://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game

Resources for Visioning

• Create a Vision Board:
  • Here’s a personalized book as a guide: Dream Big Book for Kids http://dreambigcollection.com/kids. ($$)
  • Or, Watch this video for a DIY version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddI5WkdKt1c
• Creating a Center-Peace: http://spiralmontessorimama.blogspot.com/2008/01/creating-center-peace.html  Your children may enjoy being asked to make this very special contribution to the family meal. Don’t wait for special holidays to set the table in a sacred manner.

Book

• World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements, by John Hunter (Author)

“In John Hunter’s classroom, students fearlessly tackle global problems and discover surprising solutions by playing his groundbreaking World Peace Game. These kids—from high school all the way down to fourth grade, in schools both well-funded and under resourced—take on the roles of politicians, tribal leaders, diplomats, bankers, and military commanders. Through battles and negotiations, standoffs and summits, they strive to resolve dozens of complex, seemingly intractable real-world challenges, from nuclear proliferation to tribal warfare, financial collapse to climate change. In World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements, Hunter shares the wisdom he’s gleaned from over thirty years teaching the World Peace Game.” – Amazon

Articles:

• Back to School Rituals – a vision for a family spirituality -Getty ready for school is more than shopping for supplies.
• Celebrating John Murray Day (Sept. 30)- Ideas for families for telling the story of the founder of Universalism in America and the vision of a loving God.
• NPR: The Key to Raising Happy Kids -William Stixrud and Ned Johnson in their new book, The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives. This article offers strategies for helping your children find their own vision for their lives.
• Learning to Raise Lifelong UU’s -UU World Article by Barbara Wells Ten Hove. “But I have a vision that soon, when a UU group is asked to show how many were raised UU, more than half will lift up their hands in joy—no longer strangers but companions on a shared journey of building a better world.”
• Do You Have to be an Activist to be a Unitarian Universalist?  Six leaders reflect on activism and religious identity in a racially and politically charged era.

Movies for families about vision

• World Peace Game “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements is a one-hour documentary on John Hunter, a fourth-grade teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia and his students as they participate in Hunter’s remarkable educational exercise the World Peace Game. The film has played in festivals around the world, has been broadcast in several countries and was aired to over 85% of the US on public television between 2012-2014. It also supports Hunter’s World Peace Game Foundation work, and has had special screenings at the Pentagon, the United Nations, the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festivals, and several universities, educational conferences and schools throughout the world.” – Vimeo
• Field of Dreams (PG) Baseball film starring Kevin Costner. “Families can talk about dreams. How do you know when to follow a vision that seems crazy or foolish? What thoughts go into weighing the risks of certain choices? Is there a way to know for sure whether an idea is a good one?” – Common Sense Media review
• Dream Big; Engineering Our World -“Parents need to know that Dream Big: Engineering Our World is a 42-minute STEM-themed IMAX documentary about how engineers are responsible for important technological innovations that propel us into the future. The film highlights working engineers from different backgrounds, most of them women. They work on a variety of projects, from building earthquake-proof structures to foot bridges in developing countries. Viewers will also meet a young engineer whose love of STEM began in an after-school robotics club. The documentary — which is narrated by Jeff Bridges and was produced in partnership with the American Society of Civil Engineers and presented by the Bechtel Corporation — encourages young viewers to be curious, see how pivotal engineering is to the future, and understand why the world needs more engineers.”  – Common Sense Media

Explore! Enjoy! Share what you learn!!  ~See you soon!

September: Vision
October: Sanctuary
November: Memory
December: Mystery
January: Possibility
February: Trust
March: Journey
April: Wholeness
May: Curiosity