Hello Everyone, Happy MAY!!! It is a time of activity to be sure, and I hope you are feeling balanced and joyful in the midst of it all.

Church Sundays and Other Important dates this month:

• May 3rd: Sparks and Flames social groups for 5th-8th meet at South Church from 7-9 for our end of year gathering. Youth should bring a flashlight, a favorite snack to share, and wear sneakers! RSVP required
• May 5th: Children’s Chapel meets at 9 and 11(don’t forget your UU7 mission forms and a few coins for the collection!). Coming of age meet at 11. Senior Youth group meet at 73 Court street at 4pm and there is a trip-prep potluck at 5:30 with parents. 7th grade OWL meets at the main church at 4p.
• May 11th: Families Tuugether final gathering of the year at South Church 4:30-8pm. (please RSVP) Kirsten Hunter will lead the parent discussion in the sanctuary exploring the idea of Curiosity in UU parenting.
• May 12th: Mother’s Day Flower sale! Normal* RE Program day.
• May 19th: Normal RE Program day. Coming of Age meets with Mentors today. OWL 7 final class – We will be meeting at the South Church Meeting House, and parents should plan to join us at 5pm for the closing.
• May 26th– Return to one service at 10am! Holiday programming for RE. Coming of Age Wilderness retreat this weekend. No senior youth group this week.
• June 2nd– Bridging Worship (Multigenerational service). All Children invited to participate in the Bridging ceremony!
• June 9th– Coming of Age worship– 8th grade youth share their Faith Statements. Young people invited to remain in service, but there is also optional RE programming downstairs.

[*Normal RE program day: Both services include Spirit Play and Theme workshops for grades 1-5. 11am worship also included: 6-7th grade religious exploration and Coming of Age for 8th grade.  OWL for 7th grade and Senior Youth meet on Sunday evenings at 4-5:30 pm.]

2019-2020 RE Program: Are you wondering about the RE program starting this fall? there’s a description here, on the RE website, take a look! We are recruiting team volunteers now, so let us know if you are excited about any particular opportunity to engage!

Family resources for May’s theme: A people of Curiosity*

These resources help parents as they engage the question: “What does it mean to be a family of Curiosity?” In addition to families using them at home, you might also use them to engage parents collectively, for instance in a Parent Circle that meets on Sunday afternoon or mid-week

Family Rituals-

• From Tapestry of Faith, Faithful Journeys, Taking It Home: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/journeys/session9/132491.shtml
• Share Curiosity- Gather as a family before an evening meal. Have each member of the family name something they are curious about or something they learned that day. If you like, light candles as you share. Consider saying candle-lighting words that affirm asking questions, for example, “We give thanks for our curiosity and the answers it brings.” Avoid editing or answering one another’s questions, correcting information, or exchanging dialogue until everyone has shared. Where possible, provide resources and encourage family members to seek answers themselves. It is okay to validate questioning as a process that is as important, if not more important than, determining answers. (To keep this activity popular, avoid pressuring family members to do research every time a “wondering” is shared.)
• Attention to Curiosity – Pay extra attention to times when your child asks questions, shows curiosity, or otherwise actively seeks to learn. Point out instances of your child acting faithfully in a way that affirms or promotes a free and responsible search for truth and meaning our  — their own search, or others’.

Stories To Read Together

• The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (Family Fletcher Series), by Dana Alison Levy. “Follow the lives of the four Fletcher boys, Sam, Jax, Eli, and Frog and their two Dads (the kids are all adopted) over the course of a school year. Each boy struggles with his own hurdles, from finding new interests, to difficulty with friends, to trying out a new school, but it all blends together perfectly in a show of everyday family life.” – review
• Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story, by Reem Faruqi  (Author), Lea Lyon (Illustrator).

Be Curious Together: From Tapestry of Faith, Faithful Journeys, Taking It Homehttps://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/journeys/session9/132491.shtml Choose a topic that interests family members or a question you would like to have answered. Spend an evening in a library or online, learning everything you can about it. Challenge each person to learn at least one new thing (or five, if you are ambitious).

Family Games for Curiosity-

• Twenty Questions– One person thinks of a person, place or thing, and the others try to guess by asking questions that can be answered yes or no. For example: “Is this a person?” / “Is the person alive?” / “Is it a character from a book?” / “Is it a man?” If someone guesses correctly before twenty questions have been asked and answered, it is their turn to think of a person, place, or thing for others to guess.
• I Spy — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m344VlHbmXM

Family Movie Night Ideas-

• Beauty and the Beast (2017) – “…the story encourages viewers to look beyond the superficial and to be compassionate, curious, humble, and generous. Director Bill Condon took care to make sure that this version had diverse supporting characters, including a gay LeFou (Josh Gad) — Gaston’s sidekick, who briefly dances with a man — and people of color not represented in the animated version.” – Common Sense Media
• Peep and the Big Wild World (3 ten-minute episodes for Preschoolers)
  • Also: Peep and the Big Wild World: A Peep of a Different Color
  • And: Peep’s Moon Mission narrated by Joan Cusak

Resources for Parents:

• The Problem with Curious George/Raising Race Conscious Children– A parent negotiates a reading of Curious George with her 3-year-old through the lens of racism.
• I Wonder: Tools to Inspire Curiosity, Reflection, and Empathy in Kids from the Doing Good Together website.
• There’s No Good Mother’s Day card for a not-good mother – The author is curious about what to do for her own and any mother who isn’t a good fit for the butterflies and schmaltzy sentiments for Mother’s Day.
• TED Talk: Don’t Shy Away from Ignorance – use it to better yourself. Becoming familiar with “I Don’t Know” as the start of an adventure.  Value questions and curiosity to transform a family, making ignorance a catalyst for change.