Youth Curriculum, 10-1-23

Announcements:

Youth & Family is hosting our annual Sunday afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch. Families will meet at Hunter Family Farm on Sunday, October 15th at 1 pm and enjoy fall harvest fun with a corn maze, hay labyrinth, wagon rides, jumping pillow, ATV adventure, and more. Costumes are welcome; kids get hot cocoa or cider and a special gift. Look for details in your email.

Curriculum Overview

Youth gain perspective playing with paradox. They discover how they can hold to opposing ideas which allows them more creative freedom. 

2023 Theme: Living Out Loud!
October Monthly Theme: Playing with Paradox
Week 1 Value: The Paradox Mindset  

Affirmation: I welcome new ideas and different perspectives.

Spiritual Lesson: The Paradox Mindset  

As children learn to be in the world, they often observe adults having difficulty resolving differences. They may even witness what seems to be contradictory behavior within their family. Having a paradoxical mindset allows us the freedom to simultaneously hold two opposing ideas in our minds without the need to “solve” a problem. When we realize there is no problem to solve, we can begin to be more creative, flexible, and productive.

We can help train our children to adopt a paradoxical mindset. This fosters understanding and acceptance of differences, allowing them to thrive within the paradox and continue to create and express freely with an expanded view.   

Active Listening: Book/Music/Video

Book: A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel

Movement: We do animal yoga, pretending to be the animals in our book

Music: Perspective (live) – CCV Music (lyrics)

Creative Expression –  Exploring Paradox

Youth discuss how easy or difficult it is for them to accept different perspectives within each of their communities and define ways to be more welcoming of ideas and perspectives in those community circles.

Youth pick a different animal from the story to draw. They draw the scene and the stone from their animal’s perspective and present their animal’s viewpoint.

Connecting/Spiritual Practice: Shifting Our Perspective  

In a circle, youth trade the drawings they made earlier with someone else and share a different animal’s perspective than the one they started with. We have a conversation about how the differences in perspectives are all correct and how our perspectives can shift based on where we are in our lives.

Closing Treatment: I embrace different ideas. I am open. I see with fresh eyes.