Youth Curriculum, 4-27-25
Announcements:
CSL Summer Teen Camp dates are officially posted. Teens 13-18 can begin the registration process now until June 1st. Visit our website under the Youth & Family Teen Program for information on teen camp, registration, and scholarships. Check in with Adrienne to arrange a family one-on-one Teen Camp info session with teen advisor Ocean Laura and connect with other teens going to camp.
Would you like to contribute your time, talents, or resources to help co-create and support the new CSL garden being started by our youth? Reach out to our Youth Director, Adrienne Cherry, and let her know how you’d like to be part of this growing vision!
We’re excited to announce that our amazing Youth and Family teens will be offering childcare by donation during our 20th Anniversary Party on May 3rd. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to enjoy the party while supporting our teens in developing leadership, responsibility, and service.
Curriculum Overview:
This week’s lesson invites youth to discover their inner regenerative power by exploring how rest, renewal, and change help them grow stronger and more resilient. Through storytelling, movement, meditation, and mindful reflection, kids will learn to see challenges as stepping stones toward their highest potential.
April Monthly Theme: Fertilizing Our Future
Week 4 Value: Embracing the Power of Re-Generativity
Affirmation: “I embrace my regenerative power, renewing my potential with each cycle of life.”
Spiritual Lesson:
This week, youth learn that re-generativity is their superpower—they can grow stronger by taking time to rest, reflect, and care for themselves. Through creative activities, they explore how to turn challenges into opportunities for renewal and begin to understand that personal growth is a continuous, beautiful cycle.
Mindfulness: “Inner Spring Garden” Visualization
Youth participate in a calming practice that uses garden imagery to help children visualize clearing out old energy and making space for new growth. It encourages mental and emotional regeneration through imagination and breath.
Active Listening: Book/Music/Video
- Book: “The Tree in Me” by Corinna Luyken
- Music: “Growing Pains” by Kehlani
- Book: “Thank You, Earth” by April Pulley Sayre (younger class)
- Music: “The Garden Song (Inch by Inch)” by David Mallett (younger class)
Creative Expression: “Renewal Journal Wheel”
Youth create a “wheel of growth,” drawing four sections to represent areas where they feel tired, challenged, energized, and inspired. They reflect on how they can rest or reset in each area.
Lessons in Action: “Seed to Tree Movement Game”
Youth curl up like a seed, then slowly stretch and grow into trees, swaying, bending with the wind, and “dropping” seeds to grow new trees around them. Then as a full grown tree, they sway to the rhythm of music and stop in a strong tree pose when the music stops.
Connecting: “Growing Together: A Four-Bed Garden for Service”
Youth work together to plan a garden for CSL, which will become a community-connecting activity and outreach project.