Youth Curriculum, 9-20-26
Announcements:
Help Us Celebrate Our Teens! We are so proud of Lia, Zia, and Neviah, who completed their Certificated Foundations Class last week!
Their dedication to their spiritual growth is inspiring, and we are proud of the commitment they’ve shown along the way.
Please join us in celebrating and congratulating them! And a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who supported them through prayer, good vibes, encouragement, and financial support. Your love and support helped make this journey possible.
Youth & Family Needs You!
With school back in session and new families joining us on Sundays, we’re excited to welcome more young ones into our playful learning space!
Youth & Family will be reaching out to parents and members of our community who may enjoy being part of a rotation of adults who can play, connect, and grow alongside our youngest masters while their families participate in service.
You don’t need to be a teacher—just someone who enjoys children and wants to help create a warm, welcoming space where they can explore and be themselves.
Know someone who would be a great fit? Connect with Adrienne to explore how you can join us on a Sunday!
September Theme: Radical Embodiment
Week 3 Value: The Secrets We Share
Affirmation: I love the humanity of my body in all its glory.
Curriculum Overview:
In Week 3, youth and teens explore how messages about bodies can shape the way we see ourselves and others. Messages about appearance, ability, gender, aging, emotions, and what a body is “supposed” to be can sometimes create embarrassment, shame, or the feeling that something about us needs to be fixed.
This week, participants will begin identifying where these messages come from and consider whether those messages are actually true, helpful, or aligned with the way they want to treat themselves and others.
Through discussion, reflection, creative expression, and the “Message Makeover” activity, youth will practice replacing shame-based messages with language grounded in dignity, kindness, self-respect, and compassion. They will also explore gratitude for the many ways their bodies support them every day.
Spiritual Lesson:
There is nothing wrong with being human. Our bodies are not obstacles to spiritual life; they are part of our experience of living, learning, connecting, and expressing Spirit.
Science of Mind teaches that each person is an individualized expression of the Divine. That means we can challenge messages that tell us we are somehow less worthy because of how our bodies look, move, grow, or function.
Youth will learn that shame can influence the way people treat themselves and others, but shame does not have to define us. We can question inherited beliefs, choose more compassionate language, and recognize the inherent dignity of every person.
Rather than asking, “What is wrong with me?” we can learn to ask, “What have I been taught, and is it a belief I want to keep?”
Spiritual Practice: Body Gratitude & Compassionate Listening
Youth and teens will begin with a brief body-awareness practice, noticing their breathing and physical sensations without trying to change anything.
They’ll then be invited to silently consider:
“What is one thing my body helps me experience, learn, create, or enjoy?”
They may think about walking, laughing, hugging, dancing, creating, resting, tasting food, playing an instrument, communicating, thinking, or simply experiencing the world.
Participants will then offer their bodies a simple expression of gratitude:
“Thank you, body, for…”
Active Listening: Book / Music / Video
Younger Children (Ages 4–7)
- Book: Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
Celebrates the many ways human bodies can look and move while encouraging children to see differences as normal and worthy of respect. - Music: Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
A gentle invitation to notice and appreciate the beauty of the world and our experience within it. - Video: All Bodies Are Wonderful — Sesame Workshop
An accessible introduction to respecting differences and appreciating the ways bodies help us experience the world.
Children & Preteens (Ages 7–12)
- Book: The Boy Who Grew a Tree by Paula Fox
Provides a more nuanced entry point into ideas of identity, difference, and growing into oneself, creating opportunities to discuss how other people’s expectations can shape the way we see ourselves. - Music: Vienna by Billy Joel
Offers a thoughtful opportunity to discuss pressure, expectations, growing up, and the idea that we do not have to rush into someone else’s definition of who we should become. - Video: The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
An intellectually rich exploration of how simplified messages and assumptions can shape the way we see people. It can lead naturally into a discussion of the “stories” people are given about bodies and identity.
Teens (Ages 13–16)
- Reading: Selected excerpts from The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
Introduces the concept of radical self-love and examines the social messages that can teach people to feel shame about their bodies. - Music: Crown by Stormzy
Creates an opportunity to explore identity, self-worth, social expectations, and the pressure to measure ourselves against external standards. - Video: How Beauty Culture Hurts Us — TED-Ed
Provides a thoughtful starting point for examining how cultural standards of appearance are created, reinforced, and internalized.
Creative Expression Activity: Message Makeover
Youth and teens will explore common messages people receive about bodies and rewrite them into statements grounded in dignity and self-respect. Participants can create their own Message Makeover cards, posters, or digital-style quote graphics using words and images that represent dignity, compassion, and acceptance.
The activity reinforces that we don’t have to accept every message we receive. We can examine it, question it, and choose what aligns with our spiritual truth.
Connecting: Circle of Compassion
Youth will gather in a closing circle and complete the sentence:
“One message I want to remember about myself is…”
Group Response:
“Nothing about being human makes me less worthy of love, dignity, or belonging.”