Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Please look for the Yearly Meeting Packet to arrive in your meeting at the beginning of April, a bit later than the CYPYM Group expected. Hopefully your meeting will find time between April and June to teach four lessons on the testimony of Integrity, to get children excited about going to Residential Yearly Meeting, and to make a banner for the July 17-22 sessions at Allentown.
Special programs for children (infants–sixth grade) are being prepared for the Saturday March 24, 2001 Yearly Meeting Sessions. While adults are considering the 2001-2002 budget and nominations, revising Faith and Practice, and thinking about what we are called to as a Yearly Meeting, children will be going on field trips, playing games, making crafts, meeting new friends, and learning lessons related to the theme of Integrity. While adults listen Saturday night to John Punshon, a noted Quaker author and scholar, the children will have a program of their own. There will be child care for infants and toddlers, and classes for 3’s and 4’s, Kg. & 1st grade, 2nd & 3rd grade, 4th-6th grade. You may make copies of the registration forms mailed with the printed newsletter for interested parents (or download the form as a Word document), and ask that one be returned to the Religious Education Office for each child by March 12, 2001.
Are you the person who should be receiving this Newsletter in the mail? If you are not receiving it, please let us know.
Marty Smith, editor
martys@pym.org
They Could Do It!
Forty-five Religious Educators from 25 different meetings gathered at West Chester Meeting on January 13. They came with open minds and hearts to affirm that They Could Do It! Volunteer leaders, from Radnor, Willistown, Abington, and Schulykill meetings, inspired participants at You Can Do It! Day with their experience, knowledge, and commitment to the Spirit. They led Workshops on teaching First-day school, leading young people, teaching adults, and Quaker parenting. Participants seemed to want still more time to learn about teaching high school FDS and Quaker parenting.
Special-Needs Conference for First-day Teachers
On Saturday, April 21, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Religious Education will host First-day school teachers and religious educators at Woodstown Meeting. There will be a keynote speaker in the morning followed by a simulation of what it feels like to be a child with one of the following clusters of characteristics:
- Impulsivity/aggression/ hyperactivity
- Withdrawal/ hypersensitivity/ non-verbal/ other developmental needs
Workshops in the morning will address the spiritual needs of these children (and teachers) and ways to sensitize other students to their needs. Workshops in the afternoon will suggest adaptations to the available curricula and the resources available to meet the needs of children with these behavioral attributes.
We expect that the keynote speaker, simulation leader, and workshop leaders all will be Friends with education background or experience in Special Education, First-day School, or Friends School teaching. Child care will be available, but you must register by April 17. A registration form with directions is enclosed; call Marty Smith for details (215) 241-7008 or e-mail her at martys@pym.org.
Curricula Development at Retreat Center
Friends General Conference Religious Education Committee is again holding a mini-RE conference at Pendle Hill, April 6-8, 2001. This group will be helping First-day teachers write, develop, and use Quaker curricula. Two experienced religious educators, Marsha Holliday and Robin Wells, will be leading the weekend event. See enclosed flyer or contact Michael Gibson, FGC RE Coordinator, at michaelg@fgcquaker.org or (215) 561-1700 for more information.
Camp Onas
Please post the flyer enclosed with the print issue of this newsletter for Camp Onas, a Quaker Camp in Bucks County, PA for campers 8-13 yrs. Those wishing to know more may request a brochure from Sue Gould at Camp Onas (610) 847-5858 in February or ask your Meeting’s clerk for one.
Upcoming Events
- For Middle School (Grades 6-8):
March 30-April 1, 2001: Early Spring gathering at Woodstown Meeting.
Time to explore the changing seasons and the changes in our own lives. Activities will also include the 8th grade Transitions Program and a cool field trip! Call Melanie Douty, Middle School Program Coordinator, for details: (215) 241-7171 or by e-mail: melanied@pym.org.- Young Friends (Grades 9-12):
February 23-25, 2001: Young Friends Peace Gathering at Burlington Meetinghouse, Burlington, NJ.
Workshop topics include: Origins of the Quaker Peace Testimony; Pacifism, Violence and Conflict; Testimonies into Practice. Look for details in the Young Friends Newsletter or call or e-mail Cookie Caldwell: E-mail: cookiec@pym.org. Phone: (215) 241-7222.
April 20-22, 2001: Young Men’s gathering at a location to be determined.
For rising 8th graders, Young Friends, and Young Adults. For more information contact Cookie Caldwell at cookiec@pym.org or (215) 241-7222. Watch for flyers that will be sent out at the end of February.- For Middle School and Young Friends:
April 20-22, 2001: Intergenerational Women’s Gathering at Burlington Meetinghouse, Burlington, NJ.
The theme for this weekend is Integrity: Living Our Truth as Women and Girls and is geared for Adult women, Young Adult Friends, Young Friends and Middle School Friends. This fourth intergenerational gathering will focus on the interplay of mysticism, integrity and compassion in our lives. We’ll examine the obstacles we might face and look at the inner resources in addressing these issues. For more information contact either Kathryn Gordon (friendkathryn@aol.com) or Dora Martinez at (215) 887-3790.
- Nifty Ideas
First-day School Teachers in Quaker Meetings often need new ideas and ways of teaching. Something that has worked for you might be just what other teachers are looking for. Please send your ideas to Marty Smith, by e-mail to martys@pym.org or to 1515 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.
The Quilt Maker’s Gift
This delightful idea, which utilizes an exquisitely illustrated book, The Quilt Maker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken, was sent to us by Eileen Redden of Camden Monthly Meeting in Delaware. The story is about a very unhappy and greedy king who demanded that all the subjects in his kingdom give him gifts. More than anything, the king wanted a quilt made by a local quilt maker who only gave her beautiful quilts to the homeless people in the kingdom. She refused to give one to him until the king had given away all his possessions. Each time the king released some of his possessions, he became a little happier, until in the end, when he finally received the quilt maker’s gift, the king had learned to be happy without it.
Eileen Redden suggests that a quilt making activity could follow the reading of the story, as it did in Camden meeting. The story illustrates the testimony of simplicity (having too many things and how possessions do not make you happy), and quilt making originated as a way to recycle clothes and other textiles. Each child designed a square, and with the help of adults, sewed all the squares together to create a quilt which was then donated to a local shelter.
Eileen writes that this was a big project. A smaller quilt could have been made for a child or baby and then given to a shelter or a hospital. Or perhaps the children could make construction paper quilts.
Thanks, Eileen, for your Nifty Idea!
The Quilt Maker’s Gift, published by Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers, can be obtained from the Chinaberry catalog by calling 1-800-776-2242, or on the web at www.chinaberry.com or borrowed from the PYM Library by phoning 1 (215) 241-7220.
Published by Religious Education Concerns Group, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Office: 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Marty Smith: (215) 241-7008 (E-mail: martys@pym.org);
Cookie Caldwell: (215) 241-7222 (e-mail: cookiec@pym.org);
Melanie Douty: (215) 241-7171 (e-mail: melanied@pym.org);
Mary Anne Crowley: (215) 241-7221 (e-mail: maryc@pym.org);
Gene Hillman: (215) 241-7182 (e-mail: geneh@pym.org)
or: 1-800-220-0796, with the appropriate extension number.
Last modified: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 at 04:22 PM