Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Thanks for spreading the word about what is happening with Religious Education in the Yearly Meeting. Just in case more parents or teachers are interested, I am enclosing another registration form (due March 16) for the March 24 Children's Program from 9:30 - 9:00 p.m. at Arch Street Meeting. Leaders for the various age groups on March 24 are in place, but they could use volunteer assistants to give Quaker children the attention and extra hands they need for doing crafts or going on field trips. If you could help with one session, please call or e-mail Marty Smith.
A special event is planned just for children during the Saturday evening session. Amy Rosenberg, attender at Landsdowne Meeting, will be telling stories upstairs in the Arch Street Meeting from 7-8 p.m. This is happening while adults are in the West Room, listening to John Punshon, a world renowned British Friend.
Please see that the enclosed flyer for the "Special Needs Conference" on April 21 at Woodstown Meeting gets into the hands of the teachers who could use it.Marty Smith, editor (martys@pym.org)
Did you know that any of the Religious Education staff will gladly visit your monthly meeting or quarterly meeting? All you have to do is call and tell us what you need
o Teacher training?
o RE resources for teachers?
o Organizing zippy, worthwhile service projects for adolescents?
o Teaching spirited teens in First day class?One (or more) of the RE staff will come to your Meeting, and it won't cost your meeting a cent. Call Cookie for ideas for high school youth (# 7222), Melanie for programs and games for middle school youth (#7171), or Marty for ideas and resources for teachers and religious education programs (#7008).
An Enjoyable Way to Review
This works particularly well in middle and high school First-day classes studying the Bible, especially Old Testament stories. Match up famous Bible couples by first pinning one member of the pair on each young person's back. Then ask each person to find his or her Bible "partner" by milling around and asking questions which have yes or no answers. Some Old Testament "couples" might be: Abraham and Sarah, Adam and Eve, Ruth and Naomi, or David and Goliath. When teens find their Bible partner, they can sit with them and do all the class activities together during the period.
(from Use It or Lose It by Elizabeth O. Holt)
Building Community with All Ages
This is a good exercise to be completed just before First-day classes begin or after a delicious pot luck meal to get everyone in the Meeting acquainted.
One person is "It". That person chooses some characteristic which is shared by several people, such as "blond hair", "tall", "wearing red", "names start with D", "under 12 years old", etc. "It" then taps those in the group on the shoulder who have this characteristic, signaling for them to stand up. The rest of the group has to figure out "What's in common?" Whoever guesses the trait gets to be "It".
(from Susan Gingerich of Radnor Meeting)(PS: "It" could tap everyone in the circle on the shoulder and ask "What's in common?" The answer could be "human", but it could also be "Each person has that of God within ", the basis of .the Testimony of Equality. Marty Smith)
For Middle School (Grades 6 - 8)
March 30-April 1: Early Spring Gathering at Woodstown Meeting. Time to explore the changing seasons and changes in our own lives. Activities will include the 8th grade Transitions Program, led by Vanette Jordan and Jon Makler and a trip to nearby Parvin State Park for 6th and 7th graders. Registration is $40.00, due by March 19; and limited to 40 MSF. Call Melanie Douty, Middle School Program Coordinator, for details: # 7171 or e mail her at: melanied@pym.org.May 4-6 Middle School Gathering at Camp Swatara, located at the base of the Appalachian Trail, in Bethel, Pa., as part of Caln Quarterly Meeting’s Family Weekend. Friday night there will be a hike and worship sharing and Saturday morning a hike up to the top of the famous rock pile! Saturday afternoon there will be orienteering, learning about wilderness emergency medicine, and adventure games. The whole weekend is a time to get to know other young Quakers in the Yearly Meeting. Registration is $58.00 with scholarships available. Make checks payable to Caln Quarterly Meeting and send to Donna Scanlon, 582 E. Front Street, Marietta, PA 17547 by April 21. Melanie Douty will be leading the Middle School group and can answer questions at #7171.
For Young Friends (grades 9 - 12):
April 20-22 Young Men's Gathering at Chestnut Hill Meeting House for rising 8th graders, Young Friends, and Young Adults. Facing the challenges of growing and understanding what’s next in our lives, we will learn from each other and from our mentors. We will look at stereotypes, both inside and outside of Young Friends, the stages of adolescence and the role of testosterone in our lives. Cost is $35.00; limited to 35 young men. Call Cookie for details # 7222.May 4 - 6 Young Friends Gathering at Camp Swatara, at the base of the Appalachian Trail near Bethel, PA, as part of Caln Quarterly Meeting’s Family Weekend. Saturday morning: on the adventure games course at the camp. Late afternoon: free time with crafts and games. After dinner there will be square dancing and singing by a campfire. Registration is $58. Make checks payable to Caln Quarterly Meeting and send to Donna Scanlon, 582 E. Front Street, Marietta, PA 17547 by April 21. Cookie Caldwell will be leading the high school group; call for details at # 7222.
For Middle School and Young Friends:
April 20-22 Intergenerational Women's Gathering at Burlington Meeting House for grade 6 through adults. Afghan-making, toning circles, river walks, writing collage, tai chi, “fish bowl”, and new friends will help girls and women discover how to bring our whole selves to life. Leaders will be Jennifer Elam and Carol Coffin. Melanie Douty will be there throughout the weekend. Child care and scholarship requests must be made by Monday, April 2. Cost is $55 for young adult and adult women. Limited to first 88 women who register. Call Cookie Caldwell #7222 for details.For First-day Teachers:
April 6 - 8 Mini RE Conference. Friends General Conference Religious Education Committee is holding a mini-RE conference at Pendle Hill, to help First-day teachers write, develop, and use Quaker curricula. Marsha Holliday and Robin Wells, two experienced Religious educators, will be leading the event. Marty Smith will be present to assist writers on Saturday. See poster in February's REC Newsletter or contact Michael Gibson, FGC RE Coordinator at (215) 561-1700 or by e mail: michaelg@fgcquaker.org for details.April 21 Special Needs Conference, organized by Quaker special educators, First-day teachers, and parents. This conference is being held Saturday. April 21 at Woodstown Meetinghouse from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.. Registration is $10.00 and due by April 17. See flyer enclosed, and please spread the word. Call or e-mail Marty Smith or Mary Anne Crowley (#7221) for details.
Friendly Meals
This lesson comes to us from Linda Cooper of Richland Friends Meeting. It is for a lesson about their Meeting's soup kitchen, called Friendly Meals. Linda writes, "We discussed local hunger and solutions. Then we read two versions of Jesus feeding the 5,000 : Matthew 14:13 - 21 and John 6: 1-14 (we pointed out that the "loaves and fishes" story is told four different times in the Gospels). We explained that Jesus’ budget was five loaves and two fishes. Then, with a budget of $19.95, we distributed two supermarket flyers from competing stores and asked the kids to plan a dinner for as many people as possible, while keeping within their budget.
We explained that each adult would need 1/4 pound of meat, fish or chicken, and that a pound of potatoes would usually serve two adults. The children cut out pictures of food items and their prices, glue-stuck them to a piece of paper, calculated the number of pounds or packages of the food, and tallied up the total bill. Then the children explained the menu and the number of people it would serve. Some children used left-over change for a can of pet food, for the animals in the family, or for a tube of toothpaste or bar of soap!
They enjoyed getting as close to, but not over, their exact budget, and making sure that they included drinks and desert!”Supplies needed:
Supermarket flyers, one from each of the two stores for each child (just pick up a handful from the store bins)
Thank you, Linda Cooper, of Richland Friends Meeting for your Nifty Idea!
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
