Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Please be in touch with the clerk of your meeting to be sure updates to your middle school and high school lists have been returned to the RE office. We need those names in order for young people in your Meeting to know about upcoming events. As your First-day program draws to a close, please be sure that you have taken a moment to appreciate the time and talents which your Meeting’s volunteers have given. I hope they know how significant their contribution has been to the future of Quakerism!
Marty Smith, editor
martys@pym.org
Very Useful Curriculum Released
Those of us who have used the stories in Lighting Candles in the Dark by the RE Committee of FGC, have been eagerly awaiting some questions, activities, bible verses to go with those stories. FGC RE Committee has come to our rescue! These dedicated volunteers have created a Study Guide for teachers and parents of children, 2nd grade-High School to go with their stories. In the Study Guide, as well as in Lighting Candles in the Dark, there are five sections, each one emphasizing a Quaker testimony. So the lesson for each story emphasizes a theme related to the testimony and contains captivating ideas to engage First-day students. Both the story book ($13.00 ) and the study guide ($15.00) are available from FGC Bookstore at 1 (800) 966-4556 or bookstore@fgc.quaker.org.Sit on My Knees, Please
Following are directions for an enjoyable game which can be used to show what we can accomplish if we pay attention to and cooperate with others. Directions: Form a circle with participants facing the same direction – a tight circle. Place hands lightly on the shoulders of the person in front of you. Bend your knees slightly, but keep your back straight, as though you are about to sit on a chair. Whisper in the person’s ear in front of you, “Sit on my knees, please.” On the count of three, each person sits on the lap of the person behind them. The goal is for the circle to support itself with everyone able to raise their hands.Your Meeting As the “Hub” of Learning
First-day teachers really seem to enjoy getting together with other teachers to commiserate or share ideas which have worked. If they are from a nearby Meeting, especially if they don’t have to drive very far, being with other RE clerks or teachers can be very stimulating and affirming. PYM Religious Education and Non-Violence and Children staff and volunteers are eager to bring resources and ideas to your Monthly Meeting.
Your meeting can invite other religious educators from your area, and we will provide the program(s). All you need to do is call or e-mail Marty Smith, and she will put all the pieces into place.
For Teachers in Public or Friends Schools
August 16th – 17th, 2002 9:00 – 4:00 p.m. Annual Conflict Resolution and Community Building Training for elementary school educators. Friends Center, 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA. Led by Non-Violence and Children’s Group members, this workshop will include creative conflict resolution skills, ways to integrate those skills into subject areas, ideas for managing anger and effective communication, teacher interventions, building classroom community, and how to start a school or classroom mediation program. To register, call Betsy Berger at #7233 or e-mail her at betsyberger@pym.org Cost is $50.00 for Friends not working in Friends schools or public schools.For Middle School Friends: 6th-8th gr.(or ages 12-14)
July 29 - August 9, 2002: Quaker History Camp at Princeton Meeting, Princeton, NJ. There will be field trips and enjoyable, hands-on activities, led by Burgess Ekman, to illustrate local Quaker history, with swimming in the mornings at a nearby lake. Participants can come for one or two weeks; full-day, one week is $200.00; 1/2 day is $150.00; two weeks is $400.00. Registrations are due July 1, 2002 to Quaker Settlement for Stonybrook, History Camp, % Princeton Meeting, 470 Quaker Rd., Princeton, NJ 08540. Call Candice McCoy at (609) 497-0764 for details.August 10-17, 2002 - Middle School Friends Arts Camp. Burlington Conference Center. There are still a few spaces left. Call Melanie Douty, for details 215-241-7171 or melanied@pym.org. Participants will share their gifts, create together, and build a special community held together by music, juggling, theater, and visual art. There will be trips to a puppet-building studio, to see the Philadelphia murals, and to the beach. Register now before it is too late, cost is $250.00, with deposit of $150 due by July 1.
For Young Friends: 9th-12th grade(or age 14 by Sept 1).
August 18-24, 2002 Young Friends Summer Gathering, Camp Onas, Ottsville, PA.
Young Friends will explore three religions: Islam, Buddhism, and
Hinduism. We’ll learn About their beliefs and Rituals and learn to meditate and pray within
each faith tradition. There will be lots of discussions, worship sharing, dancing, nurturing, playing games, worship, campfire, skits, swimming, crafts, and George Price’s sweat lodge. Come ready to be a star in the Wild and Wacky Talent Show, Wednesday evening. Cost of registration is $165.00 due to Religious Education office by August 6th. Late registration fee: $180.00. For registration form call Cookie Caldwell at #7221 or e mail him cookiec@pym.org for details.
June 2002
This idea, sent to us by Lisa Wildman (Doylestown MM), worked very well with her First-day Class of 8th – 11th graders. It is a very nontraditional , but creative approach to tapping into the Spirit of young people.
Ask the following questions:
1. What is a simile? (Fill in the blanks):
As green as:____________________________
As white as: ____________________________
As big as: ______________________________2. What is a metaphor? Ask for some examples, i.e.,“Happiness is a warm puppy” (Charles Shulz)
3. Ask a teen to read Psalm 23 aloud. Talk about the metaphors within it and what they mean.
4. Ask a student to read the lyrics in “ The Rose” by Amanda McBroom in the new FGC Hymnal (#321). Ask why Quakers would put this in their hymnal? Talk about metaphors and what they mean to us.
5. Read the quote by George Fox in Faith and Practice (p. 87 # 4). Pick out the metaphors and say what Fox may have meant to communicate.
6. Ask why people use similes and metaphors.
7. Write some similes:
a. What are some religious concepts, ideas, or feelings, which are hard to define or describe? Write each on an index card and put them in a ‘noun ‘ pile.
b. What is an adjective, which could describe each of the above? Write each on an index card. Put these in an “adjective” pile.
c. What is a simile for each adjective? Write each on an index card. Put these in a “simile” pile.
d. Now have fun mixing similes. Randomly pick one noun, one adjective and one simile from each pile. For example, Lisa’s First-day class came up with “Prayer is as connecting as a bath”, which prompted a discussion of God/Jesus as living water.Thanks, Lisa, for this creative way of building on the talents of teenagers, to help them articulate their faith.
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 04:23 PM
