Religious Education Update: Febraury 10, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day
On Friday mornings, I go into a particular fifth grade classroom at Old Adobe School and work with the kids on math concepts. This past Friday, I taught three girls about equivalent fractions. This was a topic that was easier for me than it was for them, perhaps because it is my fourteenth year that I’ve been assisting their teacher. After 14 years in 5th grade, equivalent fractions are pretty familiar territory.
I don’t feel quite the same expertise when discussing human emotions like love. Those three girls love their families just as I love mine. Their hearts break when friends are cruel or a beloved pet dies, just as mine does. The joy or pain I feel from life experiences are felt just as deeply in their hearts.
What I might share with a young person is stories from my own experiences. I’ve learned that a broken heart can mend, and that future happiness is possible. I’ve learned that parents and babies develop powerful bonds that help both sides weather the terrible twos and the teenage years. I’ve learned that a part of those I’ve loved and lost remains in my heart forever. I learned that it is important to express gratitude to those who’ve cared for us and made our lives better.
Today the children and youth will be creating valentines for their elders as tokens of the love and gratitude they feel for the adults in UUP. They appreciate that you’ve created this community which educates, supports and nurtures them. You’ve blessed them with a religious tradition that encourages them to think, to ask questions, and to find their own religious truths.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
On Friday mornings, I go into a particular fifth grade classroom at Old Adobe School and work with the kids on math concepts. This past Friday, I taught three girls about equivalent fractions. This was a topic that was easier for me than it was for them, perhaps because it is my fourteenth year that I’ve been assisting their teacher. After 14 years in 5th grade, equivalent fractions are pretty familiar territory.
I don’t feel quite the same expertise when discussing human emotions like love. Those three girls love their families just as I love mine. Their hearts break when friends are cruel or a beloved pet dies, just as mine does. The joy or pain I feel from life experiences are felt just as deeply in their hearts.
What I might share with a young person is stories from my own experiences. I’ve learned that a broken heart can mend, and that future happiness is possible. I’ve learned that parents and babies develop powerful bonds that help both sides weather the terrible twos and the teenage years. I’ve learned that a part of those I’ve loved and lost remains in my heart forever. I learned that it is important to express gratitude to those who’ve cared for us and made our lives better.
Today the children and youth will be creating valentines for their elders as tokens of the love and gratitude they feel for the adults in UUP. They appreciate that you’ve created this community which educates, supports and nurtures them. You’ve blessed them with a religious tradition that encourages them to think, to ask questions, and to find their own religious truths.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 5:42 PM
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