Our Whole Lives Facilitator Resources

These resources supplement the Our Whole Lives (OWL) facilitator training. To suggest additional resources for OWL facilitators or to ask about OWL program content, facilitation issues, or facilitator training, please contact the OWL Programs Manager, Melanie Davis, PhD, at owl@uua.org.

OWL Newsletter

The Our Whole Lives Newsletter provides information and resources for OWL facilitators, program coordinators, parents and others. It’s free! Sign up today!

How to Support OWL Programs during COVID-19

Was your OWL program interrupted by a pandemic-related shutdown? Are previously scheduled OWL programs on hold? In response to these challenges, the UUA and the United Church of Christ offer recommendations that are safe, accessible, creative, and values-based. Please read When You Can't Do OWL... Do This! (PDF) to help you continue to offer holistic sexuality education without in-person gatherings. Includes tips for creating online adaptations.

You can also share At-Home Sexuality Education Resources for Grades K-6 and At-Home Sexuality Education Resources for Grades 7-Adults. These are curated lists of books and websites:

Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators is a wonderful option to foster adult-child communication on important topics. This is a free curriculum for small group ministry program. It is not part of Our Whole Lives, but it does help adults consider similar topics. Groups do not require a trained facilitator, and the program can be offered online or in person. Available in both Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ versions, the curriculum can be easily adapted for secular use or use with other faith communities.

OWL Taking Flight Webinars

The Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ host monthly educational webinars for OWL facilitators, program coordinators, religious educators, clergy, and others. The topics are related to OWL content but often are not curriculum-specific. The webinar hosts are Dr. Melanie Davis, UUA OWL Program Manager, and Rev. Amy Johnson, UCC Minister for Sexuality Education and Justice.

1st Wednesday of each month, 12:00-1:00 PM ET

OWL Taking Flight webinars explore topics that intersect with Our Whole Lives and Sexuality and Our Faith programs. Co-hosted by the UCC and UUA, these free webinars are created with Our Whole Lives facilitators and program coordinators in mind, while they are also open to the public.

November 2, 2022, Noon - 1 pm Eastern Time

Sex on Wednesday! 

Join Dr. Melanie Davis, Rev. Amy Johnson, and their guest, author and sexuality expert Martha Kempner, M.A., for a lively chat about sexuality education and the media, advocacy, and the role of humor in advocacy. In her articles and weekly newsletter, Sex on Wednesday, Martha writes about sexual behavior, contraception, STIs, and her efforts to raise sexually healthy girls in a sexually unhealthy world. She also explains new research, provides commentary on current events, analyzes social trends, and busts myths.

Register even if you cannot attend live, to receive links to the recording and to resources mentioned during the webinar. You'll also receive a link to subscribe to the OWL Newsletter, if you click the option to receive (very limited) email from the UCC.

Registration

The December OWL Taking Flight will be closed to the public, so we can host an annual gathering of OWL trainers of facilitators. We'll see you in January for a visit with Dr. Tanya Bass, aka the Southern Sexologist, sharing her research on sex educators and continuing education.

View recorded webinars:

2022 Update to Readings Used in OWL for Grades 4-6, 2nd ed. Please refer to this updated list of readings (PDF) from It's Perfectly Normal, 2021 edition. These page numbers differ from those listed in the curriculum, which referenced an earlier edition of the book.

2022 Update of Sexuality and Our Faith Grades 7-9 Visuals Narration is available by request, please mail owl@uua.org. The visuals are only available to Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ congregations using Our Whole Lives with trained, approved facilitators. They may be purchased by phone order through the UUA Bookstore. Note: The Grades 10-12 Sexuality and Our Faith visuals have been discontinued without a replacement video. Please dispose of the DVD appropriately.

2022 Recommended Updates to OWL for Grades K-1, 1st ed.: Since Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Grades K-1 1st ed. was published, understandings have changed about gender, bodies, conception, and other topics young children need to learn about. The 2nd edition will be available in late 2022 or early 2023. Until it becomes available, please use the this guide (PDF, 3 pages) to mark strongly recommended changes in your copy of the curriculum to make it as accurate and inclusive as possible. Includes updated Conception Story options. If you have questions, contact owl@uua.org.

2022 Recommended Updates to OWL for Grades 10-12, 1st ed.: Since Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Grades 10-12 1st ed. was published, understandings have changed about gender, orientation, bodies, STI’s, contraception, social media, and other topics teens need to learn about. The 2nd edition will be available in early 2023. Until then, use the this guide (PDF, 7 pages) to mark strongly recommended updates in your copy of the curriculum so it as accurate and inclusive as possible. If you have questions, contact owl@uua.org.

2020 Recommended Updates to OWL for Grades 7-9, 2nd ed.: Since Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Grades 7-9, 2nd edition was published in 2014, understandings about sex and gender have changed. Newer and more diverse media resources have become available. Use the guide (PDF) to mark strongly recommended changes in your copy of the curriculum to make it as accurate and inclusive as possible. If you have questions, contact owl@uua.org.

These resources support OWL for Grades 7-9, 2nd ed. (2014):

2022 Recommended Updates to OWL for Young Adults, 1st ed.: Since Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Young Adults 1st ed. was published, many medical and social understandings about sexuality have changed. The 2nd edition will be available in 2023. Until then, use this guide (PDF, 8 pages) to mark strongly recommended changes in your copy of the curriculum to make it as accurate and inclusive as possible. If you have questions, contact owl@uua.org.

2020 Recommended Updates to OWL for Adults. Since 2000, much has changed in terms of the language around gender and orientation as well as sexual science and culture. Please use the "Recommended Updates" guide (PDF) to mark strongly recommended changes in your copy of the curriculum to make it as accurate and inclusive as possible. If you have questions, contact owl@uua.org

OWL Email Lists: Community Guidelines (PDF, 1 page) for the Our Whole Lives Facilitators email lists (OWL-Child, OWL-L, OWL-Adult) ensure that communications are helpful and respectful. All email list subscribers are expected to participate in compliance with these guidelines. Trained and approved UU, UCC, and CUC facilitators as well as OWL trainers and those who oversee OWL programs are welcome to self-subscribe.

    Our Whole Lives for Older Adults workshop descriptions (PDF) explain what is involved in this newly developed curriculum that is now included in all Adult OWL trainings as of 2019.

    Webinars include best practices for program implementation, new editions, gender inclusion, and making your Our Whole Lives program welcoming to participants of many faiths. Archived webinars are free and available to watch any time. Watch the October 2019 webinar, OWL Community Guidelines and Implementation Tips for Success (Vimeo, 57 minutes).

    Our Whole Lives promotional flyers are eye-catching on bulletin boards or as take-home materials. Available for each level of Our Whole Lives, they include OWL values and tables of contents.

    Our Whole Lives coloring pages (PDF) created by the United Church of Christ may be used for on-topic doodling during OWL classes. OWL program participants may color in mandala-esque designs that include OWL core values (PDF).

    Thank you for your commitment to Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education.

    five brown owls standing in a field

    When you can't do OWL... Do this!

    Many communities that interrupted in-person Our Whole Lives programs during the Covid-19 pandemic are deeply committed to providing good quality, faith-informed, lifespan sexuality education. These recommendations (PDF) from the UUA and the United Church of Christ (UCC) will help you create a “Taking Flight” adaptation that is as safe and responsible as possible.