I who love you shall be near you, all through the night. — from "Sleep, My Child," Hymn 409 in Singing the Living Tradition

This session celebrates mothers, fathers, and others who care for the children. The children show their parents and caregivers love and appreciation with a handmade flower gift. Be sensitive to the fact that not all children live with their parent(s) and remember that there are many different types of families connected by love. A child may be living with grandparents or a foster family; there are families with single parents, step-parents, and same-sex parents, to name just a few of the beautiful diversities called family.

Before the session, Inform the children's families about this topic and request information they may wish to share about family relationships, including issues which might call for leaders' extra sensitivity; see Leader Resource 1, Sample Mother's/Father's Day Letter.

Goals

This session will help preschoolers:

• Express love for the parents and other adults who care for them
• Experience a sense of belonging in the Chalice Children group
• Feel a sense of identity with a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Recognize that love binds a family together
• Understand the diversity of families
• Practice acceptance of all kinds of families and understand that this is what Unitarian Universalists do.