Tapestry of Faith: Riddle and Mystery: A Program on the Big Questions for Grade 6

Resources

Quiet Music

Use soft guitar or other instrumental music to open sessions and as background during craft activities. Find recordings of specific Unitarian Universalist interest at inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop. Avoid loud, bouncy music that may energize youth instead of helping them settle. Some CDs with quiet tracks include:

Scott August, New Fire (Cedar Mesa Music, 2005)

Baraka (Milan Records, 2005), a reissued movie soundtrack of international religious music

Cesar Berlanga, Music for Relaxation (The Relaxation Company, 2002), quiet guitar music

Empire Brass, King’s Court and Celtic Fair (Telarc, 1996)

Paul Winter, Greatest Hits (Living Music, 1998).

Bells, Chimes and Sound-makers

Openings and a few other activities suggest tingsha chimes. You can purchase tingshas and other bells, chimes and soothing sound-makers online from The Light and Harmony Shop, Zanzibar Trading, Bells Online and many other websites.

Tapestry of Faith Resources

Tapestry of Faith offers two multi-chapter resources online to help you use the arts effectively in children’s religious education. Spirituality and the Arts in Children's Programming is by Dr. Nita Penfold, creator of the Spirit Play program. Making Music Live, by Nick Page, provides guidance for incorporating music into religious education, including how to teach songs even if you are not a musician.

Nurturing Children and Youth: A Developmental Guidebook by Tracey L. Hurd, Ph.D. (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2005), a Tapestry of Faith Toolkit book, may help you shape your expectations and plans for this age group.

Additional Books

More books that might be useful are:

The Gift of Faith: Tending the Spiritual Lives of Children by Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar Second Edition (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2003)

Welcoming Children with Special Needs: A Guidebook for Faith Communities by Sally Patton (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004)

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2005).

Nurturing Children and Youth A Developmental Guidebook

By Tracey L. Hurd

This book belongs to the Tapestry of Faith Toolkit Series provided by the UUA Faith Development Office. Toolkit Books provide background knowledge, inspiration, and practical guidance to program and lead UU faith development and to help us explore and live our faith in our congregations,...

Nurturing Children and Youth