Hi, welcome to the world of RE!
Please send replies to Debbie Johnson, RE Director dbeckjohnson@earthlink.net
RE HOLIDAY PROGRAM ( December 2007)
Following the service on Sunday, December 2nd, the children of RE will be practicing a few holiday songs and a short play which we will be presenting during the service on Sunday, December 9th. Families please bring $1 per person for pizza & plan to stay until about 1 pm. Please RSVP to Debbie Johnson by Friday, November 30th at dbeckjohnson@earthlink.net, or call (386) 943-4392.
********************************
Reflections on CAMP CREATIVE UU…(July 2007)
Meditation Made Easy (Or Not)!
Imagine asking a group of wiggly, excited campers to lie
down on a mat, close their eyes and listen to a description
of a far off garden, full of beautiful flowers, white puffy
clouds floating in a blue, blue sky.......... Well, you or I
might just use this as the perfect way to take a nap, but of
course for kids, slowing down, getting quiet, refocusing
can be a real effort. But I told them it could really help
them out when feeling just too busy, busy, busy. In fact,
the first few minutes of our meditation time were spent
being the busiest, busiest creature they could imagine:
hopping, yelping, flying, buzzing like a bee. Once they
had gotten a little bit of that energy out of their systems,
they picked out a mat and a pillow and found a quiet spot
(some had to be guided away from other busy, buzzy
bees). I read from a wonderful book of children's
meditations which parents might want to check
out: Maureen Garth’s Starbright: Meditations for Children
and Sunshine: More Meditations for Children. Honestly, I
wasn't sure it would "work" and results were varied. But
when the kids sat down at the table to write or draw where
they had gone and what they had seen, I was happy to find
some beautiful places. My favorite was Trent's trip over
the rainbow on a surfboard!
We would have liked to show you the process on the
Sunday show, but that was asking for the moon... and we
didn't have time to go there!
-----Dottie Mann
Camp Creative UU Folk Singing
Our Folk Singing sessions at Camp Creative UU were
gymnastic affairs, with a lot of dancing and acting out of
songs like Shel Silverstein’s “The Unicorn.” [“There were
green alligators and long-necked geese, Hump-backed
camels and chimpanzees.”] The more macabre aspects of
“The Cat Came Back” were predictably popular, with the
campers joining in lustily for the chorus each time it came
up. We did a couple of bird songs from my CD “Talkin’
to the Birds,” but when Angelica asked me to sing the Ice
Cream song, I was perplexed. Turned out, she wanted to
do the song where, as she said, “I scream.” So we did
“The Water Turkey” for the Sunday Galleria (“When he
pops out of the water, little girls will shriek”), as well as
“Little Blue,” which involves some nice pantomime. I was
absolutely astounded on Sunday by the amount that the
campers had soaked up during the week. Folk music
seems to be alive and well with the younger generation!
--Dan Gribbin
Artistic Creativity Galore
It was a pleasure to be a part of Camp Creative UU. What
a wonderful opportunity to interact with all the kids (and
not just the little ones) :)
I assisted the campers on a variety of projects including
junk sculptures, journal covers and the highlight--tie dye t
shirts! One of my very favorite moments took place on the
first day. When working on journal covers. We had just
introduced the project and the room was filled with the
sounds of the kids moving about, discussing their ideas.
Then as the room grew quiet it began to burst with
creativity! The children dove right into the task at hand.
No two journal covers were alike. Each one unique, just
like the artist him/herself.
I'm eager to be a part of Camp Creative UU next summer!
Thank you, Debbie!
--Maura Riebensahm
Thanks to all who participated… campers, counselors,
artists, and volunteers alike!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
