We are delighted to announce that UUC will offer the Our Whole Lives comprehensive sexuality education program for older elementary-age kids, in grades 4 and 5, this winter. To have your child(ren) participate in this class, please register through UUC Connect by January 21. For more information about Our Whole Lives, the class schedule, and other details, please click here. Registration for 4^th-5^th Grade OWL is capped at 12.

Our OWL classes will take place on Sunday afternoons, from 1:00-2:30 p.m., beginning on February 4. A concurrent parent group will be offered, using the small-group ministry curriculum, "Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators" and childcare will be provided for any siblings of OWL participants. 

About this program the Unitarian Universalist Association writes:

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality education program developed in partnership between the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. OWL is put together with the understanding that honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. This set of 7 curricula is holistic in its approach and helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health, and behavior. 

This OWL curriculum is a ten-workshop curriculum designed to help older elementary-age children gain the knowledge, life principles, and skills they need to express their sexuality in life-enhancing ways. This curriculum is an expression of the belief that education institutions - religious communities, community organizations, and schools - can form meaningful partnerships with parents and caregivers to provide positive and responsible sexuality education.

This curriculum covers a range of topics—health and safety, media and body image, love, family and friends, puberty and growing up, sex and gender, communication, and decision-making—in age-appropriate language. This program nurtures and supports the “three Rs” of childhood sexuality education—respect, relationships, and responsibility—by helping children gain self-respect and respect for others, build relationships with people of all genders and with many kinds of families, and understand their responsibilities regarding their own health and that of others. 

Note: Unfortunately, we are not able to offer OWL for children in kindergarten and 1^st grade this year. We anticipate being able to offer K-1 OWL next year, during the 2024-2025 church year.