Conversations to help meetings discern the value of paid religious education staff in ministry for children and families.
Administration, RE Resources
Do Our Children Know Enough About Quakerism to Play Quaker? Dover Meeting Dollhouse
Children learn through play. They play school, they play house, they even play COVID, giving everyone shots. Do our children know enough about being Quaker to play Quaker? Children are fully spiritual beings. Meeting life needs to be as open and comprehensible to them...
QREC 2022 Annual Conference August 12-14: Finding Our Footing on the Path Ahead
Join the QREC 2022 Annual Conference! In-person in Hickory NC, and online around the Quaker world. Explore how to strengthen and revitalize your local Quaker RE community of practice. Connect in Spirit-filled community with other Quaker religious educators.
Quaker Time Machine: An intergenerational exploration of historical Friends
Friends, young and old, play through Quaker history in this hands-on exploration of historical Friends from George Fox to present-day Friends in your monthly meeting. Adult volunteers prepare for the class by studying a historical Friend to prepare for role-playing in...
Rules of Thumb for Community Safety
Friends Meetings, like all faith communities, are at risk of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults. This one page explanation of the risk is a good conversation starter for Friends meetings seeking to create or strengthen safety policies. Rules of Thumb for...
Preparation, Formation and Belonging: New Growth through RE Roots
A call to re-envision how we invite children and youth into spiritual community and nurture Quaker identity. This is a reprise of the QREC 2021 conference keynote presentation.
Afirmación cuáquera: un curso de estudio para jóvenes amigos
"CURRÍCULO VISTO, CREADO Y DESARROLLADO como una forma de guiar y educar a los Amigos jóvenes en su fe cuáquera, similar a las Clases de Confirmación o los estudios de Bar / Bat Mitzvá que se encuentran en otras religiones. Para cualquier reunión o iglesia cuáquera,...
QREC Suggested Religious Education Web Resources
A rich collection of useful websites with curricula and learning materials from many different yearly meetings, Quaker organizations and other educational organizations for teaching all ages. Please use the comment section below to suggest other websites that should...
Northern Yearly Meeting Children and Youth Policy Manual
Policies and procedures for facilitating programming for children and youth in Northern Yearly Meeting. The manual includes: NYM Children & Youth Committee member role description, Personnel policies for youth serving employees, Responsibilities for reporting...
Conversation Circle (Sep 2020) — Child Safety
How are we caring for children in our Meetings? We have been given a sacred trust, as Quaker religious educators who work with children and youth, to nurture the spiritual growth of young Friends in a loving and safe community. This conversation will explore child...
Video Conferencing with Under 18’s, Britain Yearly Meeting
There are times that you may want to consider virtual meetings with your children's or teenage meeting, with your youth group or as an all age meeting. This policy from Britain Yearly Meeting offers advice on safe online meetings. Download the guidelines Video...
Child Safety for Virtual Youth Programs, New England Yearly Meeting
New England Yearly Meeting's (NEYM) Child Safety Policy applies to all youth programming, including programs provided virtually. The following are specific to the use of Zoom or worth highlighting: Youth Programs Zoom meeting links will be shared with appropriate...
Guidelines for Virtual Meetings, Northern Yearly Meeting
The Northern Yearly Meeting (NYM — located in the upper midwest USA) Children and Youth Committee has considered best practices and recommendations related to virtual meetings involving youth. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to widespread use of virtual technologies for...
Conversation Circle (July 2020) — Program Planning in Uncertain Times
Topic: In April and May we held conversations on how Friends were managing Religious Education and supporting families during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look forward, the virus is still with us - and will be for some time to come. Join the conversation on how we can...
Guidance and Practices for Online Youth Gatherings, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Meetings to hold Religious Education on virtual platforms. Even though we are not together face to face, child safety remains a concern. The following guidance for online child safety was developed by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting...
Planning Calendar for First Day School 2020/2021
Building a curriculum plan or “road map” of topics and lessons for the year ahead allows you to gather inspiration, season ideas, seek out adults to teach, and present First Day plans to families. Connecting the themes of lessons from one week to the next gives your...
Conversation Circle (May 2020) — Online Quaker Religious Education
Topic: Online Quaker Religious Education: What have we learned so far in our roles as pastors and educators? Welcome and Introductions Centering Silence The COVI-19 pandemic has been a time of struggle and heartbreak, hitting some parts of the society and the world...
Centering Tools: Mandalas
"It all starts with stopping," says author Beth Collea, as she describes how the practice of coloring mandalas helps young children settle. Links are provided to websites with free, printable mandalas from the simple to the intricate. This tool is useful for family...
Despair, Hope and the Great Turning
Anxiety about the state of the world is common among young Friends. From the widely acclaimed Powell House Youth Program, this experiential retreat curriculum provides a safe place to voice the fear that burdens so many who seek to live with awareness and...
The Light: A Story for December
Cultures all over the world celebrate festivals of Light, often in December. This story, told in the Faith & Play style. uses symbols of Light in a simple, profound way to introduce these festivals in Quaker religious education.
Nurturing Quaker Children in a Small Meeting
From the child's point of view, living in a small Meeting can be very rich. The segregation between children and adults that is the norm for popular culture and many large Meetings is impossible here. It is like living in a small town, or a large family where everyone...
Settling Routine
We use this settling routine from Ann Arbor (MI) Friends Meeting with all our kids, sometimes omitting a line or two. It's important to have chairs an appropriate height for all children so their toes can touch the floor. Sitting on the floor with knees bent and feet...
Religious Education for the Home and Small Meeting
This is an idea packet assembled for families and small meetings who seek to educate children in Quaker faith and practice. Originally published in 1986, this is a treasure trove, worthy of adaptation and revision given that most Quaker meetings still face these...
Children and Youth Resources for Exploring Racism and Racial Justice
This is a growing list of resources for exploring racism and racial justice with young Friends. The document begins with queries to frame the task. The list includes websites, blogs, online articles, curricula and children's literature. Queries: How do we...