CRE Summer Program: Magic Summer

For our summer program, Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is using Soul Matters Magic Summer, created by Soul Matters Director of RE Resources, Katie Covey. Each lesson includes three components based on Katie Covey's three magic "S's": Service to Others, Silence and Mindfulness, and Sunshine and Movement. It's our belief that each of these “S’s” act as magic doorways, enabling our children and our families to connect to their deepest inner lives, their community and to the joy of life around them.

Here's a bit more about each magic "S":

The first magic “S” is Service to Others. Helping others is a magic antidote to the isolation, worry and sense of loss children may have experienced during COVID, as well as in reaction to the other environmental, racial and political challenges swirling around us these days. Service to others pulls us out of selfconcern and connects us to wider world. In the face of helplessness and hopelessness, it invites us to experience and reaffirm our sense of agency and empowerment.

The second magic “S” is Silence and Mindfulness. In a busy and buzzing world, stillness helps us listen to our own voice. In a world that distracts and seeks to control our attention, silence enables us to make our own choices and notice the quieter gifts waiting for us to find them. We honor that mindfulness for children is not always the same as adult practices. So we offer shorter meditations often rooted in visualization or simple actions and movement to meet children where they are at.

The third magic “S'' is Sunshine and Movement. Summertime is a magical time of less formal learning, and of more connection to nature and the outside. So in these sessions, we include outside games, which reinforce our interdependent and restorative relationship to nature, and allow children to revel in the joy of being together again. We also offer indoor variations. All of the games also introduce the secret fourth magical “S” of Silliness, that special magical humor which helps us stay lighthearted and carefree, able to make it through when life gets hard.

Here is the schedule of activities for each Sunday:

July 2: Make seed balls

July 9: Explore water justice

July 16: Create book notes

July 23: Stir up treats for the Humane Society

July 30: Cards of encouragement for elders

August 6: Beautifying Mother Earth

August 13: Taste fair trade chocolates

August 20: Stay centered

August 27: Mini care packages for those experiencing homelessness