Plymouth Magazine-Spring24-FINAL - Flipbook - Page 10
The LGBTQ+ session attending by 7th grade children and parents included
L to R: Amy Howels, Marc Busch, Pastor LeAnn Stubbs, Noah Beacom, Katy Crawly,
Kris Maul, Bethany Snyder, and Brigit Stevens.
In our current political climate, some of
the information traditionally taught in
schools has changed, may be incomplete
or even inaccurate. What it fails to
cover well is all the different types of
bodies God created, how every human
body created is unique and perfect, how
healthy relationships are formed.
The OWL program engages children of
all ages in each of these important aspects
and takes it a step further, covering
values-clarification, communication, and
decision-making skills. OWL sets up the
conversation for values-based dialogue
to take place in the home, normalizing
what was once considered awkward
conversation, and helping parents to
indeed be the child’s primary informed
sexuality education resource.
It’s a core belief that when parents and
children learn to talk openly about these
important aspects of life, children are
safer and healthier. When children are
well informed about their bodies, when
embarrassment and shame around their
body is removed, children are less likely
to be victims of abuse or participate in
unsafe activities.
At Plymouth Church, we offer OWL
classes at strategic intervals in a child’s
development, ensuring that information
is taught in a manner that matches what
they are ready to understand. Class
offerings and age ranges differ slightly each
program year, taking into consideration
class size, developmental stage of our
10
Panelists for the LGBTQ+ session attending by 7th grade children and parents.
specific children, and when a class was last
offered. The OWL Curriculum currently
scheduled at Plymouth Church is designed
for the below ages.
• Grades K-2: sense of self and selfesteem, bodies are good and
beautiful, private, and special.
• Grades 4-6: values, body image,
gender and sexual identity, peer
pressure, and healthy relationships
with sensitivity and inclusiveness.
• Grades 7-9: sexually healthy people
who feel good about themselves and
their bodies, remain healthy, and
build positive, equitable loving
relationships.
• Grades 10-12: knowledge, life
principles, and skills needed to
express their sexuality in lifeenhancing ways.
Courses are between 8-12 sessions with
each session varying in length based on
the curriculum to be taught and the needs
of the children and facilitators, typically
averaging 90 minutes. Many classes are
offered in the evening, immediately
following other church programming and
include a small meal to provide fuel for
growing bodies and assisting parents with
a busy evening plan.
New this year is a Parent Session being
offered to 7th grade parents. This age
range typically sees a vast transformation
in changing bodies as well as hormone
fluctuations which impact decision
making and body safety. It can be an
especially challenging time for parents as
well. Therefore, while the 7th graders have
instruction time tailored to this life stage,
parents can choose to go to a Parent
Session, tailored to their parenting needs.
In the parent sessions, a trained OWL
facilitator walks through details of what
the children are learning and offers
opportunities for the parents to share
considerations and ideas on how to
navigate these themes in their individual
homes. Parent feedback for these sessions
has been positive so far with one parent
sharing, “the OWL classes have given
our family the opportunity to have more
meaningful conversations about the
challenging changes of adolescents. We
feel so much more prepared. Thank you!”
Another parent shared, “OWL gives me
the tools to help my children with so
much more than sexuality.”
Seventh graders and their parents
also recently had the opportunity
to listen to an LGBTQ+ panel,
focusing on topics such as identity
awareness and exploration, finding
healthy communities, self-expression,
becoming an ally and healthy family
dynamics. The children, their parents,
and panel participants alike enjoyed the
opportunity to have open and honest
dialogue, demonstrating the core values
of the OWL program that all bodies,
sexual identities and gender expression
are created by God in love.
