Ethical Society Without Walls -- ETHICAL EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN

Ethical Education for Children and Teens

American Ethical Union Religious Education strives to provide ethical education in the member Ethical Societies of the AEU. Our goal is to encourage parents to work with their children on an alternate way of doing religion that focuses on values, moral decision making and living with the difficulties one is faced with growing up in the world.

The AEU provides curriculum, activities and support for those societies that have an RE program. Usually these larger societies have a Director of Religious Education (DRE) who works with the children’s programming. When contacting an Ethical Society you should ask if it has a DRE.

The DREs are supported by an RE Committee and a National Director. There is an extensive RE library available to DREs and the RE Committee produces AEU curriculum on a regular basis. A Conference/Retreat is held yearly for enhancing the work of DREs across the country. Contact the AEU office for more information. (News on the RE Conference/Retreat is posted on the home page of this site when it is received.)

Sample curriculum materials:

Download Free Ethical Heroes coloring books. Appropriate for preschool thru early elementary aged kids. These coloring books were created by the Religious Education Committee of the American Ethical Union. (In PDF files for easy downloading and printing - may require Adobe Reader 7.0 or later):

Tapestries Curriculum:

Our Ethical Culture Tapestry: The People, The Patterns, The Principles

Stories and curriculum about Ethical Culture for elementary aged children. Can also be used with older children and adults as an introduction to Ethical Heroes and Heroines.

Download this curriculum (note: this is a VERY large PDF file and may not download on all computers)

Love Your Neighbor Curriculum

The Love Your Neighbor curriculum was written by the Religious Education committee of the American Ethical Union. It accompanies the book of the same name, written by Arthur Dobrin, the Leader Emeritus of the Long Island Ethical Humanist Society. The Dobrin book of stories is available through Scholastic books. This curriculum is appropriate for preschool through early elementary aged children. The curriculum includes lessons to go along with the 13 stories in the book. Lessons include art projects, songs, dramatic play, and discussion questions. Materials for the lessons are primarily basic easy-to-find supplies. These lessons can be used with a Sunday School group or at home with your family. For each lesson, key Ethical Core Values are identified. The stories in the book Love Your Neighbor were originally written to be shared with an intergenerational group at the beginning of platform. They are enjoyed by all ages.

Download Love Your Neighbor Curriculum Guide (PDF for easy downloading and printing - may require Adobe Reader 7.0 or later