These Are Our Bodies: Preschool Parent Book: Talking Faith & Sexuality at Church & Home

By Jenny Beaumont and Abbi Long

Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality.

This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide covers all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages).

Session topics include: • We are Wonderfully Made • We are Complex • We are Changing • We are Knowledgeable • We are Equipped • We are Called • We are Growing Up

• Language: English
• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9780898690149

Jenny Beaumont

Jenny Beaumont is a Christian educator, trained facilitator, and teacher currently serving at Christ Episcopal Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. She brings more than 15 years of experience in education and ministry to the dynamic conversation that connects the experience of faith with our sexuality through her "He, She, We and God" seminar. She writes curriculums, trains other facilitators, and leads workshops throughout the nation.

Book preview

Welcome to These Are Our Bodies!

Then God said, "Let us make humanity in our image to resemble

us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea,

the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the

crawling things on earth. God created humanity in God’s

own image, in the divine image God created them, male

and female God created them. God saw everything he had

made: it was supremely good."

—Genesis 1:26–27, 31 (CEB)

In these preschool sessions, you are invited to explore the concepts of creation, empowerment, and acceptance with your child and with other parents. The sessions are designed to encourage you to be intentional about the many ways that you are teaching your child about sexuality and God.

As children of God we are born into the world beloved by God. We come into the world inherently worthy of love and awe—awe at the mystery of our holiness in who and what we are. As children develop, their experience and sense of self are shaped and molded by those around them—especially you! This includes sexuality.

It is inherently part of who we are; living as a sexual being is unavoidable and unavoidably complex. Sexuality is good—a gift from God since the beginning.

As a parent,¹ you began teaching your child about bodies from the first moment that you held them. In the next few sessions, we want to encourage you, as a parent, to intentionally consider the lessons you are teaching your child as you hold, feed, and tickle them. We want you to notice the ways you speak, act, and touch them that show they are created and loved by God—body and all.

This Parent Book is for you—for you to ponder and journal your thoughts, insights, and reflections. Our hope is that you will enjoy this journey with your preschooler.

Jenny Beaumont and Abbi Long

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1We recognize