The Sunday School program at St. Edward's is truly rewarding,
but the kids would just say "It's fun!"

For the babies and toddlers we have a nursery, which is staffed by a professional nanny at both the 8 AM and the 10 AM services. Klara is our nanny. She comes from Russia, and she really loves to hold the babies and play games with the toddlers.

At our 10 AM service we have our 3 additional classes for kids:

• a Preschool-Kindergarten class for children 3 years (must be toilet trained) through Kindergarten.
• a 1^st through 3^rd grade class.
• and a youth class for 4th graders through middle schoolers.

Three-year-olds through Third Graders meet in the Youth Lounge at 10 AM for 10 to 15 minutes of singing. Then they move into Rooms 1 and 2 at the end of the building by the outdoor play area to hear a Bible story and do a craft in a smaller group setting that is tailored to their cognitive development. The older kids meet in the church hall, where we have coffee hour. Sunday school ends right before the Eucharist. Teachers walk the kids into the sanctuary. Children find "their adult(s)", or sit with their friends, and are welcome to participate in the Holy Eucharist. Our youth class spends 20-25 minutes of Sunday School discussing a relevant Bible/Liturgical topic and the rest of the time playing games that often require a lot of space, so that is why they use the Hall as their classroom.

The youth often help get ready for barbecues/potlucks after church. Youth also serve as acolytes and work on the multimedia team on Sunday mornings, filming the service and duplicating DVDs, etc. Youth can audition to be in the worship band. Basically, we encourage youth to serve in whatever area they are interested in. We want to empower youth to grow in their love of Christ and be fully participating members of our community.

		Our younger two Sunday School classes use the Godly Play curriculum developed by Dr. Jerome Berryman and based on Maria Montessori's pedagogy. Our Godly Play curriculum "teaches children the art of using religious language—parables, sacred stories, silence and liturgical action—helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God's presence in their lives."