Our Whole Lives – OWL
Our Whole Lives (“OWL“) is a series of sexuality education curricula for seven age groups: Kindergarten – 1st Grade, 4th – 6th Grade, 7th – 9th Grade, 10th – 12th Grade, young adults (ages 18 – 35), adults, and older adults.
Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas:
- human development
- relationships
- personal skills
- sexual behavior
- sexual health, and,
- society and culture.
Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, OWL not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
Our Whole Lives teaching approaches work! The curricula are based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (PDF) produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education, and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).
Our Whole Lives Values:
- Self Worth
- Sexual Health
- Responsibility
- Justice and Inclusivity
Our Whole Lives Offers:
- Up-to-date information and honest, age-appropriate answers to participants’ questions
- Activities to help participants clarify values and improve decision-making skills
- Effective group-building to create a safe and supportive peer group
- Education about sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment
- Opportunities to critique media messages about gender and sexuality
- Appreciation of diversity
- Encouragement to act for justice
- A well designed, teacher-friendly leaders’ guide
- Parent orientation programs that affirm parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children
Although developed by two religious organizations, Our Whole Lives contains no religious references or doctrine. Religious references are provided in a Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ companion publication, Sexuality and Our Faith.
MVUC offers OWL classes for children and youth on a rolling basis to ensure that OWL at each class level is available to all our children as they mature. OWL for young adults, adults, and older adults is offered on a periodic basis.