For my classroom, the challenge is getting children to have a concern about others -- to have a concern beyond their immediate want/desire. A classroom guide has always been "take care of your community." This includes our learning community, our neighborhoods, and our city.
One project we do is flood the street with art. This helps develop a sense of doing for other without an expectation for a reciprocal response. The children create art work and leave it in public spaces for others to find, take home, and love. The conversation about this project starts well before the activity. I use Because Amelia Smiledand Those Shoes as a conversation starter at story time. Afterwards, we spend much time pointing out when children put forth efforts intrinsically. After we create art (which we encourage parents to collaborate with children), we discuss and map places to leave the art.
Of course, all this is supported by our curriculum which includes problem solving, play, and social/emotional development.
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Phillip Baumgarner
Child Development Lab at River's Crossing
University of Georgia
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2017 10:08 AM
From: Seth Hayden
Subject: Incorporating peace education in your curriculum
Peace education doesn't necessarily mean a different curriculum. There are many ways to incorporate the approach into what you already do. One thing that worked for me in a similar situation was to focus on establishing a climate of safety and respect. As a class group, we discussed what made us feel safe in our environment, then we brainstormed positive actions that we could do that contributed to a safe environment. Once we had the ideas listed and consolidated and stated in positive terms, we put them on a sheet of chart paper and called them AGREEMENTS. We each signed our name at the bottom of the sheet – signifying that we agreed to do these things. Below are the agreements the children came up with:
Agreements
- Treat others the way you like to be treated
- Be responsible for ourselves
- Raise hand when we want to talk
- Use walking feet
These Agreements were put up in the room, along with the school's RULES. As the year went on, I noticed that we rarely ever referred to the official rules, but frequently referenced the agreements.
I am looking forward to hearing other suggestions for incorporating peace education.
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Seth Hayden
Mendota Heights MN
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2017 10:51 AM
From: Marilyn Shelton
Subject: Incorporating peace education in your curriculum
We asked folks in our forum about questions they might have and this was a big one that came up:
I want to incorporate peace education in my pre-k classroom but was told to stick with the set curriculum. This doesn't feel right to me. How have you all dealt with discouragements like this? Any ideas on how I could incorporate peace education anyway?
Let me know your thoughts or responses below.
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Marilyn Shelton
Facilitator, PEACE Educators Interest Forum
FRESNO, CA
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