Peace, Hope, Love, and Kindness

In light of recent events, Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching, Amanda and Stacia at Collaboration Cuties, and I are hosting this uplifting linky!

We hope you will link up to the Peace, Hope, Love, and Kindness linky party whenever you have heartwarming stories, lessons you've done with your class about peace, hope, love, or kindness, or even random acts of kindness. When the world seems to be falling apart around us, we will have a webpage to visit to get a pick-me-up! We hope this linky will not only lift our spirits and remind us that there is so much good around us, but also will be an encouragement to us to be the good we want to see in the world. As teachers, we have such a powerful role in shaping the future...let's share our ideas so we can make the world a better place TOGETHER!

This linky will remain open, so if you don't have the chance to link up today, please come back whenever you can! You will find the button at the top of my page in the right side bar- it will stay there! Whenever you want to share a story or you need a lift, just click there! :o)

I wanted to start by sharing this video about Post Secret. Have you heard of this before?? I just recently heard about it this past week, and I'm hooked. There are some silly stories, some sad stories, some funny stories, and some seriously heartwarming stories. I was crying at the end. I hope you will watch all 11 minutes of this video, and if you can't right now, come back- it's totally worth it.

I also wanted to share an activity I did with my students after the Sandy Hook Elementary Tragedy in December. We read this book:

If Peace Is... by Jane Baskwill, illustrated by Stephanie Carter

It's a rhyming book that repeats the phrase from the title... “If peace is a garden, I’ll tend every seed. If peace is a book, I’ll have to read.” It's a great book for demonstrating metaphors (which are sometimes hard to find consistently in books). It's also full of gorgeous, colorful illustrations!

After reading the book, they brainstormed what peace was to them. We talked about places to go, things to do, and people we want to be with to have peace. Then they created their own quilt square for our "peace quilt" which we hung in the hall for everyone to see. They wrote their metaphor: "If peace is/was a... I would..." and illustrated it to be bright and colorful just like the book.

Some of my favorites were:
If peace was a holiday, I'd celebrate it.
If peace is life, I won't waste a day.
If peace was a baby, it would be snoring all day.
If peace was soccer, I would score every goal.
If peace was a swan, it would fly gracefully.
If peace was a pool, I'd have to swim in it.
If peace was a meadow, I'd run through it.

Last, I wanted to share something from the book, Wonder. I've been reading it to my class. 

The book is absolutely perfect for what this linky is all about, in fact. Even if you don't read it to your class, I recommend you read it on your own. Make it a summer book if you want. I am totally hooked, and so are my kids. They get mad when I stop! :-P I have laughed out loud several times, and I'm sure I'll be crying, too!

In the book, the main character's English teacher, Mr. Browne, gives all the students an assignment each month based on a precept, or a motto. The first one he gives them is:

WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.

That just really hit my heart as I read that aloud to my students. How many times do we as ADULTS choose right instead of kind? I urge you to keep Mr. Browne's precept in the back of your mind! I think my students may be doing an assignment similar to the students in the book actually, to help them remember as well... this is the age where they start turning on one another. I want to help mold them to be better than that...

Now it's your turn!! :)