Just a quick note here. Yesterday, Irma, who is from Columbia, came into meet with Aaron's class at Cavell (a block from my house) who have been doing a novel study of Yeny and the Children for Peace. This really makes me really think about community in a large city. I wandered into Once Upon a Huckleberry during the Christmas holidays when I couldn't get my car out of my street so that I was walking alot. Portia told me about the book. I read it and thought it would be a great project to do with Aaron and her class. Portia already had an idea about hosting a peace carnival with the author, Michelle Mulder on February 21.
Sometime in early January I went to my fitness class at nearby Douglas Park Community Centre. I realized that one of the people who has started coming to the class was from Columbia. I gave Irma a copy of the book to read which she thinks is excellent. Yesterday she visited the class and it was an event that I doubt anyone will forget as she showed us pictures of beautiful Columbia and explained so much more to us about the society and what the children's Day of Peace meant in this country.
That afternoon Aaron and the class were off to walk to the conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park to sketch tropical vegetation. They will be making decorations for the big event at the store on Feburary 21 (1:00-3:00) and Irma is planning to be there as well. The class is also planning their own fundraiser at school just before then. We learned that Columbia is the country with the second most land mines and many people including children have been injured by them. Irma told us about an organization that assists these children and we want to help.
Even in a large city we find community and community to help right across the world.
2 comments:
Thanks for stopping by our blog, Meredith! So great to read about the Peace Carnival idea your son's school planned. How did it go? Did Michelle Mulder visited the school?...We currently feature "Yeny and the Children for Peace" at the PaperTigers website, as our February Book of the Month (http://www.papertigers.org). And our choice for March is another wonderful Canadian title, along the same lines: "One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists," by Janet Wilson. I would love to read more about the peace carnival, if you feel so inclined to write another post.
Thanks for your comment. I realize how unclear I can be! Aaron-she is actually the teacher at Cavell (not my son or my daughter!). I have One Peace but haven't actually read it yet! The Peace Carnival was really a series of activities-in the gym kids (if a parent was present) could play with the equipment and were charged a dollar I think each, in the library there was an opportunity to watch a not yet seen dvd of the Christmas concert or you could play bingo for 50 cents. Then there was a bake sale in the hall which was the most profitable. This all occurred while the teachers in the school were having student-led conferences. The rest I think I wrote about in the next blog-I must find out how Michelle is feeling!
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