Peacemaking Through . . . Comic Strips?

If you’ve spent any time around fourth and fifth-graders (or kids in general), you’ve probably noticed that they aren’t always kind and polite towards one another.  I know I wasn’t – especially in the fifth grade, when the prospect of middle school loomed on the horizon along with (I assumed) the end of my own social life.  While I know that less-than-encouraging behavior towards peers is sometimes a part of growing up in this stage, I had been concerned over the course of the year by the relationship between two of my students in particular.  The two girls are similar in many ways: they’re in the same grade at the same school.  They are both hard workers, which pays off when it comes to their schoolwork – at the same time, however, I’ve watched them both struggle with self-esteem.  But while I know they have the potential to be a big encouragement to one another, I very often catch them exhibiting the opposite behavior, as their relationship has proven to be more adversarial than friendly.

This past Thursday, however, brought something a little bit different.  Both girls had finished their homework early and gotten started on that day’s fun project: drawing their own comic strip.  I was surprised to hear collaborative whispering from their corner of the room, and even more astonished when they eagerly asked me if they could work on the project together.  I listened and watched as they not only laid out a storyline together, but also assessed each other’s artistic strengths to figure out who should draw which portions of each picture.  The finished project – the harrowing tale of a jewelry store robber who is eventually apprehended by the police – is a work of art, now hanging on the wall of our classroom.  More importantly however, it was a joy to watch these two students begin to relate to one another in a constructive, collaborative way.

I hope that positive, supportive relationships among my students can be an encouragement for them as they work to succeed, in school or otherwise.  As their teacher, I work to model that support daily – whether it’s celebrating a 100% on a spelling test, calling attention to a student’s creativity during craft time, or even just offering a high five for a job well done on homework.  Watching them start to grow in affirming one another – even in small steps – encourages me too, as I know that we can go further if we build one another up.

Children are Natural Gardeners

Children are Natural Gardeners

The Future Farmers of America from Ocoee High school came to the Apopka Family Learning Center to help with the garden.  These volunteers take time away from their own personal time to volunteer at the center and to help the children re-build our garden.  Our staff appreciates the young farmers because this helps the children who are curios, like to learn by doing and love working with the soil.  The children experience satisfaction that comes from caring for something over time.  They learn by observing the cycle of a plant’s life, first you plant the seed, see it grow, give fruit, and later die.

Working in a garden, gives the children a break from the stresses of life and the ever increasing demands of the school work. 

Gardening gives children a chance to learn an important life skill, it adds to the concepts learned in the classroom, by being hands on with nature. Gardening is also a great way to teach environmental awareness by exploring the importance of recycling and the mechanisms of nature.

The Royal Horticultural Society, UK, released a new report that found numerous benefits to children who work in gardens. The study, performed by the National Foundation for Educational Research, looked at 10 schools ranging in size and location from inner city to smaller towns.

They found that students who are exposed to growing their own plant-based food have increased life and learning skills. They exhibit higher literacy, increased understanding of food production, wider vocabularies, and better awareness of the seasons, a sense of responsibility, more self-confidence, and a plethora of additional benefits.



Success Stories

Darwin (left) and Gerry (right), are Kids in Motion students.  At the beginning of the year, both students were struggling with reading. They used to stop reading when they saw a word they didn’t know.  After I started doing “Reading Buddies,” which consists of pairing two students so they can take turns reading to each other; their reading got better. They are not only better at reading, but now both are doing excellent in math particularly adding and subtracting. Darwin and Gerry are great students that love to learn and now enjoy reading. 

De Mujer a Mujer, Cara a Cara

Amazing group with testimonials to empower and encourage our mothers to pray.

Prezi: Kids in Motion: The Possibilities are Endless

Check out our Kids in Motion Prezi

The Possibilities are Endless

Peace

The Apopka Family Learning Center was born of the Justice and Peace Office, Inc., envisioned and founded as a social justice organization by Sister Teresa McElwee. She was often heard saying Pope Paul VI's famous quote, "If you want peace, work for justice."  

We continue to keep peace as a central focus today at our learning center. At the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, students were asked to complete the sentence "Peace is..."  A variety of answers were given.  One especially poignant one was a kindergartner's explanation.  He said, "The orange play dough on top is God. The smaller play dough below is His Son.  And that is me (on the right.)"

Peace and positive discipline are major focal points this year.  Students are "caught being good" every day, and whenever an adult walks into a classroom displaying a peaceful moment, a hand is added to the peace tree.  

"Peace is possible," as Mattie Stepanek would say.

For Christmas this year, we continued our focus on peace.  We were too late to get our ornaments turned in for Mattie's Peace Tree so we made our own at the center, and the Peace Tree project extended to Florida.  Every child in the center and the Souns® and Rhymes Family Literacy class decorated an ornament for the 2012 Peace Tree that was proudly displayed in our lobby. 

For this year's holiday performance, the children closed by singing, "Peace." 

We are also beginning to read some of Mattie Stepanek's poetry together at the center.  When a fifth grade student read some of his poetry, she said, "It's so amazing that a child actually could write poetry that could help he world be a better place and stop the bullying.  We could just be like a family all around the world, sharing, being all with each other."  

                                                       

                     

She went home so inspired that she came back to share a poem she had written at home. 

Help children recognize peace as a tangible concept and not an abstract idea using a lesson plan approved by Mattie's Foundation.     Exploring Peace through Heartsongs   

The current Education Director, Della Palacios, agrees with Mattie  that "Peace is possible."  

 

For more ideas on creating a more peaceful environment, visit our Pinterest Peace Board. 

Dreams for Our Children

The January parent meetings  looked a little different than those in the past.

At the Apopka Family Learning Center, our vision is "Empowering Children and Families through Education." 

During the January parent meetings, we asked the parents, 

"What are your hopes and dreams for your children's future?"

Every parent was given one color.
The rules were that they needed to collectively design a drawing illustrating the question without trading colors.  

 Children ate while the parents worked.

Once the artwork was completed, the groups appointed a spokesperson to explain the group's effort. 

The drawings were different in themes but similar threads sewed all of them together. The dream of a completed and well-rounded education while connected to God/Dios.

                                         

The final January parent meeting was January 29th.  The ever-creative Ms. Beatrice came up with the lovely 

idea of having families co-create the image together.

         

                  

The conclusion of the meeting tied the adult class offerings in with the vision the parents have for their children.  A parent is a child's first teacher and simply modeling the importance of education by attending a class sets a precedent for the child.