Dia de la Paz

Happy Peace Day!!! I think this is one of my favorite days in Spain. It was started by a teacher on the anniversary of Ghandi's death, and it's a day to talk about what peace is, and how students can work for peace in their school and community.

I got to help out with a sixth grade class as they did some activities before the schoolwide celebration, and it was so much fun. The kids read quotes about peace from people all over the world like John Lennon, Rigoberta Menchu, Ghandi, Tolstoy, Confucius, and Benjamin Franklin, and tons more.   They talked about who the people were, and then we hung all the quotes on the back wall. Then, the kids wrote their own message of peace and we covered a box in our messages. I got to write one too, and the teacher shared her example and mine with the class. It was kinda cool that the teacher really like part of my message and told the kids that it was important. I'll probably never have someone impressed with something I said, so we should always remember this day.

The school-wide celebration was so fun. Everyone, from preschool to sixth graders, was there to participate, and it was the first time for me to see the whole school together. In the states, we'd have big presentations in the gym or the auditorium, but at my school we have a stage outdoors on the patio, so all of our presentations take place outside. Standing in the sun being too hot in my winter coat and listen to kids talk about peace was pretty cool. I'm definitely not in the States. The first and second grades made walls with the juice boxes (bricks) that everyone has. They decorated them with paper and words of peace, and then they put all the walls together in the front of the stage. So cute!

I got to see some of my second, third, fifth and sixth graders present, which was pretty cool. I was like a proud mama. Getting to see my kids on their own, and see them using Spanish, was really fun. Two of my sixth graders were hosting the event, so that was cool to see too. We listened to John Lennon's Imagine in English between presentations, so I was pretty happy to know that song really well. At the end of the presentation, the whole school sang a song about peace. It was in Spanish, but I got a hand out of the words, so even I could sing along. The kids were waving flags, and dancing, and singing, so it was definitely a celebration.

Happy Day of Peace! I hope you think of how you can help work for peace in the world around you!