Peace Projects 2024
The P.E.A.C.E Projects is an initiative to sponsor and mentor early childhood educators, in promoting Peace Education for young children in the classroom.
By Annetta Biscoe, Director, White Marsh Site — Trappe, Maryland
A Sensory Garden
This was an exciting year working on the PEACE grant activities. I took a class on how to make a sensory garden to help children with autism. We planted a butterfly bush, lemon balm, lambs ear, lavender, cosmos, sunflowers, and radishes. In our vegetable garden we planted a tomato plant, spinach, and broccoli which the children grew from seeds. We also planted radishes, daisies, and marigolds. The children enjoyed growing and planting the plants in our garden.
Kindness Rocks
We also made a beautiful rock garden with rocks the children painted that have uplifting sayings on them. We hired a landscaper to dig out the area and lay landscaping fabric and then pea gravel so the children could put their painted rocks in the area. The purpose of the rock garden was to make rocks to share with others.
The Birds and Bees
We added a wind chime outside of our classroom, which the children are enjoying. We also added a bluebird house outside so the children could see a bird build a nest. We put together and painted bird houses as well as making and decorating sail boats. We continued yoga with Ms. Karen, which was a great way to keep calm and learn how to breathe. Another calming activity was to watch caterpillars hatch and then let the butterflies free. We also hosted a paint night for families to enjoy painting a butterfly with family and friends.
Games, Books, and other Strategies
I also added a Bop It game to the calming area and a Simon game, which they enjoy. I bought two new books for our already established calming area: All We Need Is Love and a Really Soft Pillow opens in a new tab and I Am Stronger Than Anxiety opens in a new tab. We continue to use our outdoor book library, where the families take home books to share with their families.
I also purchased a visual timer for our preschool classroom to help with classroom transitions for a child with autism. The therapist he sees said a timer and picture cues would be helpful and it has been.
We continue our peaceful strategies each day to help the children and families in a positive way and deal with daily pressures. We are striving each day to promote peace between co-workers, children, and families. We do this by showing kindness, modeling positive behaviors and healthy ways to express emotions. Thank you for allowing us to be part of the PEACE Projects, the children really enjoyed the positive activities we did this year to promote peace in our classroom.
