It was around 2005 when I was very
disturbed at the news and innocently asked
myself the question 'What can I do to make a
difference?' I decided to meditate once a
month, and at the end of each meditation I
was inspired to write a sentence. After a
period of around 12 months I realised I had
creatively put together a collection of
positive words as a prayer and
visualisation. Initially I posted the words
to my friends and clients in the form of a
printed newsletter. Early in 2008 I had a
thought as to how the words could travel
more freely internationally, and I was
inspired to have postcards printed.
Initially I decided to have 5,000 printed,
and within 6 weeks they had all flown away
from me through people who liked them and
were willing to share them with their own
friends and family. There are currently more
than 192,000 postcards passed on to over 115
countries in the world as at November 2015."
- words of Vanessa Edwards.
Give a copy of the "Global Peace Prayer"
postcard to each child in the classroom.
Consider and discuss the meaning of each
sentence.
Choose 11 children to recite a sentence
(one child per sentence). Alternatively
depending on age
group, time available and focus the words
can be acted as a play, and/or recited to
music with
dance.
Geography lesson based on the travels of
the Global Peace Prayer
Weekly website statistics have recorded
sessions on the www.vandaehworks.co.uk
website from
over 115 countries around the world. This
suggests that Global Peace Prayer postcards
have
travelled to these different countries.
Names of these 115
countries are cut out and divided between
the number of children in the class ie: in a class of 30
children they will be given between 3 and 4
labels each. The children find out where
their countries are situated in the world. A
map of the world is placed on a cork board
surface, and the children then take it in
turns to come and pin their label on the map. This will
provide a good visual to demonstrate how far
the prayer has travelled. Alternatively
there is an App titled "been" and the same
exercise can be done individually if there are
computer tablets available?
The children are then
given 2 lists; the original list of
countries they have now pinned on the map, and a new list of
all the 257 countries of the world. The
children can then delete from their complete list of
world countries where the prayer has already
arrived, and then decide the countries the
Global Peace Prayer has yet to arrive. If
anyone knows of anyone living in any of these countries we can
arrange to send some postcards for sharing.
Talk about smiling and how
it is an international language and the
shortest distance between 2
people (being careful to
talk about child safety etc). Give out a
copy of the "Smile" poem to each
child and choose 8 children
to recite a sentence each in class (one
child per sentence):
Smiling is infectious, you
catch it like the flu
When someone smiled at me
today I started smiling too
I passed around the corner, and someone saw
my grin
When he smiled I realised
I'd passed it on to him
I recognised that smile,
then realised it's worth
A single smile just like
mine can travel round the earth
So if you see a smile
begin, don't leave it undetected
Let's start an epidemic
quick and get the world infected
Creative ideas and
discussion on how everyone can make a
difference and "Pay It Forward"
Discuss the story of the
film "Pay it Forward" where a teacher gives
the class an assignment to think of something to change
the world, and how they can put this idea
into action. One of the students had the idea to do
a good deed for 3 other people and not
expect anything in return, except that each person he helps
then helps 3 more people. This very quickly
accelerates and magnifies the goodwill factor in life.
This changes the students life, everyone in
his circle, and even people he has never met!
Ask the children to choose 3
people they would like to help ie a family
member, a friend and a stranger, then how they will
help them for instance helping Mum to unpack
the shopping when they get home from school,
allowing a friend to use their best coloured
felt tip pens when their own colour has run out, picking
up an item for someone who has dropped
something.
Time allowing, extra ideas
to discuss based on the "Pay It Forward"
message are:
Three imperfect people. One perfect idea.
Is it possible for one idea to change the world?
It's cool to be kind
The feel good factor from helping others.
Believe in the goodness of human nature.
Sometimes the simplest idea can make the biggest difference.
Have You Heard? When someone does you a big favour, don't pay it back ...
"Pay It Forward"
See extra article and You
Tube reference for further ideas:
30 Acts of Kindness that
Cost $1 or Less to Perform
By Alex and Olga Karpman www.superkindclub.com
For further information,
ideas or assistance contact
me.