first of all, just like in my childhood experiences of peace vigils on friday afternoons,  know that all children had the option not to participate. all children knew they could drop out at any time.  with that being understood, we prepared for a walk towards the nearest busy street a couple of blocks away.

after reading one of our dr. king books the children chose what message they wanted on their sign.

we framed it by asking the children to think of something they liked to do with grown ups or something they don’t want to have happen to them. admittedly, when mr rob put on this year’s theme song in the background, i almost got pretty teary:

don’t hit me
don’t push me
walk with me
share with me
keep the earth clean
don’t be naughty
play with me
be nice
don’t call me names

we pretended that we were walking with the hundreds of thousands of people who walked before, we waved and smiled at passing cars, and in our little town, i think we confused some people.

confusion can be good sometimes.

 

again, old calendars were brought out to use as preschoolers liked.

some kids simply removed certain pages to take home as posters for their walls.  that was a new one. : )

 

doll house turned parking garage and me getting a chance to do what i used to do with my own son:  tape roads and parking places.

it was a popular place!

we’re full swing into our week of honoring dr martin luther king jr.  a couple of my favorite read alouds:

i read the first one most often.  i wish it was bigger than a board book.  the text seems to simplify and clarify the reality.

 

our week has had conversation on guns and shooting (including a preschooler sharing about the tragedy in arizona), making brown paint out of the rainbow colors, painting, painting, painting, listening to “my own two hands” by jack johnson/ben harper, a lot of “THAT’S NOT FAIR” when describing the life and times of dr king.  this is one time i appreciate the phrase, “that’s not fair.”

still to come:  dr king collage faces, listening to “i have a dream,” coming up with our own slogans for a peace march, and more dreaming to keep the dream alive.  stay tuned.

 

the best way we’ve found to warm up hands after a cold time on the playground?

warm water in the tubs.

delightful!