What does PEACE feel like?
For Remembrance day I read “What does PEACE feel like?” by Vladimir Radunsky to my 1,2,3s. This book is comprised of children from around the world sharing what peace feels, smells, tastes, looks, and sounds like to them. I had a cut-out of each letter of the phrase “What does peace feel like to me?” and each student received a letter to write and draw what peace feels like to them. As a class, we collectively glued these letters on a poster board and put it up in the school hall.
The finished product, November 2015
After reading the book we tested our own senses and listened to nature sounds, felt merino wool, smelled vanilla bean, ‘pretended’ to taste a lemon and a cookie, and looked at an optical illusion. My students then reflected on what peace is for them. They expressed their ideas of peace on a worksheet with both writing and illustrations. This lesson allowed our class to focus on being grateful and recognizing the things that we appreciate and deem ‘peaceful’ in our lives.
Some examples include:
“What does peace…. smell like?”: “the forest”, “peace smells like a baked cake”, “my faivorite fish cooked in butter and lemon on the side”, “smell like a flowing river with a lily pad”
“What does peace…sound like?”: “the wind blowing”, “rain drops”, “a flowing note on the violin”, “peace sounds like birds chirping in the forest”,
“What does peace…look like?”: “friends baking together”, “my cat siting at the fireplace”, “like games on an iPad”, “my bed”, “a beautiful ocean with colors”
“What does peace…feel like?”: “walking to school on a cold, sunny morning in fall”, “soft blanket”, “rilly cold snow”, “playing in the pool”, “peace feels like my favrit stufe Yukon”
“What does peace…taste like?”: “chocolate”, “cookees and candee”, “ice cream”, “spegety”, “blueberries, my favourite!”
There was an overwhelming trend of peace sounding like the forest or just quiet and peace tasting like sugary treats. I really enjoyed this lesson! The students were engaged and excited to share their connections with peace and the various things in their lives that brought them peace. It was beneficial for me as a new teacher in their classroom as I got to know the students much better from this activity.