
Peace work for children
On 21 September the International Day of Peace: what better occasion to bring children closer to such an important topic, always topical, and raise awareness even if the issue does not concern them closely? To do this, we have thought of some peace chores for children.
In this article
- Why talk about peace to children
- The chores to do with the children to talk about peace
- Making a peace flag
- The friendship card
- Rosette of peace
- Peace design
Why talk about peace to children
Talking about peace to the children it is important not only because in some areas of the world it is not taken for granted, but because it closely concerns our history: most likely, our grandparents or great-grandparents children they got to know the horror of war, deprivation, bombing up close. If in the family, or close to the family, there are still some elderly people who have lived through that period, take the opportunity to do so talk to children: for the little ones it will be an important learning moment, while for them it will be an opportunity to pass on history.
Also in the world wars there are still many, and often involve the more or less directly children: it is therefore good to remind them that not all live like us, and that we must fight for the common good, for all the other children on the planet, and carry values such as peace in our hearts.
The chores to do with the children to talk about peace
There are many concrete activities that can be done with children to sensitize them to peace, for example you can watch a together documentary age-appropriate explaining how people live in war zones, or buy gods books to read in the evening, or even attend some event where i refugees tell their story. But if they seem like complex activities or your child is still small, you can do chores together to remember the importance of peace.
Making a peace flag
Remember when the peace flags Were they displayed almost everywhere, on the balconies? Less happens now, but we can brush up on this custom to try to reproduce it with children. There are two possibilities:
- sew a peace flag: you will need pieces of fabric of many colors, purple, blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange, red; cut strips of 5cm x 50cm and sew them together on the long side, in the order of the colors, by hand or with the machine (you can also use a stapler, if you really don't talk about sewing!). Once finished, write the word PEACE in the center with a white fabric marker, then hang the flag wherever you like;
- peace flag in cardboard: following the same order of colors, cut the strips of cardboard, which you can glue or pin, then write the word peace in the middle.
- mini-flags for friends: why not give your teammates a flag each? Cut rectangles of white cardboard measuring 7x12cm, then colored horizontally always following the order of the colors, making strips 1cm high each. Repeat and write PACE on both cards, then use a popsicle stick to make the pole, gluing it on one side, finally glue the two sides together so that the flag is double-sided.
The friendship card
To express the peace concept do so: let yours son draw the outline of his hand by placing it on a white card and obtain two shapes, right and left. Cut out, then color in different colors, choosing two skin colors. Cut another card in the shape of a circle in the color you want, so that it is a little bigger than your hands. Now glue your hands together so that they come together, just like when you shake your hand! You can decoration the circle with the colors of peace or write the the word peace in many languages, looking for the translation on the internet.
Rosette of peace
A valid alternative to the flag is the cockade. Write the word on a piece of paper peace, then cut out seven strips of purple, blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange and red fabric, then glue (or pin) one end to the cardboard and let them fall.
Read also: Lavoretti: salt dough and its variantsPeace design
Do you remember the old advertising of that fashion brand that aimed precisely on friendship between peoples? Take a cue to draw with your children many children who take each other by the hand. Choose nationality going to read their history, discovering their features (color and type of hair, eyes, height, skin color) but also how they dress, what objects represent them (headgear? working tools?) finally look for how to write peace in their language and write it in a cartoon next to each of them.
Remember together with the children the importance of peace it serves to sensitize them and bring them closer to social issues within their reach, and chores are the best way to get them involved!