And a Small Child shall Lead Us

Peace for me: The Children’s Museum that changes lives

As the school bus arrived and the children filed in, the murmur of conversations and palpable anticipation filled the atrium. It was field trip day!

As a volunteer and former teacher, I have been on both sides of this fence, making me feel honored and excited as I welcomed the teachers and kiddos to this special place and to the memorable day this was certain to be!

The Peace Pavilion Museum, in which they had arrived, was created to impart life principals for changing the world — one small child at a time. This place was made for young elementary aged children. The lessons were designed to speak to their specific world.

And I was the privileged one to teach today’s lesson in Exhibit One — Peace for Me.

The youthful group included a couple of classrooms and was divided into manageable small groups for instruction, as well as for rotating through the four unique exhibits available. The topics all stemmed from the concept of Peace — on understanding peaceful ideas, acquiring peaceful objectives as well as gaining practical, peaceful applications.

My prepared lesson would be repeated for four small groups during my volunteer assignment, and I mentally conjured up my stamina in the enthusiasm department— in order to present the concepts as if THIS group was the ONLY group with whom I was presenting! With heartfelt greetings I gathered my little sponges, pulling them in for some every day, yet mind altering, life changing stuff.

This exhibit was tagged, Peace for Me, and I began my lesson after greeting each child, welcoming them by name, pausing to make small talk, smiling while making deliberate eye contact. My first objective was to truly welcome each child.

As everyone settled and became comfortably gathered in, I asked my little charges to show me two thumbs up followed by the instruction to: “Tip your thumbs to point towards yourself while saying, “Peace for Me.”

“What is Peace for Me?” I pondered to myself…

And without waiting for a response, I broke into the familiar song, “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands…” pausing briefly to invite my peace seeking pupils to sing along! — some do, some don’t, but I’ve got their attention.

“Isn’t it great to feel happy?!” I asked the rhetorical question. “I bet you’re always happy!”

And, caught up in the fun moment, many of the children spontaneously replied, “YES!”

“Wow!” I responded. “That’s amazing. But wait, what?! ALWAYS? Happy is the ONLY way you ever feel?”

Heads shake no, of course not… and more answers spill forth with the myriad of ways a little person can feel.

“Sometimes I’m sad.”

“I get excited!”

“My brother annoys me.”

“My friend made me mad once.”

…There are so many ways to feel!

Next, I admitted that I had also experienced all of the feelings presented. I assured them that it’s perfectly normal to have a wide array of feelings.

The key is in how we react to our feelings. The key is what we CHOOSE to DO.

First things first, I adamantly suggested to my little listeners that it would never be okay to react to our feelings by being hurtful to others or to ourselves. For example, if someone angers you, whether deliberately or not, you can CHOOSE how to react. Maybe people can MAKE you mad, but YOU get to decide what you do about it.

Having a plan is helpful — thinking about feelings and deciding in advance, what you might do in possible situations, will be important.

For example, when dealing with anger, some suggestions that you may want to choose from could be to:

• find someone to listen to you. It can make all the difference in how you feel after you have put your story into words, helping to relieve and better understand your own feelings.
• find some alone time, somewhere to just be by yourself, to reflect and to settle down.
• listen to music.
• write about it.
• do something physical like running or swinging high on a swing.

You will have to find what works for you. You may have to PRACTICE seeing what works best for you.

Taking care of your emotions begins by recognizing that your feelings are real and normal and that you are not without control — namely the control you have over yourself and any actions you CHOOSE to take.

Peace for Me is about personal feelings for sure but there’s more…

If you are to have peace in your life, you need to physically take care of yourself.

Most of the time, your parents will help you.

This may begin with trying to understand your parents’ motives for requiring you to follow their directions.

Do you think your mom is just being mean when she interrupts your play or TV show, telling you it’s time to head to bed? Do you think it’s not fair that she gets to decide when you need to sleep?

Well, how do you feel the next day if you don’t get enough sleep? If you are yawning and blurry eyed all day at school, will you have a good day?

And guess what? Have you ever thought about how parents need their rest too? When dad sends you to bed it’s for everyone’s benefit. It helps your whole family have Peace for Me!

Your body needs sleep to function along with nutrition to keep you healthy. “Does anyone here like candy?”

(Yes! I do! Yum!)

“On the count of three, everyone shout out your favorite candy. One, two three!”

(Suckers, m&m’s, Sweet Tarts, candy bars!)

“Good choices! I like candy too. But, what if I ate suckers all day long? I wouldn’t feel good! (Rubbing my stomach!) UGH! My tummy hurts just thinking about it.

So, when your mom says no candy, she’s not being mean. She’s helping you feel healthy and good because she loves you. She’s helping you have (that’s right, get your thumbs ready!) Peace for Me!” (in unison).

“And we all need exercise! At school that means recess and P.E. When you are at home it might mean organized teams, like soccer and baseball or maybe riding bikes and running around the back yard.

Exercise can help your body and mind. It can relieve stress and help you have fun. It also keeps you fit. Exercise helps you keep (get ready with your thumbs up, then pointing them to your chest) Peace for Me.”

“Dealing with feelings and finding healthy ways to deal with conflict, as well as taking care of our bodies with food and sleep and exercise are just a few ways that you can achieve Peace for Me.”

“Today, you get to practice these ideas at this exhibit to help you remember how to have Peace for Me.”

• You may choose to make a mask to help you remember that your feelings don’t have to hide. While you’re creating, remember the ways we talked about dealing with emotions and healthy ways to stay in control.
• Write a note or draw a picture to represent communicating your feelings — which could be the key to helping you release and validate your feelings.
• Make a plate with food stickers and drawings of healthy foods, while remembering to feed your body so that you feel your best.
• Use your words to talk about and describe emotions while playing a guessing game about how someone might be feeling.
• Name feelings, while pushing buttons and matching faces with feelings, remember that all feelings are normal while your reaction to them is where your choice of control comes in.

“While you are making choices and experiencing this exhibit, remember that the concept we are exploring is “Peace for Me”. If you have any questions or comments I will be here, happy to talk with you,” I reminded the children.

The peace searching pupils were then released to explore the exhibit. A reminder for softly spoken voices and careful walking feet set them up for success.

And, after a determined time to play, the rotation is activated, sending this small group on to the next of three additional categories under the Peace Pavilion’s umbrella of topics: “Peace for All”, “Peace for the World”, and “Peace for the Planet”.

And most importantly? I walked around connecting, to the best of my ability, with the children on an individual basis. Eye contact, smiles, re-directing, warmth in my posture and approachability are all key.

After all, I realized that the details of this day may or may not make it back home and to school with them. But the way we helped them feel while they’re here? That will never be forgotten.

And just like that (SNAP fingers!) The delicate, yet hearty seed of peace is planted in a classroom of little souls.

As our little peace troopers leave, I say a silent, heartfelt prayer for this bunch— that their life might be blessed today with knowledge and information that can be readily applied. That our efforts will be blessed by the Prince of Peace, Himself.

Because tiny humans can learn the practical elements of peace.

And, our youngest members of society can be models for the world.

Kids are worth it.

Let the good times grow!

In an effort to nurture my friendships, I am shouting out to writers who have inspired me with their talent as well as the ideas in their creative, amazing articles! Thank you for your support.

Christine Vann, MSc. Ruby Lee Louise Peacock Adelina Vasile Melissa Frost Jill (Conquering Cognitions) John Egelkrout Thomas McGuire Miss Catherine La Grange, spinster Pam Winter Rene Davis Lydia Knox Susan Wheelock Julie King Good Tara Reynolds Kristina God

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