Making Our Own Zen: Elementary School Peace Garden and Mural
Help me give my students an immersive experience to promote peace, mindfulness, curiosity and tolerance. We need paint, paint, and more paint to get started!! Please help us create some Zen in our school!
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
We are a diverse school full of excited, inquisitive, and curious students. The school is comprised of over 900 students, ranging in ages from 4 to 11 years old. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some students are from the well-established neighborhood in which the school is nestled, while other students have moved into the community as immigrants or refugees. We have students from a wide swath of backgrounds including Mexican, Guatemalan, Syrian, Italian, and French.
As a result of the low socio-economic level of the area and the urban community in which our school is located, most of our students qualify for some sort of public assistance and we are a Title I school.
We also teach students with an array of learning disabilities, as well as physical disabilities. With all of our differences, we weave a single narrative throughout our school of unity. We come together as one to learn, play, explore, and create among both teachers and students.
My Project
For our project, our intention is to create a safe, relaxing, and calming area within our school courtyard for students to mindfully find peace and a place to refocus throughout the day. Many of our students come with an ACE's background (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and school is often a place where they find security and comfort. Our Peace Garden and Mural will not only beautify our school courtyard and playground, but create a functional space for students, teachers, and classes to enjoy nature. It will also be a space for children to sit and admire the collaborative works of art made by students, and find their center when needed.
We hope to instill a sense of community and value into our Peace Garden and Mural that will both nurture and foster positive growth, mindfulness, and tolerance.
Students will have a lot of ownership within this project as well. We will be working with a team of recommended 4th and 5th graders throughout this project, as well as any parent and teacher volunteers who are interested via the PTA. These muralists will assist with priming, sketching, and painting. Additionally they will aid in the decorating of the garden, including planting and caring for plants. Each step of the process is an opportunity to learn a new skill or hone a developing one. Our hope is that students will be proud of our work together and carry this experience, both the creation and the utilization, with them throughout their lives.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Crown Morris and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
