inspired learning

My wishes for each of my kids are simple--to have a life filled with happiness, love, faith and compassion.
Recently, my kids, once again have made me proud. And, if you know my kids, you might guess it isn't through their extraordinary athletic ability, or their profound academic endeavours. In fact, every now and then, I have to admit that I wish the world stopped for just a moment to appreciate that each and every one of us has something really great to celebrate. And, just because it isn't as obvious as the kids next door doesn't mean it isn't just as spectacular.
For Graham, it is in the way he can be ever so sensitive--like the time he walked over to a neighbor's house to check on a peer. Some other boys hadn't been very nice and Graham was worried that the neighbor boy had his feelings hurt and he had to check. Or the time Graham arrived home from school and was upset because some classmates had teased another child on the playground by drilling it in her head that she was "special needs." When I asked what he did, he told me he had decided to sit with her.
And then their is Ella. Ella is caring, encouraging, loving and never jealous. She is so genuinely happy for others that you can't help but smile. She loves giving and finds much joy in philanthropy.

So when my kids arrived home from school with plans for getting involved in Pennies for Peace it came as no surprise that they dove right in with their hearts. Ella decided to make a sign, armed with knowledge and a glass jar she walked from door to door to ask for pennies. The kids were able to share all that they learned with neighbors--that one cent buys a pencil for a student in the mountain villages of Pakistan, that 100 pennies would pay for a teacher for one day, that the people of the village were good citizen because they all helped together to build their school. They also learned just where Pakistan and Afghanistan are on the globe. They learned that before these kids had school, they had class outside and used sticks to write in the dirt. The learning carried over as well into their daily homework. Ella was inspired to use her spelling words in sentences about Pennies for Peace. Graham figured out that if each neighbor gave an average of 25 cents and we have 12 neighbors that we could buy 300 pencils! And, they both learned that $25 dollars equals 2500 pennies or 20 pounds of pennies. Pennies for Peace gave my kids a chance to be inspired to work on math, spelling, language arts and even better caring about our global community and each other as humans. Pennies for Peace gave me another chance to be proud of my kids and the reminder that greatness is truly in the eye of the beholder. Each one of my kids is great, and when I focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses, I quickly realize that they are on the path to true success, having a life filled with all of my wishes...love, faith, happiness and compassion.