Safe Spaces + Peaceful Community
Directions
Start with the discussion questions below.
Then, watch the video of the reading of the book Home by Carson Ellis. This beautifully illustrated story shares the many different kinds of houses and spaces people (and animals!) call home.
Do the Safe Spaces project
Watch the video of Last Stop on Market Street
Do the Peaceful Communities project
Supplies
Collage materials: Cardboard, scrap paper, construction paper
Paint or coloring supplies
Scissors
Glue
Discussion
What makes you feel at home?
Have you ever felt at home even when you weren’t physically able to be at home? Is there something you can think of, or hold in your mind and heart, that makes you feel that way even when you’re away from home?
What makes you feel safe? Where is a place where you feel safe or who is a person you feel safe with?
What are some things you could do to help other people feel safe?
What does “peaceful” mean? Can you think of a time you felt peaceful?
What are some things you could do to make your community more peaceful?
Video: Home by Carson Ellis
Safe Spaces project
Using your collage materials, create a special safe place. It could be a home of sorts, or something totally out of your imagination. You can make it 2-d (flat) like a picture, or 3-d by using a box to make it a home for a favorite stuffed animal or toy. See if you can create a version of, or that represents something that makes you feel safe from each of your 5 senses:
What is something you can taste that makes you feel safe? (Maybe a special food made by someone you love or something you ate one time when you were feeling safe?)
What is something that you can see that makes you feel safe? (Maybe the flowers in the yard of a place you love? Maybe something you see in your imagination, like a tree house that is yours alone.) Create a version of this for your Safe Space.
What is something that you can touch that makes you feel safe? (Maybe something specific, like a favorite toy or pet, or maybe something like just feeling your feet on the floor or grass, or pushing against a wall that makes you feel grounded.)
What is something that you can hear that makes you feel safe? (Maybe someone you love talking in the next room while you fall asleep, or a song that makes you think of a fun or special time when you hear it.)
What is something that you can smell that makes you feel safe? (Maybe the smells of your favorite meal cooking, fresh cut grass from a neighbor you trust mowing their lawn, or a smell in nature whether you’ve experienced it yourself or not- like a flower, the ocean, or fresh mountain air.)
Video: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena
Peaceful community project
Now, using your collage supplies, think about all the different places in a community. Think about all the different people and businesses and public places for people to gather. You can create a list first, or you can just start creating.
Invite others to create their own part of your peaceful community and build a whole peaceful city!
Here’s another version of the cardboard community project that we absolutely love from Colorful Minds Kids in England.
