This week was spent learning about Martin Luther King Jr. We learned about his life, his death, and his dream for all people. We read lots of great books about Martin Luther King Jr. and were even able to watch his famous "I have a dream" speech on youtube. The children were amazed at all of the people that they saw there. They said "That must be like 50 people!" I explained to them that it was actually 250,000 people. I guess we need to keep practicing estimation ;)
They recognized this scene in several of the books that we read and we talked over and over again about how Martin wanted people not to be "judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." We spent a lot of time discussing what these big words really mean and the children decided that no, it doesn't matter what someone looks like, but it matters whether or not they are nice, fun to play with, and friendly. I totally agree!
We had a big discussion about what our classroom would have been like if we lived in Martin's time. The children looked around and noticed who wouldn't be here with us and they were very upset to think that we wouldn't have those good friends and playmates. They all agreed that they are happy that Martin helped to change these things.
We also made a lift the flap book that talked about Martin Luther King Jr's dream. The children enjoyed working on this throughout the week and enjoyed reading it. I hope this will give them a memory of this important time in history.
I was very proud of the children and the things that they were saying about how life would be different and that they all are happy that we are all together.
I really think that the children don't notice the things about each other that sometimes adults do. They just see their friends, playmates, and buddies. I wish we could all think like that!
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