Smrt Lernins

Today was our first day of our Peace Begins at Home/Pennies for Peace class. We started at around 10:15 and went through to about 12:30.

We all started the morning together by watching the 12 minute video about the program. Even the little ones sat still for it (mostly). I talked to them about what a penny can buy here and in Afghanistan and Pakistan, demonstrating by putting pennies into the big glass jar. We then broke into our two groups, <8 and 8+.

The little ones (under age 8 ) read Listen to the Wind with Ms Mel, drew pictures about what they learned (the Tank drew a bridge, but he said Dr. Greg really was walking on a ladder), and the talked about what it means to be good people. They were about done after that, so Ms Mel and Ms Gretchen took them outside to run around for a while.

The four big kids (8+) are reading the youth edition of Three Cups of Tea. It’s edited from the original version to include less about Greg Mortenson’s personal life and political ideology, and to include an interview with Amira Mortenson, his daughter. We talked a little about the first few chapters, and then did an activity from the grades 4-8 lesson plan where the kids wrote down things they knew about the US, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, then things they wanted to learn about, and their predictions for the answers to their questions. There’s also a space for the answers, once they find them. We talked a little bit about the connection between the US and the other countries, a little about the war in Afghanistan, and about religious extremism. The children (two boys, two girls) were shocked to hear about conditions for people, especially women, under the Taliban.

The next thing we did was look at a map of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The children outlined both countries in different colors, then found the US, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on a world map and colored those countries in the same colors they’d used to outline them on the other map. We talked about how far away Afghanistan and Pakistan are from us, but how, despite the distance, we’re connected in many ways. We reconvened w/ the little kids for lunch and then watched a short video on the geography of the region.

The little children went outside to play, so the big kids and I made a “recipe” for building a school. We imagined starting on a barren piece of ground in a mountainous, rural region, and what we’d need to make a school and to get the supplies there. It started simple, with bricks…would the cart them in or make them? They decided to make them, so they needed mud or clay. They needed concrete, but decided to import that using a “heavy truck,” until they got to the river, when they decided they’d need a boat, too. For roof tiles, they though they could use recycled metal from vehicles or even old cans, if importing roof tiles wasn’t cost effective. We talked about the things we’d need to overcome a lack of running water (pipes bringing it up from the river?) and electricity (manual tools or generators, which they felt should be solar-powered). The list was pretty long — two columns, with notes about the origin of all the materials — and they ultimately decided that the most important thing on the list was money!

I think they really enjoyed today’s lessons. Not completely sure what we’ll do next week. We’ll focus more on the book and on cultural things about the region. Friday, I’m hoping to do something with food!

Sum, sum, summertime…you cannot get here fast enough!

McLernins Academy of Advanced Lernins is fast becoming the McLernins Institute for Fine Arts, as Captain Science is wrapping up subject after subject, leaving us with a curricula that is now comprised almost entirely of poetry, creative writing, and music. At this pace, he’ll be ready for finishing school in no time. He’ll be quite the hit at cotillion (and yes, I’m still planning on enrolling him in this, so begone, naysayers!).

I have so many things I’d like to do this summer! Places to go (like Fernbank, to which we have season passes, and Asheville, NC) and things to do (like Pennies for Peace and summer camps on Lego robotics and arts n’ crafts) and people to see (like Patchfire and crew, which is sort of a regular thing, and all the McLernins relatives).

Four more (after today) truly academic days and then five days at “Camp Nana.”

In other news, Finland’s schools achieve a high level of success by…um, doing exactly what we homeschoolers are doing. High level of parental involvement? Combining age groups? Keeping kids w/ the same teacher year after year? Studying in a relaxed, informal atmosphere?

Yup, sounds like homeschooling to me.

This summer, we will be hosting a Pennies for Peace program from our home. We already run a small co-op on Tuesdays, so making the leap to a one week (with at least one follow-up at the end of summer) “summer camp” seems like a totally manageable idea.

Pennies for Peace is was founded by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, as well as being the co-founded and executive director of the Central Asia Institute, which builds schools for schools for children in regions that have no schools and few resources. Most significantly, the Central Asia Institute builds schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including areas where women have been deprived of education for decades. Says Mortenson, “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual; if you educate a girl, you educate a community.”

The Central Asia Institute has provided educational alternatives to the violence-fueling extremist madrassas that currently pepper that region of the world. By educating girls and young women, the CAI is contributing to improving overall quality of living and health in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Most importantly, the CAI’s projects help empower communities to empower themselves and seek additional educational opportunities. I can’t say enough wonderful things about CAI or Greg Mortenson.

Pennies for Peace is a program developed for school-aged children with the goal if helping them “broaden their cultural horizons and learn about their capacities as philanthropists.” Students in the Pennies for Peace program learn about Pakistan and Afghanistan and reach out to their community through the philanthropic task of raising pennies to purchase pencils and other school supplies for impoverished school children. One penny, which buys nothing in the United States, buys a pencil in Afghanistan. This most insignificant of coins can be a pathway to something incredibly significant, a powerful metaphor for even the smallest among us can make a powerful impact and be a part of remarkable change.

If you’re an Atlanta-area homeschooler, please start spreading the news of our Pennies for Peace program. We’re calling our group “Peace Begins at Home — Georgia Homeschoolers Raising Pennies for Peace.” We’ll host both a K-4th group and a 4th-8th group. The K-4th group will read Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea, learn about their community, cultural diversity, about Afghanistan and Pakistan. The 4th-8th group will read Three Cups of Tea, compare our culture with those in Central Asia, and learn how to be effective global citizens. All students will learn ways to raise pennies for donation to Pennies for Peace. They’ll spend the summer raising pennies and we will reconvene in August to pool our pennies and make our donation.

If you’re interested in being a part of Peace Begins at Home, please email me at smrtmama@smrtlernins.com. We’ll have limited space, so it’s first come, first serve. While Pennies for Peace is a secular program, Peace Begins at Home welcomes students from all walks of life (though please be willing and able to respect the religious beliefs of others and those held by the cultures we will be studying).

Our anticipated dates at this point are May 24-28, with a follow-up date some time in August, though this is subject to change. Please feel free to email with any questions!