I felt it would be great to start the new year with reviving my series – Virtues Series! It was quite successful and I hope to continue sharing ideas and love with you. If you are new to my blog, subscribe this month to receive a Freebie: 9 Printable Virtues Cards with suggested activities! You can also download a set of cards on Quotes on Equality and Peace I created almost 2 years ago.

Today I want to talk to you about Peacefulness. It is a new year, we are 18 years into the 21st century, but our world is still being shaken by so much dispute, wars and tragedies. Our children are growing up not knowing what peace truly is.

When I was growing up, we celebrated Children’s Day by having Side walk Chalk Pictures contests. And every year, as far as I remember, I drew the same picture: a bomb broken in half and crossed with red lines, and in the middle – a white dove, a symbol of peace. And the words that translate into English as: “Peace to Peace, We don’t need Wars!”

So besides sharing with you how wonderful peace is, and some tips to promote peacefulness at home, I want to share a simple craft that you can make with your children at home. You can also draw it with chalk on side walks!

Materials needed:

A piece of white paper

A marker or a pencil of your choice

Scissors

Sellotape

A straw or a chopstick

Process:

Trace your hands on a piece of white paper, in a way so your thumbs meet.

Shape the dove by drawing a head and a tail

Draw some lines on your hand prints to mimic the feathers

Cut out and stick a straw/a chopstick to the back

How to use this dove to promote peacefulness:

  1. Using a map of the world, talk about places that are now at war. Send the dove to those countries on the map. Wish them peace.
  2. Keep the dove in a visible place. Make an agreement that when someone in the family is not feeling very peaceful, they should first get the dove and think about what bothers them, and then try and express their feelings differently.
  3. Learn and sing “Peace is the world smiling”

I hope you enjoyed making the Peace Dove with us today. I wish you a peaceful year ahead!