Teach Peace: Books & Activities for Kids
“If we are to teach real peace in this world… we shall have to begin with the children.” -Mahatma Gandhi
We couldn’t agree more!
So we created and curated a variety of activities to teach children about peace and how to spread it wildly: in ourselves, our homes, our communities, and the world.
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Teach Peace: Books & Activities for Kids
To achieve peace, we have to teach peace. And there’s no better place to start than with our youngest and most impressionable minds.
Teach kids about different types of peace and how they can share it with others through engaging books and activities.
Begin by asking children what they already know. Ask what peace means to them. Responses can be drawn, discussed, or described in writing.
Analyze & Discuss: Does peace mean the same thing to everyone?
Books About Peace
Peace is an Offering by Annette LeBox uses simple rhyming text to describe some of the small things in life that bring peace and to remind us how peace can be shared every day.
Print our Peace is an Offering Activity Guide that includes a free poetry printable!
I am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness teaches kids that when we can learn to let worry and fear go, get in tune with our thoughts and feelings, and share our peace with others, we will be making our world a better place for everyone.
Join author Susan Verde as she reads the story aloud. #KidLitTV
Print our free I am Peace Activity Guide.
Check out this I am Peace Song by Emily Arrow to accompany the book. It’s a catchy tune and includes fun movements for kids to follow. #KidLitTunes
Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz takes you on a journey around the world to meet different children and learn the many ways to say peace. Shanti, paix, mir, paz, sohl, and more! Identify each country as you read the story. Create a “Can You Say Peace?” poster or mural with bright colors to display.
The Peace Book by Todd Parr includes more examples of what peace means.
Peace Train Read-Aloud Video and Activities
Explore more children’s books that teach peace here.
Activities to Teach Peace
Peace Carousel Activity
- Write the kid-friendly peace quotes (below) onto separate sheets of chart paper – leaving plenty of room for writing notes around it. Hang them around the room.
- Divide the students into equal groups, and assign each group a poster to start at.
- Groups rotate to each poster to: read the quote, discuss what they think it means, and record some of their thoughts on the poster.
- Share and discuss responses as a whole class. Display the charts as reminders of important messages of peace.
Peace Carousel Options:
- Choose a quote to model the activity with the whole class.
- Provide each group with a different colored marker to take with them to each poster (to identify each group’s responses).
- Groups use the marker as a “talking object” – a symbol to recognize whose turn it is to speak. The marker is passed within the group so that each student has an opportunity to share his/her thinking.
- Assign, or have students choose, specific roles within each group – such as the reader, recorder, sharer, etc.
Take the Peace Pledge and complete as many Acts of Peace as you can with these free printables from Kids for Peace.
Celebrate the International Day of Peace!
Peace Day takes place every year on September 21, and there are lots of ways to participate. Join a moment of silence at noon (all time zones) to create a “Peace Wave” around the world, make a Peace Pole, fold origami peace cranes, feast for peace, and more!
Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry -ReadWriteThink
Peace Dove by Picasso Coloring Page -Super Coloring
Get Crafty with these 10 Projects for Peace Day -or ANY day! Peace rocks, chalk art, pinwheels, and more! -Tiny Beans
The time is now. Teach Peace.
Related Post: Teach Kindness