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 books and 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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To achieve peace, we have to teach peace. And there’s no better place to start than with our youngest and most impressionable minds.
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?
I am Peace
Susan Verde’s message is 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 make our world a better place for everyone. –Amazon
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
Download our I am Peace Book Companion.
Peace is an Offering
Join this group of neighborhood children as they find love in everyday things—in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends—and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it. –Amazon
Download our Peace is an Offering Activity Guide with a free poetry printable.
Can You Say Peace?
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. –Amazon
The Peace Book
Todd Parr delivers positive and hopeful messages of peace in an accessible, child-friendly format featuring Todd Parr’s trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes. Perfect for the youngest readers, this book delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance. –Amazon
Peace Train
Peace and Me: Inspired by the Lives of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
This beautifully illustrated collection of inspirational ideas about peace is based on the lives of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of the 20th and 21st centuries, among them Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Malala Yousafzai. –Amazon
Peace One Day: The Making of World Peace Day
This amazing story touches on the causes of war, what would happen on a cease-fire day, ways to promote peace on September 21, and most important, how a single person can make a difference in the world. –Amazon
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 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 each student can 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 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