Below are some additional resources to help you live and teach peace. A number of them relate to the individual Peacemakers from the LEARN ABOUT page of our website. Please be aware, however, that some of the items or sites suggested or linked here on this page offer only services or products that require payment.
Resources
* Personal-Use Resources
* Parenting/Classroom Resources
* Personal-Use Resources
(this month's focus is on peacemakers Martin Luther King Jr, Rigoberta Menchú Tum,
and Thich Nhat Hahn)
Books
by Martin Luther King Jr
Where Do We Go From Here - King's final book gives an overview of civil rights history and - especially in the last two chapters plus the Appendix - offers a blueprint for moving forward into a shared sense of cooperation, within a "World House" where we are all neighbors.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website
by Rigoberta Menchú Tum
I, Rigoberta Menchú and Crossing Borders - two-volume autobiography by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist whose childhood political trauma led her to speak out for all Indigenous people and a more peaceful world.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website
by Thich Nhat Hahn
Peace Is Every Step - shows how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us.
Creating True Peace - recommends simple but powerful daily actions that can root out violence in our hearts and minds and help us create peace at every level of life—personal, family, neighborhood, community, state, nation, and world.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website.
Websites
The King Center - dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr and "undergirded with his philosophy of nonviolence and love in action," this organization created by his wife offers courses, research, scholarships, programs, and special events.
https://thekingcenter.org/about-tkc/
PeaceJam - this organization is dedicated to building “a world where everyone has the skills and confidence to navigate conflict and build peace in their lives and communities.” It offers six unique programs for various age groups, fostering essential leadership skills and character traits necessary for the next generation to make a “tipping point” impact. Rigoberta Menchú is one of its 14 Nobel Laureate sponsors and speakers.
https://www.peacejam.org/about
Plum Village - this teaching centre and community, founded by Thich Nhat Hahn, offers information, programs, and other resources on Mindfulness as a way of life. Much information about Thich Nhat Hahn, his teachings and practices.
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/mindfulness-practice
Other Resources
Photos of Martin Luther King Jr - Martin Luther King Jr
Photo of Rigoberta Menchú Tum - Rigoberta Menchú Tum
Photo of Thich Nhat Hahn - Thich Nhat Hahn
* Parenting/Classroom Resources
(this month's recommendations)
Books
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS:
My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King III - a series of remembrances by his son that show Dr. King both as a caring family man and as an dedicated leader at a critical time in history.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website.
Colorin tells Rigoberta Menchú by Colorin the Unicorn - this biography, with stylized pictures, highlights Menchú's dedication to her people and her unwavering commitment to peace.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website.
A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hanh and Rachel Neumann - gently guides reader and listener into a unique hands-on, nature-connected meditation process that leads to peace, relaxation, and mindful awareness in the child.
Check your local library, or purchase from a bookstore/website.
Websites (for parents and teachers)
PathsOfLearning.net - "5 key steps for peace education"
https://www.pathsoflearning.net/47/peace-education-for-children/
PeaceSchool.org - take a course in "Peace Breathing" meditation.
Videos (for children)
"The Story of Martin Luther King Jr" - stylized-character video telling the story of MLK Jr's life and showing how he used words and peaceful actions to give people of color a better life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwZxJEUOvS0
"Rigoberta Menchú Tum" - rap-style lyrics for a stylized-character video about Rigoberta Menchú Tum's life. The lyrics were created by a high schooler, Dulce, winner of Flocabulary's annual Hispanic Heritage Student Contest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nifrPNp9-IQ
"Practices for Children: Inside Weather" - video from Plum Village for children about being mindful of and caring for one's own "inside weather."
"Inside Weather" video
Other Resources (visuals, games, kits, etc.)
Printable Calming Cards - whenever a child is upset, they choose a card that has an activity they want to do for calming down. The cards can stay on a dedicated "peace shelf" or in some other special place.
Cards from BreatheMovePlayKids on Etsy
Make a Gratitude Book - This activity focuses on inner gratitude as a personal peace-making activity, but it can also be shared with the whole family or class.
https://therippleeffecteducation.ca/peace-activities-children/ - scroll down to "I Am Thankful For..." book.
Play the Montessori "Silence Game" - learning to be comfortable with silence is a first step toward more formal contemplative awareness of inner peace.
https://carrotsareorange.com/silence-game/
(For deeper meditative practices that can be learned by older children, see our HOW TO page.)