Wee Tiny Activism

Summer is way too long. Midway through the summer break, my charges are ready to kill each other. No, scratch that. They are actively trying to kill each other. Brain Drain picks and picks and picks until Middle Child snaps and hits him, then he grins while Middle Child gets sent to his room. I'm on to this, though. Brain Drain goes to his room too.

While his big brothers are otherwise occupied, The Princess begins stealing everything they own that is shiny. They have nothing else of value to him, but if it looks like a sequin, he becomes compelled to squirrel it away around mid June. When they find out their lego creations have been stripped of all chrome accents, the older boys gang up on The Princess, the only time they agree upon anything.

Rather than stay on top of all this, I try to get out ahead of it by wearing them out.
When they were younger, I planned field trip after field trip to keep them focused on something other than sibling torture. Now that The Princess is nearly six, we've exhausted most of the field trips out there. They're over the Science Museum, they've outgrown the Children's Museum, and they're starting to recognize that zoo animals are depressed and depressing.

Last year, I gave the field trips a fresh spin by engaging them in an alternative transportation project (see Wee Tiny Environmentalism). This year, I'm going even further to unite them in an exhausting pursuit. I am engaging them in a full-blown activism curriculum this summer.

We will research and visit non-profit organizations over spring break. Then, we will select one beneficiary of our efforts. I am guessing the boys will choose an environmental agency, as they live on a creek and are very interested in preserving the natural world right now, a carry over from last summer's project, I am proud to say! I will tailor lessons and experiments to the agency they choose to help them gain an understanding of why the organization is one we want to support. If they choose Clean Water Action, for example, I will lead them through water quality experiments, I'll teach them about the animals who live in the creek by their house, I'll show them how the storm drains run to the creek, and how everything we put in the world ends up in the water table.

Once the background knowledge is in place, we will prepare a thematically appropriate play to perform for the neighborhood as a fundraiser for their chosen non-profit. The Princess loves to dress up and perform, Middle Child is incredibly artistic, and Brain Drain likes to have all eyes on him, so there is something in this for everyone! Brain Drain will have little patience for the set and costume creations and such, so I will give him a video camera and tell him to make a documentary film of our efforts.
We'll post fliers around the neighborhood in August and perform in the park for a dollar a ticket, donating all proceeds to the organization they chose.

I am excited to try this. It has all the elements required of a social justice curriculum; I am hoping it works, as I intend to teach social justice in my classroom someday. This particular project has student choice built into it, which is important for engaging and maintaining their interest in the subject matter. The choosing of the non-profit requires critical analysis and discussion of their individual values, as I'm sure Brain Drain will want to raise money for something involving legoes, Middle Child will want a nature or arts organization, and The Princess will choose a kitty rescue, or a unicorn rescue, if he can find one. They'll have to come to a consensus.

The project also has academic rigor through the research and experimentation components. It teaches activism in that the kids will be united in a fundraising project. The many steps involved in producing a play give the kids a sense of joy and hope, as they will be having fun and they'll see their efforts pay off in a very satisfactory end result.

It seems like a lot of work as I read over the plan, but really, it is no more work than hauling the three of them across town to the zoo, where they still manage to fight over what we see next and whether we need to make it to the dolphin show or not. And the idea is that THEY do the work. Really, I think the hardest part of the whole project will be prying the money they raise out of Brain Drain's hands when it is time to turn it over to our beneficiary...."Do you realize how many LEGOES we could buy with all that?"