Honoring the Dream

The Monarch School has a longstanding commitment of inviting our students to attend school on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day for the purpose of honoring and learning about the message of this great leader.

Activities of Novice and Apprentice Level students included:

• Designing a black and white collage in which students created art pieces using black and white construction paper to emphasize beauty in diversity. Students discussed the uniqueness of each design, and how black or white pieces alone would not make as beautiful a picture.



• The sharing of an “I Have a Dream” art project with the residents of the Hampton Retirement Community near the school. Students designed a body, two hands, two legs and a face using different flesh tones. They then picked one to represent themselves, and paired up with nursing home residents to create joint projects that were “holding hands.” Through this project, students reflected on the importance of people of all races and ethnicities living together in harmony.

• Reflection and choice of a dream that could make their families, our community or the world a better place. Students expressed their dreams through pictures and writing.



• The creation of “doves of peace” and the use of them to reach out to residents of Hampton Retirement Community. While there, students visited with residents, asking for and writing their names on the doves as a means to get to know each other.

• The production of books which focused on differences within our classroom community, highlighting gender, as well as hair, skin, and eye color. Some students expanded the project to explore differences both in and outside of the classroom community, including more abstract concepts such as different abilities; e.g., physical limitations such as wheel chair use, glasses and cultural differences.