I am Alexis, World Traveler and I would love for you to join me on my many travels to different countries. Together we will learn about the children and families of these lands. We will learn it is ok to be different, that we are all God's Children.
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Alexis's mother and I feel it is important to teach Alexis about diversity and cultural awareness. We want Alexis to know that people of different cultures may be different from us but that it is ok to be different. We want her to know that if we understand their culture that the differences are not really that great. From the time Alexis was born we have been talking to her about world events, and racial tolerance. She has never heard a racial slur in her six years of life. The foundations for racial attitudes are laid as infants and toddlers and after the age of nine their racial attitudes tend to stay the same. That is why it is so important that we never let our children hear or see any form of racial intolerance. When you live in rural Indiana it makes it more challenging to teach about diversity and different cultures. We came up with the idea to have her study about a different country each month and we will do fun activities such as eating at restaurants, playing games, visiting museums, dressing , and listening to music depicting the country we are studying. Follow Alexis on her many travels around the world and feel free to join her as she learns about the many different cultures.

~Mamaw~

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Teaching Social Justice: One Hen

Posted in | 9:18 AM | by Diana

We began this project of Teaching Social Justice in order to teach Alexis about poverty and hunger. According to Bread For the World, we are facing the worst hunger crisis in over 50 years. Everyday 16,000 children die from hunger. We want Alexis to learn that it is possible for anyone to change the world...even a child her age can do something to make a difference. One small act can make a big impact on the world.

We are going to teach through literature and the story of One Hen is an excellent example of how one small act changed the world.


Review from School Library Journal

After his father dies, Kojo quits school to help his mother collect firewood to sell, but there is little money or food. However, his small Ashanti village has elected to try microlending, a system where the village loans money to one family to buy something that will hopefully improve their lives; once it is paid back, another family borrows it, etc. When it is the boy's mother's turn, Kojo uses a few of the coins to buy a hen. The story then follows him as he grows and slowly but steadily builds the proceeds from that one hen into the largest poultry farm in West Africa. Throughout, the author shows how his success impacts the lives of everyone it touches, from the people whom Kojo is able to employ to the taxes he pays that will build roads and medical facilities. The story is based on the experiences of an actual Ashanti poultry farmer and could open diverse avenues of discussion, including how a community's mutual support and teamwork operate for the good of all. Fernandes's large acrylic paintings capture the warmth of the climate and include numerous details, such as splashes of kente cloth, that authenticate the setting. There are also many illustrations that spark the imagination, such as the one of a tree with Kojo's first hen at its roots, growing more hens as the tree grows, with eggs blossoming from the branches.



This is a very inspiring story of how reaching out to people with a small loan can have a big impact. Change can happen one person at a time.

Take time to visit the One Hen website. It is a wonderful interactive site that provides lesson plans for teachers and librarians, interactive games, an online quiz of the story, and stories of real people that have received micro loans as well as guidelines for fundraisers.

One Hen also has a school curriculum that teaches children financial responsibility, global awareness and how to become social entrepreneurs.

Alexis has an entrepreneurial spirit, so I am contemplating the idea of providing Alexis a small loan for a bake sale. If she holds a bake sale she will be donating the proceeds to charity.

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