Last year, I was talking to a friend who teaches in Stratford, Ontario and she told me about a wonderful character education project sponsored by the Rotary Club.
I contacted our Stoney Creek Rotary Club who generously invited me to one of their early Friday morning meetings to speak about Who Is NOBODY?
The speaking engagement resulted in the Rotary Club members sponsoring the Who is NOBODY project for my Grade 2 class.
We started the project after March Break and here are some excerpts from stories the children wrote about the project:
Thomas: Mrs. DeCaro, our secretary brought a suitcase in the classroom in the middle of math class. We all started wondering, even Mrs. Rehill, what the heck could that be?
Ryan: It had a whole bunch of stickers that gave us clues of what was inside the box. One of the stickers said to: Everybody from: Nobody.
This was a wonderful project and learning experience for the children. They learned that each of them can make a difference— Mrs Rehill, teacher
Elena: Suddenly we all got some ideas what could be in the box! What I thought that was in the box was artT-shirts for everyone! So the teacher asked if we want to open it and everyone yelled a big…YES!
The teacher opened it and all of our answers were wrong! What it was, was a medium sized little blue guy. It had no friends, no characteristics, no eyes, no face, and no clothes. He was lonely.
But there was still more things in the box! There was: a binder, a CD, a book, and a bag. Also a big book.
So we read the book, and it said you need a CD to find out more. So, we got a CD and put it in the TV. The TV said everyone gets to take the doll home for a week, but we did not have enough days for that many students.
What we did was everyone gets to take it home for one day.
I was the first person to take it home! Then my other friends did too.
Finally, it was home time, but we needed to sign a piece of paper before we took it home and no one got to take it home until after Easter.
Eric: I taught Nobody to recycle. I showed him the plastic, tins and cardboard. The items like plastic and cardboard go in separate boxes. You should flatten cardboard and wash containers before you put them in the bin. It is important to recycle because it can be renewed.
Skylar: I went around the block and picked up garbage and it was not fun but it helps the environment. It helps everybody too. It does not make your neighborhood look trashy. It makes your neigbourhood beautiful around your place. I attached a garbage bag to Nobody.
I learned that helping others when they need help is a nice thing to do and everyone should do it— Faith, student
Rowan: I helped the world fight cancer by raising money. I choose to help fight cancer because my aunt had cancer. I am going to canvas for money with my grandma in the neighborhood. I learned how to help the world feel better by helping to find a cure for cancer. I attached a name tag and a yellow ribbon.’
Colton: Today I brought home Nobody. I put a broom on him so we could help the guys on our roof clean up the nails on people’s driveways.
Faith: On the weekend I helped my mom and my auntie Brenda with the yard work. I wanted to help because she was sick. I watered her plants and helped dig out weeds over at her house. My auntie and my mom were very proud of me. I am happy that I could help her. I learned that helping others when they need help is a nice thing to do and everyone should do it. I put a shovel on Nobody.
I plan on helping my family with things all the time.
This was a wonderful project and learning experience for the children. They learned that each of them can make a difference in the lives family, friends, the environment and animals. The children are happy and proud of how they helped Nobody become a Somebody.
On behalf of the grade 2 class at R. L. Hyslop School in Stoney Creek, a huge thank you goes out to the Stoney Creek Rotarians who helped us learn that Everybody is Somebody.
Teachers can check www.whoisnobody.com to find out more about this great project. Mrs. Rehill is a teacher at R. L Hyslop School on Lake Avenue.
This article was published in the Stoney Creek News on July 8th 2010
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