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Celebrating
Freedom
Freedom is a luxury.
Freedom is something that most in our society have
never had to live without. Without freedom many of us would not know how to survive.
Our entire lifestyle and outlook on life would
completely change. Whether
we realize it or not, those of us who live in a free
country should consider ourselves blessed.
Children also need to
understand the importance of freedom. Depending on our experiences, freedom can have a different
meaning for each and every one of us.
During the summer months, we have an excellent
opportunity to celebrate our diversity and embrace it.
Why not spend a month researching freedom and its
meanings?
The gifted children of
your center could make a display depicting the meaning of
freedom. Research
can take many forms.
The students first need to come to a consensus as
to what the word means.
They should find as many definitions of the word as
they can. Once
these definitions are found, they can then create their
own meaning of the word.
The chosen meaning can then be used as a theme for
their freedom wall.
 The building of
the freedom wall is easy and simple to do.
Cover one wall in the center with colorful paper
and allow the students to decorate the wall based on their
definition of freedom.
One, two and three-dimensional objects can all be
placed on the wall with a little creative problem solving.
Another suggestion for
the freedom wall is to encourage the students to not only
learn how freedom has affected our society but other
societies as well. The
students may even wish to explore cultures where there is
not any freedom in order to gain an appreciation and
understanding as to what it is like to live without
choices.
As an extension to the
families of your center you may wish to send a letter home
explaining the project.
I would ask parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts
to all donate an item representing freedom to the center
for display. The
more items received the more interesting the display. It will be exciting to see how the meaning of freedom differs
with different generations.
 Encourage the children
to decorate their wall of freedom with pictures (that they
have both drawn and found), photographs, flags, fabrics,
and other various objects that depict their meaning of
freedom. The
wall can be as complex and cluttered as the creators of
the wall choose it to be.
The students may even wish to divide the wall into
various themes. As
the educator, your job should be to coach and nothing
more. Remember
to let the students' vision be the driving force.
Once the wall is
complete, you may wish to invite the local newspaper over
to view the wall and interview the students.
Having their picture and story in the local
newspaper may be an inspiration to others to think about
their appreciation of freedom as well.
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