The Class Book
Several months ago we began a project to create a “class book” which would help us better understand and appreciate the differences, unique qualities, and variety of talents and interests of people that exist in our world. It has been a learning experience as we have researched what to put in the book, as we have created the book, and now as we read through it.
It is simply a book of pictures with labels, which facilitates discussion. It can be taken farther to build stories out of the pictures or ask questions to help the kids gain deeper understanding about the many topics.
Topics of the book we have included:
• Types of homes — which includes examples of non-stereotypical homes throughout the world
• Work we do as a family — to showcase that we all help our whole family, regardless of role or gender
• Community workers — highlighting especially non-stereotypical roles and professions to show that all jobs are needed to help our community, and can be done by anyone of any gender or race
• Emotions — a section highlighting the varying emotions we might experience on a day to day basis, provided to start discussions about how to help through difficult emotions especially
• Colors — for my kids, we especially highlight the beauty of the colors black and brown
• Skin colors — showing all the range of skin colors, and using it as a springboard for discussing the many shades of brown within our human family
• Opposite gender tasks — pictures showing men doing stereotypical women’s tasks, and vice versa
• Abilities — featuring especially accessibility and assistive technologies
• Food — where it comes from and how it gets to us, including the individuals who work hard to bring it to our markets
• Individuals from many countries around the world — showing particularly non-stereotypical images; there is one section with children and one with adults
* Caring for our earth and caring for our resources
*Things that matter most — as a means of reducing entitlement and consumerism
*How people meet similar needs in different ways — such as carrying babies, where they sleep, how they prepare and eat food, what different foods are eaten, etc.
*Eye chart — different colors of eyes
The Class Book has been a long project, but one we are excited to enjoy for many years. And hopefully the discussions will grow and change and expand as the kids do.
