The art of origami is helping Peeples Elementary make friends around the world. Building off the belief “Everyone Has Genius,” Victoria Saxon, an interrelated teacher at the school, led a group of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders through making origami birds to send to Canada and Japan.
One particular student, Josiah Britt, wanted to share his area of genius, making origami, with his classmates and the world. Josiah, a 4th grader, worked with Saxon to create a video tutorial to show his friends how to make peace cranes and peace doves for the Peace Crane Project.
In honor of World Kindness Day on November 13, they were in contact with two classrooms abroad, one located in Canada and one in Japan. The students sent their origami doves and friendship letters to the classes in hopes of striking up international friendships.
“All my students were shocked when we received our first package because we thought it would take several more weeks before the letters would arrive,” said Saxon. “The students loved reading about each student from Japan, and they were amazed to see how much in common they had with them. They learned that they share a lot of similar interests, such as favorite foods, hobbies, and what they want to be when they grow up.”
The project was made possible thanks to a grant from the Fayette County Education Foundation.
“I cannot thank the Fayette County Education Foundation enough for helping me bring these sparks of genius I see come to light,” said Saxon. “It has been an amazing experience for us to learn about the world in an accessible way and to show that writing has real word applications.”
