The Read Aloud Project was created by Priscilla Weddle and Marie Benner-Rhoades to provide homeschooling resources in peace and justice during the pandemic. For December, the project highlighted books about Christmas. In January, books about new beginnings will be read. If you are interested in recording a video for the project, please email Priscilla at [email protected]. Here are the books that were read for the project in December:

Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community by Susan Verde

Summary: “There is a wall in Ángel’s neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music, dancing, laughing. Not the wall. It is bleak. One boy decides to change that. But he can’t do it alone.”

Reflective Question: Is there something in your community that you can work on to make beautiful?

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mPbucREas&list=PLF8eTiKnYWzyfmdio08rh1bnDcGDHaXsQ&index=71&t=1s

The Read Aloud Project has been going on since March of 2020. As of December 16, there have been 75 read aloud videos posted on On Earth Peace’s Facebook page. I went through the videos to see which ones had the most views. Our top five videos had a combined total of over 2,000 views. Here were the project’s most viewed videos in 2020:

1. Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima

Total views on Facebook: 534

Summary: “Harriet loves costumes. She wears them to the dentist, to the supermarket, and most importantly, to her super-special dress-up birthday party. Her dads have decorated everything for the party and Harriet has her most favorite costume all picked out for the big day. There’s just one thing missing—party hats! But when Harriet dons her special penguin errand-running costume and sets out to find the perfect ones, she finds something else instead—real penguins! Harriet gets carried away with the flock. She may look like a penguin, but she’s not so sure she belongs in the arctic. Can Harriet manage her way back to her dads (and the party hats!) in time for her special day?”

Reflective Question: Have you ever gotten carried away?

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBQHNXbN9M&list=PLF8eTiKnYWzyfmdio08rh1bnDcGDHaXsQ&index=19

With all the change inside and outside the OEP community, one thing that has held consistent is OEP’s Read Aloud Project for children. Throughout the last year, the Children’s Peace Formation Organizer, Priscilla Weddle, has brought wonderful content to OEP for the community to take comfort in during these strange times.

For the month of December, OEP highlighted some of the best multicultural Christmas books of the season, of which you can read about here. You can also watch the new Read Alouds, as well as catch up on some of our older favorites here. 

The Read Aloud Project will be highlighting books about new beginnings for January. If you are interested in reading a book for the project, please contact Priscilla at [email protected].

Written by Jessia Avila, OEP’s Migrant Justice Organizer

My name is Jessia Avila, and I am the new On Earth Peace Migrant Justice Organizer Intern. I am studying Political Science, Marketing, and Spanish at McDaniel College, Westminster MD, to prepare for a future career in public service. It is my hope to foster support for marginalized and underrepresented peoples, promote educational advancement, and cultivate solidarity within diverse communities. As the daughter of immigrants from Colombia and Mexico, I strive to use my individual potential and global consciousness to advance the rights and human dignity of all people. For this reason, I am grateful to learn and act with an altruistic community in pursuit of migrant justice. Through productive dialogue, inter-organizational initiatives, and informed actions, we can stand in solidarity with immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons both domestically and abroad. I look forward to educating myself and serving with you as we advocate for migrant communities with love, compassion, and hope.

Before we continue this collaborative journey, I would like to pose the following question: what does migrant justice mean to you, and how can I facilitate your growth as an informed and active ally?

You can join Jessica and the Migrant Justice Group’s new adventures here.

On Monday, December 14, twenty-nine participants completed a four-month course as part of their certification as Level One Kingian Nonviolence trainers.  The group, which hailed from five continents, learned about the Kingian philosophy and methodology which provides individuals with values and skills to help resolve problems and conflicts peacefully and organize and mobilize for social change.