Our What Is a Terrorist? Lapbook

So I planned to do something to teach the twins about terrorism, I knew that with all the talk of terrorism in the media and amongst friends and their peers they would be asking questions, so now is a good a time as any to be prepared.

The twins to my surprise did know what was happening in France but knew nothing of terrorism and had no real understanding of what it is.

I have created the lapbook in a way that tries to explain the process of terrorism and the process it goes through.

I created this lapbook as we do a lot of leaning through lapbook and notebook learning to help me as much as them, so that I could assess what we know and fill in any gaps. So this is how we did, this has taken a few days with bits being done here and there to lead them gently into the topic.

Front Page - stick to the front of the lapbook

Centre of the lapbook - cut out the wheel and place a butterfly pin in the middle 

We discussed each window to get an understanding of how citizens participate in politics in a peaceful way -

Voting - We talked about when we went to vote (my children are aware of politics and we discuss candidates and their ideas and policies and how government make decisions and how people participate in politics even if they think they are not participating and the fact that even when people do not vote they are participating by not voting this is a form of protest. 

Protests - I asked them how they think a protest could be carried out.

We talked about how various professions go on strike by not going to work which disrupts services such as the fire service, teachers, council workers, post men, prisoners with hunger strikes and we discussed the way in which these protests affect people.

We briefly talked about other forms of protests such as gatherings of people with placards, songs with lyrics expressing in words what is being protested,  we saw the naked bike ride earlier on in the year, so we looked up and discovered how this has been used for different expressions of protests over the years (find out about it here)

Exercise:-  I asked them to think about a situation at home where we disagree on something, we chose tea time and how we choose meals and decide what we want to eat and how we decide what to watch on TV and how we sort out that disagreement, we vote, as sometimes two of us want something and the third one has to accommodate what the majority want. 

We then did the word search looking for the words associated with political participation.

Then I went on to talk about Terrorists as another form of political participation - I asked them to think about some ways that some people behave when they do not get their own way.

We discussed how some people use violence and may hit or push or call names to get their own way, I then asked them why they think some people behave that way and explained that was their way of communicating something that they wanted to let the other person know,. and that Terrorism is similar to this but unlike falling out with a friend or family, Terrorists use force, violence, or threats to attain political goals through fear, intimidation, or coercion of lots of people at the same time.

The twins asked what coercion means so they looked it up in the dictionary to find out at this point. (as we are doing dictionary work regularly currently) so it was nice to tie into this lapbook.

I asked them if they knew of any reasons why people would become terrorists and we discussed the reasons on the fan booklet.

We then talked about the history of terrorism and different events throughout history, I was careful to use different circumstances for the terrorism, I used The French Revolution for an example of Government Terrorism, Wall Street Bombing for unknown perpetrators and 9/11 for radical groups...We looked on google for brief information on each event...

We then looked at the behaviour clipboards to look at some of the things that terrorists do.

We discussed that the aim of the terrorist is to make people feel scared even if there is no real threat, and how they use and exploit media to help them do that by making sure information of the attack reaches people and how they do not care for the law and will carry out acts such as murder and kidnap and destroy property.

Oliver then asked me if that is why the refugees needed help - The twins both know that I was a volunteer for Refugee Action for a short time and they understand from our family charity donations  that people have to leave home to go to somewhere safe away from terrorists activity and that people need support in these terrorist situations.

So we talked about where the countries are that they have heard about recently and we looked on the  map where these countries are in relation to us in UK and did some longitude and latitude work and went over some continents.

We then talked about the distance to each other the countries where and how people would get from those countries by boat, train, plane or walking and how hard those journeys could be with lack of food and supplies and weather conditions and access to money and healthcare and the difficulties that people faced when they reached  borders, they questioned what are borders at this point so I expanded.

For them to understand what borders are we watched this quick video What are the different types of borders and we then went back to the maps and looked at some of the borders, to expand further I found a video and interactive map that shows the change in borders throughout history and what particular events took place to have an effect on those border, (it is a fascinating map and extremely interactive). find that here >> Geacron World History, the youtube video that speeds the process up is worth a watch too. (below) 

 

I asked them at this point if there was anything that you needed to be able to travel across one border to another or from one country to the next country, but you did not need to have travelling in your own country like in the UK.

We then discussed difference in cultures and made our own passports. which you can find on activity village website we also talked about some people not having passports and the reasons why this could be. which could include due to having possessions destroyed, not having the protection of their country, having to leave quickly.

I asked them if they knew of any other reason why people would move from their own country and leave their homes, friends and family behind in the circumstance we had talked about.

We looked at the possible reasons on the fan booklet and discussed each one.

What is a migrant - We talked about the different kinds of migrants and related it to our family and friends, we talked about family and friends who lived in different locations in the UK moving from England to Scotland, England to Wales and England to Ireland,  and included those who had moved further afield to Australia.

What is an Asylum Seeker -people who have not yet got refugee status.

What is a refugee - We went to a number of website to look at different Refugee stories carefully picking different circumstances and videos and also talked about the charities that help them.

Here is a list of some of the websites that can be used -

• Red Cross 
• Refugee Action
• Refugee Council
• UNHCR
• Scottish Refugee Council 

We looked at some stories of some refugees and picked out a poem of how one refugee felt from the IRespect Website (click here or on the poem to access) and we learnt what a Acrostic poem was.

We then talked about how our Government helps to keep us safe.

We talked about:-

•  Police Officers and what they do and looked at the Northumberland Police Description of what a Police Officers job is. >>> access here
• Security Services - we talked about MI5 and MI6 (the kids happily spent quite some time playing James bond with some newly acquired walkie talkies after this discussion and attempted to create and crack our own secret code messages code) 

1.   (MI5) is a British intelligence agency working to protect the UK's national security against threats such as terrorism and espionage.
2.  (MI6)  is the British intelligence agency which supplies the British Government with foreign intelligence

 We made or own sentences in code and had to crack the codes of each others sentence.

Then had a recapped what we had learnt about terrorism and completed a fill in the missing word sheet.

We ended off with a vocabulary word list thinking of words associated with our lapbook such as:-

Boat, plane, sad, threat, etc.

 The finished lapbook looks like this, with a pocket to add additional pages in the future and to also store the maps and vocabulary word list.

The lapbook pages can be downloaded here


To finish this post off I thought I would share a list of children's books about human rights, all of which can be purchased by clicking the title where it will take you to ebay and you will be able to select the cheapest copy.


All Sorts to Make a World by John Agard
The Child’s Elephant by Rachel Campbell–Johnston
I Have the Right to Be a Child by Alan Serres (Translated by Sarah Ardizzione)
Kami and the Yaks by Andrea Stenn Stryer
The Humans by Matt Haig
The Dragon Fly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Phoenix by SF Said
Varjak Paw by SF Said
Sawbones by Catherine Johnson
Torn by David Massey
Where I Belong by Gillian Cross
Wolf by Gillian Cross
After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross
Shine by Candy Gourlay
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
Iqbal by Francesco D’Adamo
Street Child by Berlie Doherty
Far From Home by Berlie Doherty
Looking At The Stars by Jo Cotterill
Abela – The Girl Who Saw Lions by Berlie Doherty
Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman
Girl Underground by Morris Gleitzman
Old Dog, New Tricks by Bali Rai
The Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda
Deadly Letter by Mary Hoffman
The Island by Armin Greder
Under The Skin by Cathy MacPhail
Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads by David Almond
Nadine Dreams of Home by Bernard Ashley
Three Wishes Palestinan and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis
One of Us by Jeannie Waudby
A Stone in My Hand by Cathryn Clynton
Undone by Cat Clarke
Blackberry Blue and other Fairy Stories by Jamila Gavin
The Wheel of Surya by Jamila Gavin
If You Were Me by Samira Osman 
The Heaven Shop Deborah Ellis
Children of War Deborah Ellis
The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo
Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari
Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari
Red Leaves by Sita Brahmachari
Breadwinner Deborah Ellis
Now Is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
In The Sea There are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda
The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean
She Wore Red Trainers by Naima B Roberts
Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat
My Basmati Mat Mitzvah by Paula J Freedman
Kindertransport by Diane Samuels

How to talk to children about Terrorism?

This is an important question as no matter how we try to shield them from the terrors of this cruel world we live in they will eventually ask the question of 'what is terrorism'?...

Despite our efforts there is not much that goes past a child these days, with social media and news reports and adult conversations they will eventually figure out something is not quite right in the air.

There are many support pages available (of which I will try to link at the bottom of this article) to get information on how to talk to children about terrorism and war, and I will be spending some time looking through some pages and digest some of the information, as I am sure with the widespread news of terrorism since the recent attacks that will be hitting the twinnies ears over the coming days and weeks, I want to be prepared to support them on their quest and questions for information and answers.

I can also learn a thing or two along on my way and devise some interesting lesson plans to incorporate into the discussion and come up with some good projects which I will of course share in due course.(***UPDATE - Our What is a Terrorist Lapbook you can find here)

Kate Kemp-Griffin is a Canadian who has been living in France since 1989. One of her friends, the mother of some of her children's friends, was killed in the attack and Kate states 'We have to digest the information and understand what is going on and then translate this to the children in a way that is real but not something that instils fear'. You can hear the interview here

Some good advice comes from David Balwdin's Trauma Information Page which states 'A complete explanation may not be entirely possible or easy, but we must try. We must find a balance on the one hand between helping a child feel safe and on the other acknowledging the existence of violence, evil, and danger in the world.

His points include the following:-

First, . Wait for them to ask first and don't give more details than necessary.

Second, Think through our own understanding of what happened, as difficult as that might be.  It is important to say that we really don't know the people involved or their circumstances. We only know a few oversimplified images selected by media. This is a chance to discuss with children how to evaluate what they see in the media and how important it is to know a lot more before making judgements. It is also a chance to discuss politics, prejudice, and the use of violence to solve problems or resolve disputes. A discussion of faith and morality can include how evil can coexist with good in this world and how we make our choices. How to respond to the survivors, victims, and families involved on a tangible human level (great projects.) and how we feel about what should happen to the perpetrators are other discussion topics.

Third, in contrast, children can be then helped to remember and identify how much safety there is in their lives, how much they know about their own parents' love and devotion to them. They can review good times, birthdays, Christmases and Thanksgivings. They can be reminded of getting hugs when feeling down, ill or injured. They can be assured that when a parent is angry, it is self limiting and passes quickly. This is a chance to discuss with children how anger can be a normal feeling and describe appropriate ways of expressing it. With older children who can understand finer distinctions you can discuss how a healthy relationship is one in which rifts can repaired and healed. 

I will begin my quest and make additions of resources as I go along to the list below.

• How to talk to children about terrorism and violence quick tips from Quick and Dirty Tips.com
• 10 Tips for talking to your kids about terrorism from a pediatric mental health expert
• Scripture Union - talking about War and terrorism
• Purple Waggon 
• Ready for emergencies - (this is my personal favourite)

 

ISIS attack on France - Why my profile picture remains unchanged.

I have been trying really hard not to say anything at all about the attack in Paris that took place on 12th November, apart from giving my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those killed in this horrendous attack, alongside my heartfelt condolences to family and friends of those also killed in Beirut, which is equally given to all those that have been victims of this militant group over the past four years, particularly to those having to flee their own homes to find themselves in an equally hostile environment in Europe, where every Muslim is tarred with the same brush amongst a growing minority of anti immigration factions.

I logged on to find a wave of profile pictures red, white and blue flags flooding the wall in solidarity with Paris and angry rants about the immigrants all being terrorists and 'they should all be sent home', and 'close the borders to stop terrorists coming in'... and disturbingly rejoicing at a refugee camp being set on fire. My first reaction was 'here we go - the ignorant are coming out of the wood work'...

This is the reason I decided not to change my profile picture, purely because what it seemed to me to have become is a show of ignorance more than just a pure 'stand with' Paris event, there is an undertone of hate and superiority in that mass profile picture change.

What these ignorant rants show is the lack of understanding of current world politics and world history and also the great job that the media does of brainwashing the masses and encourages prejudice and hate and even worse still an air of superiority about them. 

The emails have started to flood into my inbox with messages such as this from Avazz which includes the words 

'They are an assault on our shared humanity, and our tolerance, liberty and respect'.. 

Well sorry but if you look in history recent and past you will find shared humanity, tolerance, liberty and respect of Europeans has unfortunately not been shared equally and has disregarded and made a swerve of some countries and excluded them in these fine qualities they like to portray. Does that mean those countries are not part of this humanity they speak of?..Particularly African countries.

Whilst of course I feel sad for France I also feel sad for those victims of the French too, like the 14 African countries that still have to pay France Colonial Tax, in particular those leaders who have no choice but to pay it if they value their lives and on top risk being tarred as corrupt in the process.

It reminded me of an article I saw last year about the Colonial Tax that African countries have still to this day pay to France (you can read the article here) Which brings me onto the double standards of the majority of Europeans when it comes to responsibility for horrors caused to humanity. 

You would think they had leaned hard lessons of the past and moved on to ensure those lessons are never repeated, particularly at this time of year when we have just had a remembrance event on 11th November where everyone wears poppies with pride and the slogan of 'lest we forget' is bandied about freely. I need not mention the thousands of Muslims that fought and died along side Europeans for those very freedoms we have today.

Whilst it is freely said by most Europeans that 'slavery', 'The Holocaust', 'Protestant Death Squads in Ireland', 'Lebanon War in 80's', 'Rwandan Genocide' and many others all done in the name of Christianity, are 'nothing to do with us', we are not responsible all whilst in the same breath are condemning ALL Muslims to being Terrorists and members of ISIL.

Double standards from where I am standing, why does the same rule not apply. The silliness of it is astounding, can they hear what they are actually saying, I think not...

Those very refugees they are condemning to 'All be Terrorists' are fleeing the very same ISIL that have just slaughtered many people in cold blood in Paris and Lebanon over the past few days, have been slaughtering these refugees family's and wiping out whole villages and towns, schools and hospitals and historically important monuments for the past 4 years.

I have not seen such an outpouring of a call for solidarity for all those other victims of the same enemy and to participate in this outpouring and cry for solidarity for France feels to me that I would be perpetuating the myth that French lives are above any other in the typical Eurocentric manner we are accustomed to.

I remember the start of the Syrian War where thousands upon thousands where being slaughtered, men, women and children in the most horrific manner imaginable and those loud, very loud cries and screams for help and solidarity where stubbornly ignored and fell on deaf ears, people just stared like they where watching the latest box office smash entertainment horror movie, no-one batted an eyelid, people of Syria have had to force the Europeans to do something about their suffering and horrors, they have not received any recognition for their struggles, they have had to force it out of us by dying on our shores in boats and arriving and forcing their way to something better than the horrors of what they leave behind living in unimaginable condition in refugee camps dotted around our borders.

And lets mention Burundi here, well no point even mentioning Burundi as most people will have no clue where it even is in our world and certainly have no idea and couldn't care less what is happening there. Lets just say the leaders of these African countries have one thing in common, they defy EU demands, watch this space for Nigeria being under a coup pretty soon too... (that's another story).... but the same narrative... outside forces are to blame, trust me that is a familiar code.... Apologies I digress, lets get back to the point...

The twins and I started a charity campaign back in 2012 for Syria Relief which you can find here (it closed March 2015) we where supporting the Charity for the children of Syria to support in the relief of suffering through the horrors they had been though by providing prosthetic limbs, schools, food, clothing, we received no donations from anyone, not one person on my friends list even donated £1, we had to resort to collecting used items or buying used items and selling them on and donating the proceeds we made to the charity, over 3 years the appeal raised hardly anything. We raised 10 times the amount we raised on the appeal by quietly buying and selling and collecting used items and making our own donations as a family.

We do still collect and sell used items for the charity to raise money but we also support other charities too.

Whilst I do stand in solidarity with France and Lebanon, I do not stand with the prejudice it has unleashed, I will quietly light my candle for ALL victims of this terrible evil.

Nitty Nora the bug explorer - Diatomaceous Earth...

I have found a great use for my diatomaceous earth I purchased in September (see previous post here)

1. Fit a t-shirt over the child's hair, so that the collar seals around their scalp.
2. Apply diatomaceous earth to their hair. (I minimize dust by carefully applying the diatomaceous earth inside the "t-shirt bag").
3. Close the "bag" and massage in the diatomaceous earth into their hair and scalp.
4. Leave the diatomaceous earth on overnight. (The lice turn white with diatomaceous earth and become more visible).
5. Shampoo it out the next day. (Use tea-tree shampoo for maximum effect).
6. Use vinegar to comb lice eggs out of the hair.
7. Repeat this treatment once a week for 3 weeks to be safe. (This is to make sure all the remaining eggs hatch (takes ~ 1 week) and the new lice are killed.

Books For FREE...

We love books and as you can see from our book of the week list which you can find here > Book of the week list <  One thing we do as home educators is read  lot of books...

The library is great and almost always our first choice when it comes to books but as I have found out they do not always have what you need or even fancy.

Charity shops are another place we spend a lot of time in and we usually always end up with some great books at very low cost, which is great but it isn't free, and free or very low cost is an important thing to us.

eBay is the main place I buy childrens books from, I find it far cheaper than Amazon every time and I can usually get some amazing bargains.

As home educators even though we save the government approximately £3600 per annum per child (depending on your local authority area) or in my case £7000 + per annum, we do not receive any funding for books or equipment or anything else and that includes exam fees, we receive no funding whatsoever and fund everything to do with our children's education ourselves. (You can find some of the funding figures for schools here)

I came across a place that provides books for FREE, yes FREE books for you to take away.

There is a small catch as obviously there will be with anything that is FREE but it is only a small one and that is you can only take 3 books, which in my opinion is fantastic idea for many reasons.

The great thing is you can always donate your used books to make this a reciprocal thing and for me that is an important aspect of the whole books for free idea.

My business Maine Trading (take a peek at my website  here or click on my Maine Trading logo )

is based on an idea of recycling, I collect unwanted items from people and the money from the sales of these items go back to the person they come from and I take a small fee for my efforts of selling those items, or I buy the items at a low cost and re-sell them, which then helps me pay for the things my twins need for their education. On top of this I also support charities by taking donations of unwanted items and handing all the proceeds over to a charity of the donators choice or my own choice.

The whole concept based on reducing waste, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure.

But I digress back to Books For Free, the scheme runs nationally with many book points dotted around the country, you will be able to find a local book point on their interactive map hopefully there will be one near to you, for me the nearest one is Preston, it is a bit of a trek for us but it would be worth it if we timed a visit with something else we where doing in that area at the same time.

You never know they may expand if there is enough interest and we may get one closer, but what a fabulous idea Books For FREE. 

You can take a look at their site here or click on the image below and hopefully you will have one local to you.

***UPDATE*** Since writing this post someone has brought my attention to another great idea, Read it swap it, a website where people swap books, take a look here or click on the icon below.