Shoe Box Project

In this picture you see two ladies that appear to be looking at a cell phone, but that is not the half of it!  During this class we had participated in a Shoe Box activity where we were pretending that if we had to leave immediately and there was not room for everything, what would you take?  Your clothing, cooking supplies and other necessities were on the truck (or wagon depending on what time you are studying) you have a shoe box for anything else.  What do you take?  What do you leave behind?  What can you sacrifice?  Living in a society that values things it was a hard choice.  Many of us choose items that represented family, religion, and things that we needed to have a healthy life.  In my box, I choose my flash drive (believing that we would have technology and they can store so much), family pictures, my cell phone, and my medication.   Others choose items such as those from family that had been passed down for several generations and daily journals.  Items like these document a story for future generations to look back, observe and learn about how we live today. 

I really enjoyed hearing about everyone's most treasured items.  Sharing pictures, journal and family traditions opened a door more into the lives of my friends.  As I listened to them talk about their items I could sense their pride and love.

Later, as we discussed ways to use this in the classroom, I wasn't sure that this is something that I would or would not do.  However, after much deliberation about the topic I was reminded that no matter how poor a family is every child has something that is special to them.  This would be a great way to introduce being thankful.  Have the students bring in a shoe box and ask them to fill it with one to four items they are thankful for.  The students could share during our closing circle or  one-on-one, rotating every seven minutes.