The Participants: 

Loyola Comunidad Educativa, Mérida, Yucatán, México
Jessica Robertson, Teacher

North Grade Elementary School, Lake Worth, Florida, USA
Susan Gay Hyatt, Teaching Artist & Visiting Artist; Cora Bresciano, Teaching Writer & Visiting Artist

The Project:

Elementary school students in Florida and Mexico used the theme of peace to write and create artwork over the course of a school semester. A favorite activity was the creation of peace cards: Florida students drew themselves in “the most peaceful scene you can imagine” as the cover of their cards; inside, they wrote wishes for peace for their new Mexican friends.

Cora and Susan paid an in-person visit to Loyola Comunidad Educativa and brought the cards from the American students—along with some American candy! They led a parallel workshop with the Mexican students, leading them in creating peace cards to send back to the US.

A delightful moment happened when the adults realized that in many cases, the Mexican students were recreating the scenes that their American peers had drawn—only they were now placing themselves in the peaceful pictures, playing and holding hands with their new friends.