How Does It Work?
BEFORE THE EVENT
STEP ONE
- Register your school and receive a designated time to sing.
STEP TWO
- Download the song "Light a Candle For Peace"
STEP THREE
- Teach your class the song and play it frequently for them to become familiar with the melody
- Send the link to your parents so they can download the song for free and play it for their children as well! It's free!
OPTIONAL
- Watch Sing Peace 2009 to get an idea of what it's going to be like
- Follow Sing Peace on Facebook and Twitter this will be how children can follow the song as it is sung around the world
- Teach your children actions and sign language to go along with the song using the Circle-Time Songbook
- Invite your parents to join you for the Sing Peace event on September 21st.
- Check back on the website in a few short weeks see your school on the World Map
- Sign up to send a message to another school across the planet!
DURING THE EVENT
September 21st will look something like this:
- Gather your students together just before 10-11 am.
- Share with your students the special purpose of this event.
- Set up your phones/cameras/video if you like.
- Sing the song Light a Candle for Peace . . .and celebrate peace however your school decides to celebrate
- Go to the website you are on now (www.singpeacearoundtheworld.com) go to the front page (on September 21) and send us a picture or video of your event.
- If you like, share your photos and video on our Sing Peace Facebook page or send a tweet on Twitter that your school has sung!
- Watch schools from around the world sing for peace throughout the rest of the day on this website, Facebook or Twitter.
AFTER YOU SING
- Check back a few weeks after the event for special videos and links on this Sing Peace website.
- Sign up for Sing Peace Around the World (Available after September 21st.)
- Check out other Montessori Songs and music activities you can do with your class.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Does it cost money to participate in Sing Peace Around the World?
Absolutely not! This is a free event so that every school and every program and every child who wants to join us to sing is welcome.
Do we have to sing for 24 hours?
No, just for five minutes. Of course you may sing the song as many times as you like, but in order for us to keep the song going continually around the world. . . five minutes is perfect.
How will we know when it's our turn to sing?
When you REGISTER for this event you are assigned a zone and a time that has been carefully calculated for your local time zone. All of the country's time zones and assigned times are in a list below the registration page HERE.
Can non-Montessori school join us for this event?
Absolutely! Our dream would be that the Montessori children of the world will start and host this event but as it grows year after year, eventually children in schools from across the planet will join us to sing for peace. We will remind the politicians the policy makers and the leaders of every nation, we choose peace over war, love over hate and generosity over greed.
How does this event raise funds?
Great question! In order to help sustain this event for years to come there are three ways this event raises money. First, when schools purchase the SHEET MUSIC for the song Light a Candle for Peace or order the Circle-Time-Action SONGBOOK all proceeds go towards making this event happening year after year. Another way to support this event is to purchase music from Montessori Minute Melodies that are created and composed with the Montessori classroom in mind. They can be found HERE.
Who wrote the song?
I did . . . SHELLEY MURLEY. I wrote the song 8 years ago when I had the idea of Sing Peace Around the World. I believe that music is one of the most powerful ways to help children learn new ideas, strengthen their memories of old ideas and inspire creativity, movement and imagination.
Who sings the song?
My daughter Emily Murley recorded the song Light a Candle for Peace when she was 9 years old. Today she is sixteen, studies piano, voice and guitar and continues to compose her own music and record with me today. Sometimes she even travels with me to presentations - children who participate in this event LOVE to meet her.
Does it matter what Montessori affiliation we are?
Absolutely not. Isn't that great we will all come together for a whole day!
Should we invite parents to attend?
Great idea! When we invite parents to participate we are saying to the children "We think singing for peace really matters."
How many countries participated last time you organized this event?
When we launched this event in 2009 when social media was just beginning to take hold of our planet, facebook and twitter was not a global force yet. I did however create a simple blog, with a very simple registration form and sent out an email to as many schools as I could get my hands on. Within a few months hundreds of schools had signed up to sing and then on September 21st 2009 80,000 children sang for peace from over 35 countries. Watch HERE.
