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?  Sing between 10am-11am local time to help the school go all the way around the world.  

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?  In order to help sustain this event for years to come there are three ways this event raises money.  First, when schools purchase theSHEET 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.