One of the “peace projects” sponsored by Little Flower School teamed first-graders with eighth-graders. Sisters Kerynn and Emilee Miller, in first and eighth grade respectively, decorate a cut-out they made by tracing a full-size outline of Kerynn.

Students at Little Flower School in Springfield have been spending the months of January and February broadening their cultural horizons and learning how to accept and understand people all across the world.

Focusing on the theme "Peace Around the World," students have been researching various countries around the globe, and then completing projects about a country. Every grade has participated in the class work.

School librarian Michelle Rowe, art teacher Beth Richardson and computer teacher Susan Clark worked with students in grades 4-8, helping them research and assimilate posters and find items from their designated country. Finally, eighth-graders and first-graders worked together, making full-size cut-outs of the first-graders and then illustrating the resulting large "paper doll" in traditional attire from a country.

"First-graders can be involved, too," said Rowe. "The young ones can't do the research, but they can color the person." Kindergartners made puppets of people around the world.

Students also have been bringing in recipes for international cuisine. Later this month, during a meeting of the school's parent-teacher club, parents and their students will be able to look over all the displays and taste a variety of foods from different countries. The children and their parents will prepare some of the dishes, while a few international restaurants will donate food.

One of the “peace projects” sponsored by Little Flower School teamed first-graders with eighth-graders. Eighth-grader David Barber works with first-grader Michael Goldasich in cutting out a life-size paper form.

Some of the students brought in ingredients for stone soup, which the first-graders and some parents will help prepare.

"The stone soup story that I had originated in China, so that worked in well," said Rowe. "After they eat we will have a storyteller come and talk about global peace."

Although most of the students at Little Flower have been born and raised in central Illinois, Rowe said it was important for students to understand how people around the world live.

"What really started all this is that we have some students here who have been adopted from Russia and China," she said. "Those students are going to be wearing their native clothes and they will give little presentations."

In keeping with the "peace" theme, students also sent "peace pops" (Valentine lollipops) to the soldiers in Iraq.

"In fact, one of our graduates, Tyler O'Brien, is currently serving in Iraq," Rowe said.