On Martin Luther King Jr., the second grade classes of RYNJ collaborated on a meaningful project. Inspired by the poem, “A Box of Crayons,” by Shane DeRolf.. After reading the poem, the children discussed how it related to what they learned about Martin Luther King Jr. This led to a grade-wide discussion about the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect. Once we identified important friendship rules, each student concluded that they would always try to improve their friendships.  Each student received a large crayon cutout and wrote about friendship with an accompanying illustration. The second graders at RYNJ created a beautiful crayon box which exemplifies the strong Middot Tovot . A quote from the poem, “We are a box of crayons, each of us unique, but when we get together the picture is complete,” enveloped our drawings. This project was complete when all six Second Grade classes joined together for a magnificent picture celebrating friendships.

By Annie Blumenthal and Tova Knecht