The Peace Table
Do you ever feel like the peacemaker in your classroom? When children get together, conflict and disagreements are inevitable. I find that children often turn to adults to resolve the conflicts they have with their peers.
Young children are still developing and refining the social and emotional skills needed to self-regulate and negotiate with others. Being able to calmly resolve a disagreement is an important life-skill that needs to be explicitly taught to children. The Peace Table is one tool I like to use to teach these life-long skills to the children in my class.
A Montessori Strategy
Montessori is a system of education developed by Maria Montessori. This educational approach is based on scientific observations of children. Peace is a central theme in the Montessori philosophy, with world peace at the core of Montessori values. Montessori teachings cultivate inner peace as well as shared peace with others, which can then be transferred to peace within the broader community, and ultimately, the world.
In a Montessori classroom, children are provided with many tools to foster both inner peace and peace with others. One of these tools is the Peace Table. The Peace Table can be used by one child as a space for personal reflections and/or calming down. It can also be used by two (or up to 3 or 4) children to comfortably sit together and talk through a conflict.
The best part about the Peace Table is that it doesn’t even have to be a table. Some classrooms might have a tepee or even just a dedicated space with a couple of cushions on the floor. The only requirement of a Peace Table is that it is a designated quiet and peaceful area that encourages tranquillity and inner-calm.
I have a dedicated space in my classroom which was simple and easy to set up. Setting up a Peace Table doesn’t take much effort at all. Think about how much extra teaching time you will have in your day when the children in your class begin to resolve their own conflicts instead of coming to you for every disagreement that naturally arises throughout the school day. Believe me, the Peace Table is an absolute classroom necessity!!
Setting up a Peace Table
Firstly, you need to decide on a suitable place to set up your Peace Table. I chose a space in the classroom easily accessible and off to the side of the room, while still easily visible from anywhere in the room. My theory is that if the Peace Table can be easily seen, it will be more likely used. I also like to monitor the self-reflection processes and negotiations that take place there. I chose a spot next to our reading area as this is a space that already inspires the children to work quietly.
Next, I placed a small coffee table in the space. You can add some chairs or a few floor cushions for the children to sit on. Like all Montessori-inspired spaces, I wanted my area to be calm and beautiful. The addition of tablecloths, plants, pictures, children’s artwork and other decorative items will help to create a welcoming and comfortable space for your class.
I’ve designed some calming resources that you can print and display at your Peace Table area. These printables include informative posters and negotiation reminders to ensure your Peace table is used effectively by the children. I’ve also included some banners and signs to help you label and define your Peace Table space.
I suggest the addition of some type of instrument of peace for the Peace Table in your classroom. This instrument gives a child permission and confidence to talk and express their feelings openly. Whomever is holding the instrument has the right to talk while the others listen.
This instrument will be passed back and forth until everyone has had their say. It is nice to have something special as the instrument of peace. A special treasure as your instrument of peace sends a message to the children that you trust them with beautiful things.
It also ensures the speaker feels important and symbolically gives some value to what is being said. I use a heart shaped stone, but anything that can be easily held by a child is suitable. You could use an artificial flower, a talking stick, a small toy dove, or any other symbol of peace and tranquility.
Finally, you might like to add a Peace Bell. The Peace Bell is not a necessity but I find it completes the process nicely and gives the children a little more motivation to find a resolution to their conflict. The children in my class love to ring the Peace Bell. The bell can only be rung once a conflict has been resolved.
It is rung once by each person at the table. As the ringing of the bell signifies that peace has been found, the children seem to work extra hard at solving their conflicts and earning the privilege of ringing the bell. If you add a Peace Bell to your table, I encourage you to keep it to a small quiet ringing bell. A soft tinkling will create less of a distraction to the remainder of your class.
Introducing the Peace Table
I devote at least 30min for a lesson to introduce the Peace Table to the class. I have a PowerPoint with slides to prompt the lesson sequence. This PowerPoint is also included in my Peace Table resources pack.
The PowerPoint contains a movie on the story of the Peace Rose. You can view the movie here.
Then I introduce the new Peace Table, my instrument of peace, and the Peace Bell to the class. We discuss how the Peace Table can help us to resolve any future conflicts that we may have with our friends. We also discuss that this table will also be available to everybody individually as a calm down space for self-reflection.
I model to the children the ways in which I expect them to use the Peace Table. I usually invite a child from the class up to the table. This volunteer child and I will either role play an imaginative scenario, or sometimes I really do have a conflict that needs resolving (like a student not returning to class quickly after the bell, or perhaps calling out instead of raising their hand). In every class I have taught, I am always surprised at how engaged the children are with the Peace Table lesson. Children love the concept of the Peace Table and they welcome the opportunity to resolve their conflicts independently.
Using the Peace Table
You can expect the children to spend a great deal of time using the Peace Table when it is first introduced to your classroom. It’s an irresistible novelty!! You will notice that in those first few days, there will be children at the Peace Table constantly. Try not to discourage use of the Peace Table and trust that soon enough the attraction will wear off and the children will learn to both use the space purposefully and solve their conflicts independently.
Occasionally, children will still come to you with a novelty problem and expect you to step-in and act as the class policeman. However, once the Peace Table is in place and the strategies have been taught, all you need to do is offer a suggestion. Whenever a child comes to you, you can just reply, “oh, it sounds like you need to invite that person to the Peace Table.” The children will quickly get the message and start to fine tune their own conflict resolution skills. I know you are going to be surprised at how effective this Montessori gift is. If you are like me, the Peace Table will become one of the most useful and important spaces in your classroom.
Transferring the Peace Table Strategies
Once the Peace Table is in place and the resolution processes are being practiced, it’s time to encourage the children to transfer their learned strategies to outside of the classroom. I suggest having a discussion with the children to brainstorm places the Peace Table could be used. I’ve often had children come to me during play and eating breaks requesting they come inside to use the Peace Table. I show them how to set up a Peace Space outside. I show them how to find a quiet place and how they can use anything (a pebble, a leaf) for the talking stone or instrument of peace.
Many children like to set up a Peace Table in their own homes too. I have had so many positive comments and questions from parents eager to embed the Peace Table concept into their homes.
How different our world would be if all adults had access to a Peace Table!
What NOT to Use the Peace Table For
The Peace Table gives the child a voice, it gives them independence and strategies to problem solve. If the Peace Table is used to enforce a “time-out” or for punishment in any way, it just won’t work its magic. Please don’t use the Peace Table to help you impose limits on children’s behaviour. One of the most difficult parts of having a successful Peace Table is the giving up of your “teacher power”.
Relinquishing some control over the children is very liberating for you and for the children. Please give it a go!!