CAMP CURRICULA (FOR CHURCHES AND CAMPS AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS)

CULTURE CAMP – ONE AND TWO WEEK PROGRAMS
Our curriculum covers mornings for one or two weeks and “visits” The Culture of Peace once per week, plus four other world cultures for one or two mornings each. World Tour I Itinerary includes Australia, India, Greece, Ghana, Morocco, Brazil and Native North America.

CULTURE CAMP INTEGRATED INTO FULL-SUMMER OR ATER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
For full-length summer camps that would like to offer their campers an opportunity to explore our world and peace-making techniques, we offer 1-hour sessions from one to five times per week, of one culture per week, for up to 12 weeks.  We also offer our "Peace Thru Play" program combining classroom instruction with an interactive drama workshop, "Only One Lemon".  Custom-tailored itineraries ensure that campers can explore different cultures each camp session.  These programs can also be integrated into after-school programs during the academic year, as value-added components eligible for funding.

 WORLD TOUR- This 8-or 12-session program explores world cultures in a values-based format of one hour per week.  the sessions are full of activities, games and crafts that reinforce the peacemaking practice campers get to experience. 

MULTICULTURAL PEACEMAKING WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMS (FOR SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS, AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS)

TRAVELING TOWARD PEACE This curriculum combines our Culture Camp Summer Sundays curriculum with an innovative custom-tailored peace play designed to identify relevant conflict situations and bring clarity to possible solutions by using wisdom from world cultures as problem-solving tools.

PEACE THRU PLAY WORKSHOPS   Our interactive drama workshops teach conflict prevention skills and other peacemaking techniques through exploration of world cultures.  Peace Thru Play workshops are available as in-person appearances in the South Florida area, or as pre-packaged programs for our customers in other locations.   The one-hour workshops can be combined with classroom sessions in custom-laitored programs, or used as a stand-alone presentation.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRICULA (FOR LIBERAL RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS  INCLUDING UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST, ETHICAL CULTURE, UNITY, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, REFORMED JUDAISM)

CULTURE CAMP SUMMER SUNDAYS CURRICULUM - values-based program
Experience "Sunday Camp" with a modified version of Culture Camp in 1-hour sessions per culture, emphasizing peace building lessons and activities in each culture "visited". End the summer with a Multicultural Festival that showcases the crafts and information learned.

A CULTURAL TOUR OF WORLD RELIGIONS
Full-length version - This 26-session curriculum covers seven world religions in chronological order, devoting four 1-hour sessions to the fundamental beliefs, creation story, holidays and rituals, and peace heroes of each. The yearlong curriculum teaches kids from K to 3rd grade to appreciate earth-centered religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Unitarian Universalism, plus single sessions on Jainism, Sikhism and Shintoism.

Summer version - Kids explore the major world religions in 12 sessions, with fun, games, stories and interactive activities. Each one-hour session cis chock-full of information, experiences and tangible souvenirs about a world religion.  The final session includes a wrap-up game that incorporates symbols and words from all the religions explored.

SEARCHING FOR OUR  SOURCES  Unitarian Universalist program

Summer version -In this 12-session program, participants explore rivers representing the six sources of Unitarian Universalism: direct experience of mystery and wonder; the words of prophets and visionaries; world religious wisdom; specific Jewish and Christian teachings about love; humanist attention to science and reason; and Earth-centered teachings.  The lessons carried by these rivers enrich the religious ocean in which we swim.  The diversity of the sources of Unitarian Universalism reflects the diversity of Unitarian Universalists. That diversity is like the diversity of the cultures of the world.  People in different cultures have developed different answers to the universal questions.  Likewise, our sources answer different aspects of the universal questions.    

ENHANCEMENTS

CULTURE COMPANY ENHANCEMENTS:

The Culture Company offers products (in addition to our curricula) that add atmosphere to the learning experience; thus the name "Enhancements".  In addition, we list some other products that have been recommended to us or that we have used that also contribute to the peaceful culture we are trying to build.  See below under "Other Wonderful Peace Products".

The Culture Camp Passport to Peace, which echoes the look of the familiar U.S. passport, serves several important purposes:

• The design has the look and feel of an official passport to give children familiarity with the concept in a realistic way

• Inside front cover provide places for information about the camper that goes beyond official information to stimulate reflection and thought

• Every page contains a peace-oriented quote that connects to the central theme of all Culture Company programs

• The passport contains space for the camper to record information about every culture "visited", including journaling opportunities

• Accompanying rubber stamps provide tactile experience of memorializing "visit" to cultures

• The pledge of allegiance on the inside back cover fosters a global perspective about loyalty and commitment

Culture Crates:

The Culture Crates offer a tangible, tactile experience of world cultures and religions. They include toys, games, textiles, musical instruments, costumes, hats and shoes, and statuary and other visual art to evoke a full picture of the culture. The crates may be rented for the duration of your program.

Multilingual Music CD's:

We have collected songs and instrumental music from around the globe to enhance the cultural understanding culture campers gain. By listening, singing along, and dancing to authentic music of a culture, campers experience physical learning, which integrates quickly and permanently in their awareness.

Classroom Décor:

Wall maps, atlases, flags and other articles establish a festive atmosphere and spark research during the camp sessions.

Training:

The Culture Company offers customized training for teachers and counselors for every program, whether Culture Camp or the various religious education curricula we offer.

Our training workshops feature bonding activities for the staff, information about the curriculum, and the opportunity to try some of the activities and crafts and foods that are featured in the Culture Camp Curriculum.

We encourage collaboration by our clients who are operating in the same geographical area, to increase communication and diffusion of creative care for children.

We focus on giving the counselors the knowledge and inspiration to engage their campers in exciting and fun explorations of our wonderful world. Inspiration comes from understanding; we help the counselors understand their own interesting cultural lives so they can infect the campers with their enthusiasm.

In addition, binders contain fact sheets for each culture or religion to provide some background for staff.

Walking the world at a teacher training workshop.

Outcome measurement:

We encourage the application of nationally recognized measurement tools to the Curriculum to evaluate our contribution to your team's ability to fulfill funding requirements.

Evaluation:

We value your feedback on all stages and aspects of the Curriculum. Regular collection of data from counselors, campers and parents helps us better serve our clients

Our Goals:

OHER WONDERFUL PEACE PRODUCTS:

Cooperative/Peaceful Board Games [not personally played but recommended by knowledgeable board game players]:

Ten Days in Africa; Pandemic; Power Grid; Forbidden island; TransAmerica; Max the Cat; Ticket to Ride; Qwirkle; Incan Gold; Hick Hack in Gakelwack (Pick Picnic in US)

"PEACE THRU..." PRODUCTS

As The Culture Company has evolved, our mission of "teaching peace thru play" has also changed and grown.  In 2012, we will be launching a new venture, "Peace thru...", to address some of the other ways that peace can be practiced. 

This new venture, geared to adults as well as older kids, aims to enlarge the universe of peacemaking skills, and provide new opportunities to create a personal culture of peace.  We take as our goal the advice often attributed to Mohandas Gandhi, to "be the peace you wish to see in the world".  Whether or not Gandhi actually said those words, his life was a shining example of one approach to creating world peace: living a life that models peaceful ways of interacting with the world.

Our first foray into the many ways of creating peace is Pearls, the collection of essays by the president and founder of The Culture Company.  Please see our Global Keepsakes Store for more details about Pearls.  And check back in early 2012 for more ways of teaching peace.       

 FEATURES OF ALL CULTURE COMPANY PROGRAMS