Mexico

Full-Circle Learning communities have launched several wisdom exchanges with children in Mexico over the years. Three examples follow:

Children connecting across borders: A government agency had asked thatFull-Circle Learning launch a new preschool for Mexican-American preschool in Piru and Rancho Sespe, California, to help early learners begin their school career with the tools imbued by character-based academic learning culminating in service to others. One of the first habit-of-heart units was Friendship. The very first service-learning field triptook the preschoolers on a walk from school to the post office, to send wisdom exchange letters to families in Mexico and Central America.

Pictured here, the Piru children send a wisdom exchange into the air to share “the air we breathe” as they depleted their balloons.

Meanwhile, the Spanish translator of a book for elementary learners,Habits of Onenessintroduced the curriculum to schools in her hometown in 2004.

Another wisdom exchange ensued with a homeschool family, the Newcombs, who made frequent trips to Mexico. Olivia Newcomb, of Topanga, California, made it her personal goal at age 5 to raise money to furnish the library in Mexico with children’s books. She started a taco stand and hired her parents as cooks. Her service project succeeded after a year of hard work and the family’s travels back and forth. Twelve years later, after high school, Olivia traveled to developing nations to launch Full-Circle Learning projects before launching her singing career at opera school.

In 2019, refugee children benefited from the compassion of Full-CircleLearners. Mothers and children fleeing unsafe conditions waited at La

Casa, a safe house in Tijuana. Frightened of the future, the children needed comfort. Habits-of-Heart Club members Tarzana Elementary School provided it through a wisdom exchange. The children received pillows hand-decorated by the Tarzana students.