Fifth-graders' words, creativity inspire Naperville neighborhood
Inspirational quotes by famous figures - and some by fifth-graders - made their way onto yard decorations hung from about 50 Naperville trees one windy spring day.
The strands of beads, bells and eagle-shaped charms jangled in the breeze as fifth-grade students from Ellsworth Elementary strung them up to complete a class project.
Called BEST, or Bells Encouraging Soaring Together, the project allowed educators to teach a tricky aspect of the school's social/emotional learning: the concept of community.
It's one thing to learn to manage emotions or be kind to classmates, but another to grasp how each individual is part of a larger whole.
"Building your place in the community is one of the pieces that isn't in a lot of the curriculum," Ellsworth fifth-grade teacher Amanda Fleck said.
So teachers last year came up with an idea to inspire the neighborhood around their school by attaching motivational quotes to handmade yard decorations, similar to one strand of a wind chime, and having students place them in parkway trees.
Educators last year heard from students at nearby North Central College that the quotes brightened their day or reminded them of their own childhood, Fleck said. The response boosted them to launch the BEST project again this year.
So one morning, students and teachers broke into four groups and took a walk, carrying their bell strands. Quotes from J.K. Rowling, Michael Phelps, Thomas Edison and Maya Angelou made their way into trees in the Naperville Historic District, along with inspirational phrases created by Ellsworth fifth-graders such as Ella, Megan, Matt, Denim and Emily.
"Try to pursue your dreams by taking the opportunity. If there isn't the right opportunity, then have the courage to find it," the quote from student Denim Bloom-Johnson said.
"You might not be as good at some things that your friend is great at, but your friend might not be as good at something that you are great at," were the words of wisdom from student Megan Schoenjohn.
"Do more things that make you forget your phone," student Matt Sonnenschein advised.
Fleck said the BEST project was collaborative from the start.
In short sessions during five weeks of classes, students took clay and molded it into beads, painted the beads, strung them onto black, wiry strings, researched inspirational quotes or made up their own, typed up the quotes and attached them - along with a charm of the school's mascot, the eagle - to the strings.
No one student worked on one bell strand, but all of the materials were pooled communally, so each decoration was formed by eight to 10 kids.
With all 50 inspirational decorations complete, students had plenty of room to include the words of Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, Colin Powell, Katie Ledecky and Nelson Mandela, along with those of their peers, Cadence, Samie, Aidan, Zoey and Sara.
Students were eager, although unsure, of the response their words and decorations would receive.
"I don't know what they'll say," fifth-grader Maggie Fagan said about the finders, who were encouraged to scan a QR code with their phone and use it to submit their reply.
"It was a cute piece of creativity that made me happy," one person responded.
"The quote made me think of trying something new," another said.
If that wasn't the response students were looking for, they can always refer to the message of one of their peers, whose quote focused on working hard and setting the right attitude.
"If you wanna win, you have to lose," said the message from Samie Trotz. "If you want to be the champion of the world, then you have to work harder, but always be a good sport."