Building Safe and Caring Communities in the Mups
This winter, the 2nd and 3rd grade Mups classes at The Center School embarked on a meaningful journey of learning about community service and care. Inspired by a month-long unit focused on how members of a community take care of each other, students engaged in thoughtful discussions and activities that built their understanding of empathy, kindness, and service. The unit began with rich, literature-based learning, as the class explored stories like Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen, Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, and Maddie’s Fridge by Lois Brandt. These stories provided relatable, age-appropriate examples of individuals facing challenges and the importance of small, meaningful acts of care in making a difference.
Through these texts, students were guided to think deeply about what it means to belong to a community and how showing compassion and understanding can impact others. Teachers facilitated class discussions that encouraged students to draw connections between the stories and their own lives, fostering emotional intelligence and reflective thinking. Students shared personal stories about times they or their family had helped others, expressing their own ideas about kindness, and began to explore how they could contribute to their community in meaningful ways.
As part of this unit, the Mups welcomed Emily Rogal, a counselor from the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT). Emily brought her expertise in community care to the classroom, introducing students to the vital work her organization does in Greenfield. She explained NELCWIT’s mission of providing safe spaces, listening with care, and helping individuals and families build healthy relationships. Through her warm and engaging presentation, Emily helped students understand that places like NELCWIT exist to support people in times of need and that everyone can play a role in building safe and caring communities.
She began by inviting students to think about the important relationships in their lives and how they show love and respect to those they care about. With the help of the video Friendship Soup, Emily guided a brainstorming session where students identified qualities like honesty, kindness, forgiveness, and respect for personal space as essential "ingredients" for building strong friendships. Together, the class also reflected on what makes relationships unsafe and how they could practice being “safe people” for others. This discussion gave students a practical understanding of the connection between personal actions and larger community care.
To turn their learning into action, Emily introduced a hands-on service project: finger-knitting scarves for NELCWIT clients. She explained how a cozy scarf could symbolize warmth, safety, and care for someone going through a difficult time. Students eagerly embraced the project, using their creativity and focus to knit scarves and write heartfelt notes and drawings of support to accompany them. This tangible act of giving allowed students to see how small, thoughtful gestures could bring comfort to others, making abstract ideas about service and care feel real and impactful.
Emily’s visit and the broader community care unit left a lasting impression on the students. They came away with a deeper understanding of the power of empathy, the importance of healthy relationships, and their ability to make a positive impact. By the end of the project, the Mups not only learned about the value of community service but also experienced the joy of contributing directly to their community. Through their scarves and messages, the students extended warmth and safety to those in need, embodying the true spirit of compassion, care, and giving. This experience has planted seeds of awareness and action that will undoubtedly continue to grow in the Mups’ journey as caring and responsible community members.
