“Don’t forget a sock just because it’s different and less cute”

Have you ever worn two different socks? One red and one yellow maybe, or one with stripes and one with flowers. It can happen in a rush to get out or maybe in the morning, when it’s time to go to school, but you just can’t open your eyes. On Friday, however, many boys and girls from all over Italy, and with them many adults, joined the Uneven Socks Day, born ten years ago in a school in Aquileia to underline the beauty and richness of diversity.
Many schools in Macerata have also joined this initiative, organizing a multitude of activities based on socks, rigorously unmatched. For example, in Macerata, the schools of November IV participated, via Spalato and Fratelli Cervi. This is what they thought to do.

SCHOOL “IV NOVEMBER” – “Unmatched sock? Lucky sock! “This is the motto that accompanied the initiatives proposed in the November IV primary school. The common thread was the wind: a wind that arrives, takes away the pairs of socks, alters and does not make you find your partner. However, if at first he confuses, then he rejoices, making us understand how beautiful it is to know the other, their peculiarities, their fruitful and important differences.In this wake, the boys and girls reflected on the importance of respecting and appreciating each other. Each of them has “filled” the empty socks of the companions with messages of friendship, respect and love, with an awareness and enthusiasm that only children can convey. The socks were then hung side by side in the school garden to form a colorful and joyous rainbow of hope. «We broke up – reads a note from the teachers – with the conviction that finally“ we understood that a sock is not left out just because it is different and less cute ”, each of us has a uniqueness to respect and make known. On this day of celebration we had the honor of inaugurating the Rock Classroom, a room equipped and dedicated to small group activities, a precious gift from the parents of the 2019/2020 school year. We take this opportunity to thank those who have dedicated free time to placing furniture and curtains.

“SCHOOL OF CHILDREN VIA SPALATO” – Diversity counted by socks. An army of unique socks in a thousand colors has also invaded the garden of the “Via Spalato” kindergarten: the boys and girls, absolute protagonists of this important day dedicated to the enhancement of diversity, had fun with the teachers in the carry we carry out various activities focused on the great wealth that diversity offers us. All the school personnel, boys, girls and their parents wore a pair of mismatched socks, brightening the day from entering the school; many other socks, made by each boy and girl, were hung in the garden all together, creating a joyful game of colors with a clear message: recognize the differences in our daily life, as resources to grow, compare, learn, as an asset . be protected. The story of a sock called “Inigualable” invented for the occasion, made in a small ebook and dramatized in the school theater, told boys and girls about a sock left in the drawer because it is alone and different from the others, which it is finally recognized and appreciated for its uniqueness. The emotions that the children experienced on this day left tangible marks in the smiles on their faces, in the deep reflections, in the bright colors of the socks they made and they all turned in one direction: “The differences in habits and languages ​​do not count if our intentions are identical and our hearts open ”(JR Rowling).

SCHOOL “FRATELLI CERVI” – On the day dedicated to unbeatable socks, the “F.lli Cervi” primary school and kindergarten decided to reflect on the importance of being different from each other, unique and unrepeatable pieces, bearing precious peculiarities.
The F.lli Cervi primary school participated in the day with various initiatives, where pupils, students and teachers of all classes mutually involved in a light teaching but with deep meanings. From nursery rhymes to stories, from songs to drawings, the common thread was the discovery, or rather awareness, of the value of diversity that enriches everyday experience and brings color to life. The day was an opportunity to experience a special civics lesson: different does not mean “wrong”!
During the morning, the schoolyard was decorated with a special artistic installation that undoubtedly intrigued the inhabitants of the neighborhood and the passers-by: the students spread a unique sock on the thread, to create a fantasy of colors that will remain visible. Few days; The excitement of discovering that everyone, students, teachers and collaborators, has worn socks that do not match for this special day, however, will last much longer.
“The” Via F.lli Cervi “nursery school – reads a note from the institute – has joined the Calzini Spaiati 2021 initiative, highlighting the importance of sharing, respecting and promoting diversity, sensitizing adults and children on the issues of acceptance of themselves and others and friendship ».
The teachers of the respective sections have organized specific activities, such as the reading of stimulus stories, “I like you like this”, “In the country of the Pulcette”, “The story of incomparable socks”, expanding with poems and nursery rhymes.
The boys and girls with the teachers made different posters, drawings, socks with different techniques; they enjoyed playing roads, motor games, and the memory of mismatched socks.
Families participated, getting the boys and girls to wear unique socks on February 5, and it also gave them the opportunity to bring a sock to school to hang outside the building.
Parents and children greatly appreciated the initiative, actively participating, fully sharing the meaning and values: “We are all the same, all different, all unique and original.”