YOU'RE GIVING & THE TOUCHSTONES BOARD IS MATCHING!

So far, we've raised more than $13,900 from 37 donors with our Give To Grow Match Challenge! Help us reach our goal by donating today! Your gift will be matched through June 30 to bring more Touchstones discussions, critical thinking, and collaboration skills to students across the US.

If you have already made a gift to Touchstones, thank you!

Grounded

This August, In Character Productions is producing Grounded, a play about the challenges faced by a military pilot after she becomes pregnant. It explores the sacrifices associated with service and the internal moral conflicts that arise when occupational duties and home-life collide. Grounded is running at The Maryland Hall for Performing Arts and show dates are August 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, with 2 PM matinees on August 6, 13, and 20. Evening performances are at 8 PM. Tickets are $35 for general admission and FREE for veterans and active-duty military for Sunday matinee performances.

Following each of the three Sunday matinees, veterans trained by Touchstones will lead discussions that touch on issues from the play as well as civilian life. These free discussions are open to the public but pre-registration is required.



Watch a trailer from the play HERE!

Touchpebbles Summer Program in Nevada

Nathan Slife, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Residence in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is no stranger to Touchstones. But this summer he expanded his Touchstones repertoire to include leading Touchpebbles classes with nearly 50 students who will enter grades 4, 5 and 6 this fall. He undertook this momentous charge by voluntarily running three weeks of classes three days each week with five different groups of children at Kesterson Elementary in Henderson, NV.

Thanks to Dr. Slife's volunteerism, five teachers hope to bring Touchpebbles to all of their students this fall. (And our Give to Grow Challenge can help make that possible!) What did the students have to say about their Touchpebbles classes? One student shared afterward that "It is fun, helps you, and it is great." Another participants wrote, "it is really fun to learn new things there. It is also fund to make friends there." Another student focused on a more serious outcome with the response, "I would say that it helps us to not interrupt." Perhaps our favorite response was from a student who said, "Touchpebbles is a class that helps you talk better and listen better." Those are two skills we believe everyone needs to cultivate!

When we asked Dr. Slife about his favorite moments during his Touchpebbles classes, he shared that the lesson about Pandora's Box and the lesson using Winslow Homer's painting, Hound and Hunter were super exciting. He remarked how the children were curious and engaged in thinking about things creatively. For his day of classes, Dr. Slife brought a "Pandora's Box" in for each child and asked them not to open it until the very end of the day. About 70% of the children waited as requested. Amazingly, the 30% who didn't (or couldn't) wait didn't spoil the fun by revealing to their classmates what was inside the box: a fruit chew and a small reproduction of the Hound and Hunter painting. What a great way to end a wonderful summer program! (Read more about Dr. Slife's Touchpebbles classes and his own perspective here on the Touchstones blog.)

Along with introducing younger students to the value and importance of speaking and listening cooperatively and collaboratively, Nathan had also run a new course at the university this year. Featuring Touchstones' Completing the Odyssey: A Journey Home, this new class helps veterans establish more peer connections and a sense of belonging at the university. UNLV is the first site to bring Touchstones' program for veterans into the classroom, and we hope it's just the beginning!

Read more about Nathan Slife's work helping veteran students feel more at home at UNLV here.