November 13th is World Kindness Day, and it’s the perfect time to remind our students of the importance of spreading kindness throughout the classroom, at home, and every day. I have always been a big supporter of teaching social and emotional lessons in my classroom from day one, which includes the importance of showing kindness and love. But starting on World Kindness Day, I like to put a much larger emphasis on kindness. And what it means, how we can be kind, and how we feel when others are kind to us. We cover this topic pretty heavily until about winter break. I believe that the most important way to emphasize kindness is by modeling what it looks and sounds like to be kind. I want to share a few of my favorite ways to spread kindness and refocus your students on kindness during the holiday season.
One of the best ways to teach kindness is to model it to your students. When you model kindness, your students will naturally follow those behaviors. Acknowledging little acts of kindness that happen throughout your classroom is a great way to emphasize its importance. Spread kindness by being kind. During my morning meetings, I always make a point to include a social-emotional lesson which includes talking about kindness. With an anchor chart, I always begin a kindness lesson with my students collaborating to determine what kindness means. One of my favorite activities is to do a kind/unkind sort. I have an entire activity pack with resources and ideas for spreading kindness in the classroom.
Spreading kindness in the classroom improves peer connections and teacher-student relationships, and it enhances the overall mood of the classroom. When students are kind to each other, they, in turn, feel accepted and safe. Setting up a spot for student shout-outs is a great way to build relationships with peers. I do this with post-it notes, and it’s a way of recognizing acts of kindness within each other. We then set up a designated time where we read all of the shout-outs, and it melts my heart watching my students light up over what their peers said.
Throughout November and December, we spend a lot of time brainstorming ways we could be kind or talking about acts of kindness they saw throughout the week. I also think it’s important to speak of kindness beyond the walls of the classroom, though. What we can do to spread kindness throughout our community is an important topic that we also discuss. Not only do we discuss it, we brainstorm ways to further these acts into your community and come up with an idea of how we can spread kindness into our community as a class. In the past years, my students have done a food drive, a coat drive, socks for the homeless, and we’ve hung up motivational posters throughout the school to promote positivity.
We spread kindness throughout the classroom with posters and sticky notes and immerse ourselves in quotes that remind us that kindness truly makes the world go round. I model this to my students by recognizing acts of kindness in my co-workers as well. Kindness is truly contagious. I know as a teacher, kindness is one of the most important values I have in my classroom.
One of my favorite ways to teach my students how to be kind is through using books. They help keep my students engaged through the kind characters and the lesson, but it opens their eyes to different situations on what kindness can look like. Books also encourage great discussions. I love when we read a story, and discussion naturally happens. I want to share a few of my favorite kindness books that I read during November and December and throughout the school year.
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller is a wonderful book with a thoughtful look at what it means to be kind and empathetic toward others but told from the viewpoint of a childhood. It is a definite must-read in every classroom.
I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët is a wordless yet compelling story that teaches the importance of kindness and empathy towards others and touches on bullying. This book has a great back matter with helpful talking points.
What Does It Mean to Be Kind by Rana DiOrio is a practical and straightforward book with many great suggestions for showing kindness. It’s super kid-friendly to keep things light and happy.
The Jelly Donut Difference by Maria C. Dismondy is a relatable and sweet story that teaches students how to be kind, and how to show kindness to others.
The Invisible Boy is a great story about how even the little things like having a conversation, saying hello, or inviting them to work together can make a big difference.
Promoting kindness isn’t just a November activity. We visit this topic all year long, but this month is a great time to spread positivity and throw kindness like confetti. Creating a classroom full of kindness helps remind my students that we are a community, a family and that our classroom is a second home to them where they can feel safe, loved, and valued.
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