How to Bring Kindness to Your Classroom
Celebrating World Kindness Day 2020 in Your Remote, Hybrid, or In-Person Classroom
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is the power of kindness. It prevails in challenging times. As we have navigated this difficult year, empathy has allowed us to stay connected through social distancing. Generosity and giving have supported those in need. And acts of kindness have given our mental health and emotional well-being a much-needed boost, more commonly known as the “helper’s high.”
The best thing about kindness is that it can be done anywhere, at any time. It can be done at school, or on Zoom, in your community, or simply in your backyard. Anyone can be kind, especially young learners.
So what might kindness look like during a global pandemic, and how do we continue to teach it?
In honor of World Kindness Day 2020 — a day designated to celebrate the positive power of kindness — we have assembled a collection of steps to spark a chain reaction of kindness throughout your school and community.
Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can have a profound positive effect on happiness, self-esteem, mental health, resiliency, and empathy. Now is a perfect time for learners to reflect on all the things they are thankful for in life. Instruct your learners to consider what they are grateful for, and write them down. Have your learner decorate their list and hang up in a place where they can see it daily: in their room, on their fridge, even framed on a wall in a well-trafficked room.
Be a Helper
As Mr. Rogers said, “Look for the helpers.” Helping others is an easy way for students of all ages to express kindness. Volunteering in the community, checking in on a neighbor, and donating to charities can be done outside the school walls. But during the school day, acts of kindness can be even smaller, but just as impactful. They can be as simple as remembering to say good morning to a friend, setting a time for a Zoom call with someone you don’t often talk to, or providing an ear to listen when someone is upset.
Participate in the Great Kindness Challenge
One of our favorite ways for schools to celebrate kindness is by participating in The Great Kindness Challenge (GKC) a free, powerful, week-long program that positively transforms school culture through kindness. This annual event aims to spread kindness in schools all over the world. Last year alone, 13 million students in 24 thousand schools across the globe participated, delivering over 650 million acts of kindness, ranging from smiling at strangers to planting trees.
This year’s event will take place from January 25 to 29, 2021. Schools that sign up for the challenge will receive a toolkit full of resources to make the week memorable — most important of which is a kindness checklist, which students work from to show acts of kindness throughout the designated week, and throughout their daily lives as well.
Sign up for our webinar to learn more!
Emphasize Empathy
It’s becoming increasingly evident that students must learn the fundamentals of being kind and caring citizens, who have respect, understanding, and empathy for others and themselves. These social and emotional learning skills — throughout which kindness, caring, compassion, and empathy transcend — are the key to shaping students for success in college, careers, and the future as a whole.
Be Kind to the Earth
The Earth, our home, deserves to be treated with kindness, too! Sustainability practices provide ample opportunities for children to learn about care, respect, and responsibility. Even as the weather turns colder, encourage your learners to get outside and learn about the world around them. The and socially-distant activities listed below will strengthen your learner’s appreciation of nature and the importance of taking care of it.
Be Kind Online
In an increasingly digital world, learning to be kind in online conversations is an invaluable skill. Media literacy and digital citizenship touch on many of CASEL’s core SEL competencies, including social awareness and responsible decision-making. See below for resources on teaching kindness online.
Understand That We’re In This Together
A superhero isn’t always someone who has powers and wears a cape. Anyone can be a hero. And when we unite to use learning, knowledge, and skills for the power of good, we are able to achieve extraordinary things, together.
How are you celebrating World Kindness Day with your learners? Let us know!
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