Happy Kindness Day
It’s November and it is time to celebrate kindness! Learn how you can enrich your student’s learning experiences and have a Happy Kindness Day, not only in November but every day of the year.
My friends, it’s November and we are into our second quarter of providing high-quality instruction! Students are learning, behaviors are optimal, and we have a true learning family! Insert thought bubble, “This is exactly where I want to be every single day!!! THIS is my PERFECT class!!!” (and a smile).
Wait . . . that’s not you??? Maybe this . . . I am so frustrated with a couple of students. They look for anything to do other than what needs to be done. They are interrupting my teaching, teasing other students, not doing any work, failing, and other students are complaining. I go home exhausted from the day and am up at night trying to figure out what I can do to turn this ship around. I’m absolutely exhausted!
Well, my friends, I have been there . . . yes . . . both situations!! I’ve had those tough classes where I felt like I was behind the cart and my students were running the show. I went home tired, ready to cry, and ready to quit!
On the other hand, I’ve had those “angel classes” where the kids just gelled, they were kind, got along well, cooperated, helpful, and everything ran like clockwork. I was happy to do more for the kids because I was also having fun. I truly loved teaching every day!!
The Purposeful Happy Kindness Transition
How did I go from a “struggling teacher” to a “happy teacher”? Well . . . it wasn’t overnight. Honestly, a lot of what I did to build a “classroom culture of caring children” started on the first day of school, but I quickly learned that in order to keep my caring classroom culture going, I had to nurture the students every day. I planted those seeds at the beginning of the year, then I continued watering, pruning, and cultivating throughout the year. It was certainly a lot of work, but this extra work created a classroom of students who I enjoyed spending my time with every day!
AND . . . now November is here and there is no better time than the present to focus on kindness.
Around the globe, a special day, November 13, is designated as World Kindness Day.
On this day, we can celebrate by showing acts of kindness for each other and celebrating how special each person is in our lives.
Happy Kindness Day: History
Let’s learn some of the facts! Did you know “World Kindness Day was first launched in 1998 by The World Kindness Movement, an organization formed at a 1997 Tokyo conference of like-minded kindness organizations from around the world? The mission of the World Kindness Movement and World Kindness Day is to create a kinder world by inspiring individuals and nations towards greater kindness.” (https://www.awarenessdays.com). Check out these linked websites to learn more about World Kindness Day and how it impacts communities around the world. Then take a moment and think about how you celebrate kindness.
How to Celebrate a Kindness Day
This, my friends, is a reason why I love celebrating “World Kindness Day”! This day comes every year on November 13. Nurturing my students with lessons on this day, well, we do this all week, fits nicely into learning about thankfulness and is a great time for students to be more engaged with each other by letting peers know what their friends are doing that is kind.
AND I follow this up with some fun in December by using a Grinch and heart display.
So you see, the work I started in August continues through September, with sprinkles in October, another dose in November, and more sprinkles in December.
Building this classroom culture isn’t a one-and-done lesson or week of lessons, it takes additional nurturing throughout the year.
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Teach About Kindness Day
One of the best ways to teach about kindness is to read kindness books. I enjoy taking time to read books about kindness every chance I can get. This is a great opportunity to teach how story characters demonstrate kindness in the classroom and at home. Through read-aloud and think-aloud picture books, you’ll have heartfelt conversations around the dinner table and in the classroom. Then your students will see how others show kindness and provide positive ideas that can be replicated with others. These acts of kindness will be noticed by others throughout the day and built upon throughout the year.
Below are some of my favorite books to read to my students.
Besides the social and emotional lessons in these books, take the opportunity to provide some reading strategy work, follow up with discussion, and even create an “Acts of Kindness” class book where students engage in writing and illustrating their personal acts of kindness.
World Kindness Day Activity Supplies
Celebrate and spread random acts of kindness with these stickers and bulletin board placards. Place a kindness sticker on student assignments throughout the week. Create a bulletin board showcasing student writing about kindness and use these placards to share more kindness tips.
More Lessons to Celebrate Kindness Day
Are you looking for more lesson ideas and opportunities to teach kindness to your students and children? Check out these websites for more ideas.
| Random Acts of Kindness | 40 Kindness Activities |
| Bucket Fillers 101 | Sing Along |
| Sesame Street Elmo’s Kindness | Kindness Art |
| Sesame Street Sing Along |
Happy Kindness Day: Related Resources
World Kindness Day is an opportunity to teach students how to get along with others, treat others with respect, learn and display empathy, and develop friendships where people serve and help others.
Besides the lessons and books shared, I’ve included a few more links with additional opportunities to teach kindness throughout the year.
Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
Service Learning in Our Community
World Kindness Day: Final Thoughts
Did you know showing kindness can have a huge impact on the giver’s life and the receiver’s life? THE BEST part about showing kindness is . . . KINDNESS IS FREE!!
Don’t forget to mark February 17 as a day to engage in “National Random Acts of Kindness Day” to continue spreading smiles.
Whether using words or good deeds, being kind to others brings a smile to each person’s face and heart! Celebrate World Kindness Day and your students will “throw kindness like confetti” on November 13 AND every day!
We have a few of those kids books and love them still.
Kindness is paramount to daily living!
Thanks, Kendra! Yes, I completely agree!! I’m glad these books can assist all adults in teaching and being role models for kindness.
What a fabulous post! I love the book suggestions and the story about Maria! Kindness is such an important concept to instill in our children.
Thanks!! The Maria story is very powerful. The kids feel her pain during the lesson and are eager to be kind and help her feel better.
Maria’s Story is an excellent way to teach the concept of kindness.
Love these book selections, we have been focusing more on kindness and ways to show it at home this week.
That’s a great family focus. Teaching this concept at home will flow over into their real lives AND your children will be able to help others see and use compassion, too.
Awesome lessons here! Kindness is so important and not given the time of day by some people.
Yes, and you are unfortunately true about spreading kindness.
I love teaching lessons with children’s books. I would love it if all of us adults would listen and learn. I guess all we can do is it starts with us. Set an example and hopefully, it spread like wildfire.
I agree!! There is so much to learn from children’s perspective.