Random Acts of Kindness
I don’t know, shouldn’t kindness be a part of our everyday life? In just a few weeks it is National Acts of Kindness Day, February 17th to be exact. Then, in November there is a week dedicated to Kindness Week. While I am grateful for these dates to show kindness, I can’t help but wonder, isn’t kindness something that should be in our daily lives. I’m certain our character Warm-Hearted Walrus would agree. I thought I’d share some ideas and resources ahead of time to help get the ball rolling for you to utilize in your homes or classrooms and help share kindness. Together, we can make the world better. Be Kind.
Many sources credit Anne Herbert with this honor, as she wrote the words, “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a placemat at a restaurant in Sausalito, California in 1982.
Graphic by Jen Downey
Teaching our children acts of kindness surely begins in the home and carries out in their daily life in the community. As does yours. Print out the template below and use as in introduction to being kind. Discuss what it means to be kind, how it makes others feel when you are kind and how it makes you feel when you are kind. How do you feel when somebody is kind to you? Share these thoughts and ideas with your family, use the template as a sticker chart. Each time you see or hear about your child being kind, praise them. Use as a journal prompt, color the page and make it your child’s daily journal, have them write and draw about what they did, said or heard about kindness in a day. They will become much more aware of this act, the words, and the feelings.
Graphic by Jen Downey
Some activities for parents to do at home for Random Acts of Kindness might look like:
Leave little encouragement notes around the house, words of praise and kindness
Compliment your family at least once a day
Encourage your child to be kind, perhaps help an elderly neighbor with yard work
Encourage your child to be kind to others, include a child at school who may sit alone
Be a role model for your family, use kind words, perform kind actions
Some activities you can do as a parent or adult for Random Acts of Kindness might look like:
In a line, let the person behind you go first
Leave happy notes at the office or around town
Take care of your friends children for an evening
Help a neighbor with mowing their lawn, shoveling the walkway or running errands
Compliment a stranger
Donate to a Charity or volunteer your time
Donate your household items or clothing to a shelter in need
Famous quotes on kindness that will spark your belief in humanity:
Princess Diana said; “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
Barbara DeAngelis said; “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”
Aesop said; “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Dalai Lama said; “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
Graphic by Jen Downey