Random Acts of Kindness Week
February  2023

“No Act of Kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted!” - Aesop

 

        Doing good for others can also do good for us!

 

Random Acts of Kindness is when we go beyond the duties expected of us and reach out to help another person or group of people. 

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Why Kindness?

Kindness includes everyone.  Students learn that kindness is a language that everyone understands.  Through kindness, we celebrate diversity.

 

Kindness improves student’s self-esteem and the school climate.  Children can excel through kindness no matter how academically proficient they are.  The learning environment becomes enhanced when children know that they will not be made fun of for their responses.

 

Kindness is empowering.  During difficult times, kindness propels students into action and gives them power when they feel powerless.  They can do something to change their world.  They can choose to offer kindness when they see someone in need.

 

Kindness helps students connect actions with consequences.  Students are almost always positively reinforced when they are kind to others. They see the gratitude of the recipient; they hear the “thank you”.  They know that they made a difference.

 

Kindness is a vital, lifelong, interpersonal skill.  Students will use kindness daily in their relationships at home, at work, and in the community.

 

Kindness is an awareness that each of us develops with practice over time.  Through kindness we give and receive, we begin to understand that we can connect to those around us.  We realize that we are part of a human community, in which giving and receiving kindness are vital to our health, harmony, and hope.

 

Ways parents and caregivers can promote kindness in young children.

• Ask your child how he or she is feeling.  When you ask about your child’s feelings, you are communicating that you care and value his or her emotions.

• Point out people’s emotions around you. Help your child to pick up on social cues. When your child’s friend or sibling is showing a feeling, point out the different facial expressions and body language.

• Use a wide variety of emotion words when interacting with your child. Expand your child’s vocabulary by using words such as guilt, satisfied, pride, anxiety, fear and excitement.

• Label emotions and describe the situations that lead to those emotions. Use any opportunity to point out the emotions of others and give those emotions names.

• Engage young children in activities that help you and others. Provide many opportunities for your child to help you (in household chores and other activities).

• Model caring and kindness through your own actions. Don’t make fun of strangers or speak ill of relatives. Children often learn more from your actions than our words. Acknowledge your mistakes with your children, say I’m sorry. Show forgiveness to others and your child.

• Teach your child the joys of helping others. When your child is helping, tell him how good it feels. Communicate your own pride and happiness to your child for his or her helpful behavior.

• Promote gratitude. Encourage your child to give thanks. Model gratitude and point out to your child all that he or she must be thankful for, even the little things.

• Teach your child how to give a compliment. The giving and receiving of compliments are fundamental for personal interactions and conversations. Take turns with your child giving and receiving compliments.  

• Think about how you tease your child. Some kids can’t take teasing, even when in fun. If your child is reacting by getting upset, stop. Be playful without being demeaning.

• Kindness starts at home. Don’t allow your child to speak rudely to you or other family members.

 

 

 

Kindness Checklist for Adults

Ways can you cultivate kindness at home, at work and in your community.

(From the Ripple Kindness Project at ripplekindness.org)

 

Kindness to others

• Compliment someone

• Hug someone

• Give blood or become an organ donor

• Donate unwanted goods to charity

• Put a nice note in someone’s lunch box

• Help an elderly neighbor with their chores

• Babysit for someone or give a caregiver a break

• Return someone’s shopping cart

• Thank someone for their service

• Surprise someone by mowing their lawn

• Call someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile

• Clean your partner or parent’s car

• Wave a car into traffic

 

Low cost Kindness

• Give a treat to the cashier

• Buy coffee for the next person in line

• Make a care pack for a homeless person

• Pay for someone’s bus or train ticket

• Leave a money in a vending machine

• Sneak a lotto ticket in someone’s bag

• Drop some coins in the park for kids to find

• Feed an expired parking meter

• Leave a treat on a colleague’s desk

• Buy a homeless person a meal

 

Kindness to your self

• Take a yoga class

• Go for a walk

• Get out in the garden

• Do something you have been putting off

• Have a soak in the tub

• Make a list of all your positive attributes

• Drink extra water

• Catch up with a friend

• Forgive someone who has hurt you

• Go to bed early with a good book

• Start a gratitude journal

• Get a massage, manicure or pedicure

• Take up meditation or mindfulness

 

Kindness with kids

• Read a book together

• Bake a cake for someone and take it over

• Hand out flowers

• Walk the dog together

• Pick up litter in the park

• Skype someone you miss who’s far away

• Visit someone in the nursing home

• Make a thank you card for your teacher

• Feed an expired parking meter

• Invite friends to dinner

• Decorate stones with positive messages

• Try a mindfulness activity

• Wash someone’s car together