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Kindness Matter Coloring Sheet and Wordsearch

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Kindness Matter Coloring Sheet and Wordsearch

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I Am Love: A Book of Compassion - Read Aloud Children's Book

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👍 Kids Book Read Aloud: KINDNESS GETS A THUMBS UP! by Brenda Li

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Kindness Activities Classroom Projects and Bulletin Board Ideas

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Kindness Activities Classroom Projects and Bulletin Board Ideas

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Kindness Activities for Elementary Students - Kindness Worksheets and Kindness Crafts for Kids

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I am a such a big believer in the importance of teaching kids to be kind. As I always say to my kids at the end of the year: if you leave my class with nothing else, I want you to leave with KIND HEARTS. For me, teaching students to be kind little humans is the most important part of my job, and one of life’s most important lessons that anyone can learn. We are all guilty of being selfish or getting caught up in our own lives, and kids are no different. Kindness is something that needs to be practised - but the smallest act of kindness can have a domino effect. We want to help our children to make kindness a part of their daily routines from an early age. Here is a comprehensive list of kindness activities, favorite kindness crafts and free printable worksheets which you will help to create a culture of kindness in your classroom. Use these activities for Random Acts of Kindness Day, World Kindness Day, International Kindness Week or for kindness lessons throughout the year to promote kind acts amongst your students. 1. KINDNESS CHAIN These free compliment chains are super fun kindness craft and the kids love them! The kids write their names coloured strips of construction paper. Their classmates then rotate around the room and write compliments or positive messages on the coloured strips of paper. The kids can turn their compliment strips into a paper chain to display at school or take home to share with their family members. This fun activity is also a wonderful way to build fine motor skills at the same time! 2. BUCKET FILLERS Bucket Filler displays are one of the best ways to help young kids to encourage one another with kind words and build interpersonal skills. I’ve used bucket fillers with both older students and younger children - they are a really fun way to encourage children to say kind things to one another.
We start by reading ‘Have You Filled A Bucket Today?’ and discuss how we can either be ‘bucket fillers’ or ‘bucket dippers’. This picture book is such a valuable resource for illustrating the concept of kindness to young children. When we fill someone else’s invisible bucket (through kind deeds and kind gestures such as being inclusive etc) we end up filling our own bucket too, but when we dip into someone else’s bucket (with unkind words, ignoring or hurting people etc) we dip from our own bucket too. We talk about how we want to be a class of bucket fillers! The colourful buckets are a visual reminder of this. The kids write kind notes (e.g ‘you are very funny’ or ‘I loved your artwork’) on little slips of paper and fill each other’s buckets. Over the years I’ve used lots of different things to make the ‘buckets’- paper cups, party hats, or other similar items from my local $2 shop. The buckets are a tangible way that the kids can be filling each other’s buckets. Sometimes we write bucket fillers as a whole class activity (which helps me to make sure that all the kids have some notes in their buckets) but I also encourage my students to fill out a bucket filler whenever they find a reason. One of my favourite notes: sanx for beyen my frend. Translation: thanks for being my friend! The kids love opening their bucket filler notes every few weeks and reading all of the compliments and encouragements from their classmates. It is always so beautiful to watch them read their kindness notes to one another!
There are also lots of follow up activities that we do to consolidate the idea of being bucket fillers vs bucket dippers - brainstorming important character traits of kind kids, playing kindness games and other such activities. 3. WRINKLED HEARTS ACTIVITY This kindness activity is a really powerful activity for demonstrating the impact of our actions on other people’s hearts. With my class, we brainstorm all the ways that we can hurt people through our actions and words. With each new idea we scrunch our hearts a little bit more. Then we flip it and brainstorm all the ways we can make people feel better. With each idea we un-scrunch the hearts a little more. When we’ve restored our hearts as much as we could, we discuss that while they are definitely better than they were, it is hard to completely get rid of the wrinkles. Such a powerful and simple way to demonstrate the lasting power that words and actions can have on other people’s hearts.
You download the free templates here. 4. KINDNESS MENU A few years ago, I created this kindness menu to help my class think more actively about how they could go out of their way to be kind each day. I chatted to my kids about how much I value kindness and how, like anything, we need to practise kindness so that it just becomes an ingrained part of our day. We brainstormed the ideas for the kindness menu together, so the kids really felt a sense of ownership over it and had a really practical sense of how they can make another person’s day that little bit better. We ended up with a menu full of simple acts of kindness and random acts of kindness ideas. I hung some whiteboard markers up alongside our display so that the kids could tick off every time they’d done something kind throughout the day. I put the display in the hallway, as all classes across our school walk past our door. I hoped it might inspire kids all over the school to also get involved or to think about how they could do something kind for someone else. And sure enough it did! Before long, there was no room for any more ticks! This resource has been updated and expanded since then- you can download it here for FREE. 5. FIND WAYS TO GIVE BACK It’s so important to encourage kids to think outside of themselves and their immediate spheres, and to find ways to give back. There are many ways that you can do this with your class or as a school. One year, instead of doing a ‘Secret Santa’ gift at the end of the year, the kids brought in a few dollars and we donated to a charity that we chose together. This was the perfect way to show students that small changes can make a big difference in the lives of those around us. Letters are another way that older kids can connect with other kids- here is an example of a beautiful letter that a Year 6 student wrote to another kid who had been forced to flee their country and come to Australia as a refugee. These letters from students were sent along with new school supplies packs that my whole school community had put together. To accompany each care package with a letter from these older children was one of the most beautiful things to see. At my last school, I also had the privilege of organising an annual collection grocery bags for asylum seekers. Each year the kids and their families donated hundreds of bags to families who have nothing. This was an easy way for children to be a positive change in the wider world around them, and such an important part of their social-emotional learning journey. One little 7 year old boy used my classroom mat to sum up why everyone should bring in a bag of groceries: “We all own one whole mat- some of us even have more than one whole mat. But the people we’re helping don’t even have one square! If we bring in a bag of groceries, to us it’s just one square and we still have all of the other squares. But to others it can mean so much”. What a beautiful way to summarise how the smallest of actions can have such a big impact. 6. COMMUNAL KINDNESS DISPLAYS Communal kindness displays are a great way to brighten up your bulletin board or school community during kindness month, or at any stage of the year. They are a great opportunity to reinforce the social emotional learning that is happening throughout kindness lessons, and can inspire kids of all ages to carry out a random act of kindness as they go about their day. Here are some of the best kindness activities which can be turned into a kindness poster or kindness display! They are all free templates which can be found at Mrs Learning Bee. Kindness Dominoes
These free kindness dominoes are a beautiful way of illustrating the domino effect that can result from a simple act of kindness.
Kids can draw acts of kindness on the domino templates. There are also three poster templates included- I recommend printing on ‘poster’ settings with your printer, so that you can print across two A4 or A3 pages to enlarge. Sprinkle Kindness Everywhere
Create ready made displays or add acts of kindness as sprinkles to the ice-creams. I print the ice-creams on A3 paper to create a larger display. Kindness Train
Jump on board the Kindness Train with this super cute kindness display! Print enough train carriages for every student in your class, and source some sticky notes. The train carriages are sized to fit a standard post-it note, and are available in colour or black/white. Stick a post it note onto each carriage and write each student’s name. Then get a different student to take a post-it note and write a kind message to their class mate, before sticking back onto the kindness train. At the end of the day/week, students can take their sticky notes home and you can repeat the activity as many times as you like. Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud
This is a super cute little kindness craft. Concertina the rainbow strips together to create your own rainbow, then write or draw some acts of kindness in the clouds. This free download also includes 2 posters for

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Download Calendar

Kindness Beyond The Classroom™

NEW! Teach important kindness skills in an out of school time setting.

Kindness Beyond the Classroom™ is a concise yet comprehensive curriculum that you can use to extend kindness beyond the typical school day. There is a mix of whole group and small group lessons that focus on one of our six kindness concepts: Respect, Caring, Inclusiveness, Integrity, Responsibility, and Courage. We also have two "kindness boost" lessons at the end of each unit that you can use when you feel that students need a quick shot of kindness!

Download Lessons
Download Individual PDFs

Free Kindness in the Classroom® Training Materials

Don't expect kindness in schools-teach it! We'll show you how!

We are very proud to announce that all of our training materials are available online so that anyone can use them! Much of the training is focused on self-care for you-the educator. Specifically, building resilience, gratitude, kindness and reconnecting to what you do best-teaching. (That's why we titled the training "Kindness in the Classroom®: Cultivating Resilience Through Kindness".)

We hope you take the time to check out the new training! Here is a quick overview video to help you get acquainted. ( download video here if you can't access YouTube) If you aren't an educator, consider using it (with a few tweaks) where you work. The information & activities can be used in any context.

Better yet, share these materials with educators you know! The training (and the curriculum) is fun and will benefit anyone who participates because all the activities and information are based on scientific research. We invite you to share your feedback with us at teacherhelp@randomactsofkindness.org.

Download Training Materials

Our Approach

Why teaching kindness matters & how we go about it.

The Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Foundation is a small nonprofit that invests our resources into making kindness the norm. We are rooted in the belief that all people can connect through kindness and that kindness can be taught. We follow a simple framework for everything we do: Inspire, Empower, Act, Reflect and Share. Our evidence-based Kindness in the Classroom® curriculum gives students the social and emotional skills needed to live more successful lives. We create a common language between schools, work and home with all of our resources.

What does social emotional learning (SEL) have to do with kindness?

Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. They're the keys to the success of our kids, right? But what about the skills that will help when things get tough?

What about the ability to communicate your feelings and needs? To really listen to others? To keep your emotions in check, and understand other points of view that you may not agree with? To empathize with people who are different?

We believe these skills-all linked to kindness-are just as important as academic skills.

Our Kindness in the Classroom ® program was created to integrate intentional kindness skill building with the development of social and emotional competencies. Our lessons include six kindness concepts which, when used consistently, provide students a scaffold to build the necessary skills to move from self-awareness to action.

According to a CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning) study, 93% of teachers believe it's important to teach SEL-and 95% of them believe it can be taught. Their confidence was well founded-because they found that teachers who included SEL programs in their instruction saw an 11-17% increase in the academic scores of their students. Check out our research for more information on the benefits of teaching kindness.

The Kindness Framework

There's a lot to read about kindness here on our website. But one of the most beautiful things about kindness is its ease and simplicity.

That's reflected in our "Kindness Framework", which is what we call the simple, five-step cycle that we follow in each of our lesson plans. Here's how it works:

Kindness in the Classroom lessons teach kindness skills through a step-by step framework of Share, Inspire, Empower, Act, and Reflect. Each lesson starts with the 'share' step to reinforce learning from previous lessons. The 'act' piece is woven into the lessons but really takes place in the projects.

STEP 1: SHARE

Each of our lessons starts with a 'share' where the class can share what they've learned and experienced with others since the previous lesson. This reinforces what they've learned and experienced, helps others to experience it and makes it far more likely that they'll express kindness again!

STEP 2: INSPIRE

Through various modalities, each kindness lesson is designed to inspire students and allow teachers to feel inspired as well!

STEP 3: EMPOWER

Inspiration is good-but transformation begins to happen when students are given the tools that will let them act on that inspiration. The 'empower' step is for teachers to lead the class through discussions designed to empower students to find ways to be kind in their daily lives.

STEP 4: ACT

The opportunity to act exists throughout the lessons, but it really comes into play in the projects. Once students have the ideas and the tools, they put it all into action. The unit projects will have students bringing real, tangible kindness into the world.

STEP 5: REFLECT

At the end of each lesson and project, students will have experienced how great it feels to perform acts of kindness. And what does everyone want to do after doing something that feels great (besides 'do it again')? Talk about it, of course! At the end of each lesson, teachers guide students to reflect on what they've just experienced and learned & identify how doing kindness affects their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Success Stories

Read about other schools & districts who've seen great success using our curriculum.

D11 Colorado Springs Schools

Kindness in the Classroom is being implemented in 35 elementary schools (K-5) with a total of over 11,000 students over a five year period between 2017 and 2022. The first year of implementation, five schools taught the Kindness in the Classroom curriculum.

Teaching social emotional competencies, at a universal level, is one of the primary goals within our Comprehensive Student Support Model in Colorado Springs District 11. We were looking for a curriculum that would help increase prosocial behaviors and we have definitely seen the benefit to our community while using Kindness in the Classroom. We chose Kindness in the Classroom for many reasons including the fact that it had strong research behind it showing improved culture and student outcomes.

One of our pain points, as with many schools and districts, is how we'd find the time to implement the program. We ask teachers to spend 30 minutes, once a week, teaching the lessons and they have been able to integrate it very well. Some teachers have gone beyond with projects and ideas outside of the curriculum to embed the concepts into their schools.

Our students come from varying backgrounds and lifestyles, often coming to school lacking the skills needed to effectively and happily socialize, cope with various struggles and still perform academically. Kindness in the Classroom gives students a safe environment to discuss emotions and ethical/moral views with an educated and trusted adult. In one of our schools, we have seen a 38% decrease in discipline referrals after the first year of implementation. Staff, parents and students are really seeing a difference.

One student said, "No one is alone. There are people all around them. People just need to ask to be their friend or play with them." He explained that he has learned to "never give up, work hard, and help anyone that needs the help."

Generation Schools

Generation Schools Network's mission is to co-create healthy school ecosystems by partnering with educators, students, families and communities to elevate the education experience.

Along with their school improvement work, GSN has been offering their social/emotional program called "Advocacy" and using the Kindness in the Classroom curriculum in 11 rural schools in Colorado.

At Bayfield Primary School, grade level teams decided to work through the same units at the same time in order to keep a consistent message throughout each grade level. Students created artwork representing their interpretations of the concepts being taught to display throughout the school. The school counselor said, "The most significant outcome is witnessing students being able to advocate for their needs, resolve or avoid conflicts and employ the concepts of social emotional learning."

Student survey results showed that more than 78% of students agree that they have developed skills that will help them succeed in school, work and life and 93% of teachers reported that they have developed meaningful relationships with their students through GSN's Advocacy Program and use of the Kindness in the Classroom curriculum.

Rocky Top Middle School

One of the priorities at Rocky Top Middle School has always been to intentionally address the social emotional needs of staff and students in order to increase academic achievement and maintain a positive climate and culture throughout the building. However, last year was the first time we changed the structure of the master schedule to ensure delivery of direct instruction in the area of social emotional learning.

Using Kindness in the Classroom as the foundation for that class, our staff was empowered to facilitate learning in a creative way that allowed them to truly connect with their students. Families reported that their children felt safe and welcome in the school environment and that the direct instruction of the KiC curriculum gave them a strong foundation for conversations at home.

"Our students are really excited to focus on kindness. In fact, the Yearbook Club declared kindness as the theme of the entire yearbook. The cover boasts the quote, 'Kindness is the opportunity that we all have everyday to change the world.' The first photos in the yearbook show students displaying signs advertising 'We choose kindness here!' Throughout the yearbook there were even quotes and poems from students about kindness received and given.

Since including Kindness in the Classroom as our social emotional learning curriculum there has been a significant increase in academic achievement and the positive climate and culture throughout the building.

It Works!

Teaching kindness really does make a difference!

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has taken our highly effective, evidence-based Kindness in the Classroom social emotional learning curriculum and only made it better. By including a focus on equity, teacher self-care, and digital citizenship, we are excited to share a more engaging, relatable, and inclusive curriculum.

We think our curriculum is pretty great-but of course, we would. Thankfully, you don't have to take our word for it. We commissioned several independent researchers to study and test our curriculum:

According to their findings, teachers using our curriculum report feeling more connected to their students, seeing more kindness in their classrooms, halls and on the playgrounds, and noticing their students demonstrating more empathic, caring traits.

That's great news, but it doesn't stop there. The teachers also noted improved trust, fewer referrals to the office, more respect between students, and a generally more positive school and classroom culture!

To understand why social-emotional learning is so important, read this Teaching the Whole Child brief created by the Center on Great Teachers & Leaders at American Institutes for Research. It also includes good information on practical ways schools & districts can incorporate social-emotional learning programs into their schools.

Additional Resources

Even more resources to help you teach kindness to your kids.

Download Quick Start Guide Download Curriculum Overview

Start a Kindness Club

Our handy guide with tips on how to start a kindness club at your school.

Download

Kindness Book List

Our hand-picked collection of kindness-themed books used in our lessons. Listed by grade.

Download

Grab & Go Games

Need a few fun game ideas to play with kids? Grab our list of games and go!

Download

Family Letter

Introduce the Kindness in the Classroom® curriculum to parents & caregivers at home.

English Spanish

Here are the answers to some common questions about Kindness in the Classroom®.

Let us know if you have questions that aren't covered below.

What is Kindness in the Classroom ®?

Kindness in the Classroom ® is a free Tier 1 evidenced-based social emotional learning curriculum designed to helps schools create a culture of kindness. By including a focus on equity, teacher self-care, and digital citizenship, The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is excited to share an engaging, relatable, and inclusive curriculum.

How much does Kindness in the Classroom ® cost?

THE CURRICULUM IS COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE. Many of the materials required for lessons are items that teachers and schools already have on hand. There are some books that are required for a few of the lessons which might need to be purchased, though most lessons link to a video of someone reading the book if funds are not available to purchase the required books.

How long are the lessons and how much preparation is needed?

Teachers' time is precious. With that in mind, the lessons and projects can be taught for 30-45 minutes once a week. Each lesson gives a time estimate to aid teachers in adapting the lesson into shorter class periods. Most teachers report needing no more than 15 minutes to prepare for the lessons.

What is the Kindness Framework?

Read about our approach to teaching kindness & the Kindness Framework here.

Do I need to teach all the lessons? Do they need to be taught in order?

Lessons are sequential within each unit. The units are designed to help students develop their social emotional skills through a process of being inspired, feeling empowered to be kind, acting on that feeling, reflecting on what they have learned, and sharing their experiences. However, you may implement selected lessons based on your students needs.

How does the curriculum fit with district, state and national standards?

All Kindness in the Classroom® lesson plans have been mapped to the five CASEL Core Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Education Standards (NHES), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards, when applicable, and the national Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy, Mathematics, History/Social Studies, and Science & Technical Subjects. Utilization and adoption of these national standards and competencies vary by state, however, teachers can align their own state standards with each lesson as well. For each unit, a Standards Map was created to summarize each of the standards met by all lessons within that unit.

Why is it important to teach social and emotional learning (SEL)?

There are so many reasons! Aside from increased academic performance, SEL programs like Kindness in the Classroom ® improve attitudes and behaviors and reduce emotional distress. Research shows that students receiving the curriculum had greater empathy and sympathy for fellow students and teachers, were intrinsically motivated to be kinder and caring and showed decreased aggressive and antisocial behaviors. Interestingly, teachers reported they had significantly fewer conflicts with their students after teaching the curriculum and said they had more time for teaching... all resulting in students having more time for learning.

How can I successfully implement Kindness in the Classroom ®?

The fact that you're even considering implementing SEL in your classroom means you're already on the road to success. To get started, you can complete an initial Implementation Assessment to help plan a roadmap to successfully bring Kindness in the Classroom to your school-with full support of staff, administration and parent / guardians. After that, you can check our Grades K-5 and Grades 6-8 how to get started documents and then review the teacher training materials.

Do I need training in order to implement Kindness in the Classroom ®?

Training is not required to use the curriculum, but it is encouraged. The lessons are designed for ease of use and minimal preparation. If your school is planning to use the curriculum within a grade level or throughout the school, it is beneficial to use our free training called Cultivating Resilience Through Kindness to get acquainted with our materials.

Does the entire school need to implement Kindness in the Classroom ®?

While it is advantageous to use Kindness in the Classroom ® school-wide, you may also wish to implement by grade levels first, and then roll out the program to other grades later.

Is Kindness in the Classroom ® an anti-bullying program?

Kindness in the Classroom ® is designed to pro-actively build healthy relationships among students and a culture of kindness within your school. With this effective curriculum, bullying can oftentimes be prevented.

Does Kindness in the Classroom ® align with CASEL?

Yes, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)-the world's leading organization for advancing social emotional learning-has recognized Kindness in the Classroom® as a CASEL SELect program for excellence in supporting SEL in schools and districts nationwide.

Is Kindness in the Classroom ® culturally responsive? (Equity)

The curriculum has been rated "excellent" by the Equity Project based on this report.

Is there is difference between the K-5 and 6-8 curriculum?

Yes! The elementary and middle school programs were designed differently with the needs of those children and schools in mind. Please see our implementation guide for K-5 here and the guide for grades 6-8 here.

What does the research say about the effectiveness of Kindness in the Classroom ®?

Please refer to our Research & Reports section to review several reports we commissioned on the effectiveness of Kindness in the Classroom®. Spoiler alert: it works!

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FREE K-8 Kindness in the Classroom® Curriculum

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Download our free K-5 kindness lesson plans and projects to help teach important kindness skills to your kids.

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8 Easy Activities for Christmas Kindness in the Classroom

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These easy Christmas kindness activities will keep students calm and focused leading up to winter break. Grab a free kindness advent calendar!

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My husband and I have spent many family discussions teaching our children about kindness. We tell our kids that what goes around comes around. If you want to be treated with kindness, you need to treat others with kindness. We've been successful for the most part, but kids make mistakes (who doesn't?) and need a refresher now and then. Here are some books that celebrate kindness and help my family remember how and why we should be kind.

by Mary Murphy

Kindness is contagious. When Hen gives Pig an egg, she starts a domino effect of kindness that spreads throughout the barnyard. This adorable board book is straightforward and simple in its message of expressing kindness to others.
(Ages 2 - 5)

by Jodie Shepherd, illustrated by Tom Brannon

Elmo is working to earn his Monster Scout "K Is for Kindness" Badge! Follow along with Elmo as he does good deeds around the neighborhood and learns what it means to be a kind person.
(Ages 3 - 7)

by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch

Kindness often takes courage. We can choose to be kind to others in our actions each day. Using short, simple terms, this delightful picture book gives kids several specific suggestions of how to be kind.
(Ages 4 - 8)

Editor's note: This post was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2021.

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Children's Books That Champion Kindness | Brightly

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My husband and I have spent many family discussions teaching our children about kindness. We tell our kids that what goes around comes around. If you want to be treated with kindness, you need to treat others with kindness. We've been successful for the most part, but kids make mistakes (who doesn't?)

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41 Inspirational Picture Books About Kindness — Doing Good Together™

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Simple acts of kindness can have a big impact on the world, as one good deed inspires the next. This evolving list of children’s picture books will inspire kids to help others in ways great and small every day. Perfect for classrooms or at home!

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How To Be Kind To Yourself | Guided Meditiation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle