How Can We Help Them Learn Kindness?

There is a whole lot of hate in our world. 

It's very concerning when we work with little ones and we want them to be successful. 

Although I'm not going to delve into politics, I'm sure you're aware that political changes here in the USA are pretty uncomfortable for many right now, and people are angry. Yes, BOTH sides of the political system are angry, and it's not helping our children. 

How can we help them learn about kindness? 

Well, here are three ideas!

There are tons of great books with the theme of kindness! I've linked some of my favorites below. (These are Amazon affiliate links.)

• The Kindness Quilt
• Each Kindness
• Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch
• Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler
• The Invisible Boy
• Wonder

I have a special softness for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch and The Invisible Boy. 

Be sure to read the books and let the children have plenty of conversations. 

Bring up the topic of kindness and let the children talk about how the characters showed kindness in the stories. 

We know as educators that children are more likely to do what they see than what they're told to do. That means we need to let them see us showing respect and kindness to them, and the people they see us interact with. Let them see you performing little acts of kindness for children as well as adults!

Let them see you writing fun little notes for them and their classmates.

Let them see you leave a treat for the teacher next door.

Let them see you bring flowers to the nurse for Nurse's Day.

Let them see you go out of your way to tidy up to make things easier for the custodians.

Bring the whole class to the Library to sing Happy Birthday on the librarian's birthday.

I'm sure you can think of more examples of showing kindness, and I'm sure your students can think of plenty more!

When problems occur in the classroom, which we know happen often, be sure to address the group with the question, "How can we solve this problem with kindness?"

To help you out, I've got a Reader's Theater samplerthat does exactly that! It's a little play for 4 people with a problem children can relate to. Here's the twist: after a discussion on how to solve the problem with kindness, the performers get to make up the ending! (Plus, it's only $2!)

If you like these, you'll love these:

• Starring Kindness: 5 different reader's theater plays
• Starring Character: A Bundle of 15 Reader's Theater Plays to build character

One last thought: my singing group sang this song years ago, and it helps me deal with many difficult situations. Although this isn't my singing group, the song is just as beautiful.

 

 

Speed Chatting!

Do you have a talkative group like I do? 

 Do you have kiddos that have so much to say they have trouble holding it in? 

Isn't it tough to find class time to let them get out what they want to say!

So I decided to try Speed Chatting. It works sort of like speed dating, without the dating part. 

I have the children make 2 circles. They partner off, and get a couple of minutes to talk! Then one of the circles shifts, and they have a new partner for chatting. They'll shift a few more times until they've had a several chances to talk.

Sometimes I give them a topic, and sometimes I let them choose whatever they want to talk about. 

Topics could be: 

• Tell about the book you're reading.
• Why do we need to regroup to subtract?
• What did you do this weekend?
• Talk about your favorite thing to do.
• Tell what you know about _________.
• Tell about a place you'd love to visit someday.
• What pet do you wish you could have?
• If you had plenty of money, what would you buy?
• What is your favorite subject in school?
• What do you wish you could have for homework?
• What do you like to do after school?
• What makes someone a good friend?
• What is something you wish more people knew about you?

I'm sure you can think of plenty more!

Right after the holidays, the kiddos were busting at the seams, wanting to tell about their vacations, staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve, and their new toys.  

We did Speed Chatting. We had to... there was no option, they were going to talk about their vacations no matter what. They needed to get it out. Either they'd be sneaking it in all day, or I'd let them get it out of their systems first thing in the morning. 

I chose to put Speed Chatting into Morning Meeting that day. 

Then they were ready to get back to work!

Honestly, I don't think kids get enough time to speak their minds these days. We're incredibly busy between testing as well as teaching an overloaded curriculum. This is a nice way to get them talking without missing much class time.

Enjoy Speed Chatting with your students! 

You'll hear some amazing stories!

Wondering what will keep them engaged the last week before Christmas?

If you are already on vacation, congratulations for surviving! If you're still going, like I am, you'll be needing something extra special to keep those restless, overtired children engaged!

 

This week we did some STEM activities from this set: S.T.E.M. Activities for December.

The children had a great time creating face warmers for Santa!

And designing workshops for elves!

Every student was engaged, plus there was learning going on! Their reflections really showed they were learning about the Engineering Process, as well as learning to work as part of a team. I was proud of their achievements!

There's a lot going on this coming week. (Yes, we go through Friday afternoon at 3:30!) I'll be pulling out all the stops with some of my favorite holiday activities. 

We'll be painting, illustrating, and reading some of my favorite holiday stories. We'll also bring in a little Science and Social Studies with this resource: Science and Social Studies Activities for December.

They'll be reading informational text about the North Pole and about the Aurora Borealis, practicing their mapping skills with a map of the North Pole, sorting Christmas scents, and learning about laws by sorting elf laws.

 

Besides all this fun, I'll be pulled out of class on Thursday for an IEP meeting, so I'll be assigning some of the pages from this resource: Holiday No Prep Activities.

I can be sure the children will be getting fun practice on important reading, writing, and math skills with these! 

If all else fails, it's time to pull out the glitter! (Yes, I plan to!)

Of course, I hate to leave for vacation without being ready for that first week back! Here are a couple of resources I'll be pulling out at the beginning of January!

Beanie Toss to 100!

Thank You Cards

These may be going out of style for some, but grandparents still prefer a handwritten thank you card. Who doesn't want to keep grandparents happy?

 

2024 Calendar of Fun!

Here's a little something extra they can do with these calendars!

The Greatest Sum - an Addition Game with Strategy and Fun!

Here's a game my students have been playing for years called The Greatest Sum! I've put it together with lots of variations!

 

The basic game is played with two 2-digit numbers. The children choose one number square at a time, and decide where to place it on their boards. It takes them only a short time to figure out they should put the greater numbers in the tens column, and the lower numbers in the ones column. You can use the numbers included in this package, or you can use tiles, cubes, or other interesting manipulatives and write the numerals 0-9 on them, as I have done in these pictures.

Here's how to play:

1. Place the tiles (or number squares) face down between 2 "Greatest Sum" boards.

 

2. The first player takes a tile and places it in one of the squares on his board. That player should think about which square might bring them the greatest sum, since he isn't allowed to move it once he lets go!

 

3. Play continues between the two players until all squares on both boards are filled.

 

4. Which player has the greatest sum? Players may use paper & pencil, whiteboards, number grids, a calculator, or mental math to determine each round's winner. (Teacher's choice!)

As you can see in this preview, there are plenty of variations to this game!

Explore the image or explore this link: The Greatest Sum

Which player had the greatest sum?

Are You Ready to Ship Your Students Off to a New World?

Yes, the last few weeks have been very busy! 

I'm VERY tired, and so are the kids, but we've got a couple more school days to survive!

It's time to pull all the stops out! Time for high-interest activities that involve conversation and movement. Here are some ideas:

I'll be pulling out this activity from my Science and Social Studies Printables for November.

We'll also be reading informational text and learning about wild turkeys! Turkey Fact Booklet  (This is also in the Science and Social Studies Printables for November.)

 

 I like to let the children work in pairs or small groups while creating these informational text booklets. This encourages conversation about the information they are learning and encourages them to use their new vocabulary.

Looking for more turkey fun? Try this Turkey Mini-Bundle, which includes that turkey informational booklet you saw above!

Finally, we'll be practicing our reading, writing, word work, and math skills with these Fun, No-Prep Activities for Thanksgiving.

 

Planning ahead? 

Check out some of these posts: (See the images for the links!)

How are you keeping the children focused during this busy time?

What would you do if you were president?

Children shouldn't have to deal with actual politics, especially since these days politics can be far too hurtful and controversial! I think it's best to go in a different direction with kids.

 

 

This year, on election day, we voted for our favorite Indoor Recess Game. Sorry won, with Battleship a close second. We graphed our votes, and drew some conclusions from the data.

A couple of days later, we had a fabulous discussion.

I asked them what they would do if they were President of the United States.  Their answers were amazing!

Here are some of my favorites:

• I would get rid of smoking.

• I would expect people to try to get along.

• I would get rid of drugs.

• I would make sure people stopped hurting each other.

• I would have people smile more.

• I would let people wear their hair however they want.

• I would have the rich people use their extra money to help the poor people.

• I would get rid of junk food.

• I would make everyone read.

• I would make sure people are healthy.

• I would make people exercise.

• I would get rid of bullies.

Honestly, I was inspired and proud! I half expected "typical" kid answers: no homework, no bedtimes, more video games... but they didn't go in that direction at all! 

They've got my vote!

Here's a little freebie with this prompt and another prompt as well: