February can be an exciting month for students. Celebrating Valentine’s Day in the classroom is a lot of fun, but it can also be overwhelming. The treats and candy can make for an exciting but exhausting week. It’s important to remember, and remind students, that the real reason behind Valentine’s Day is to spread kindness and love. National Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th and is the perfect opportunity to teach students about the importance of being kind.
Acts of kindness can help students feel safer and strengthen relationships. When students practice kindness, they're also building essential social-emotional skills like empathy, self-awareness, and responsibility. Best of all? Kindness is contagious. One small act can spark many more. Try out some of the ideas below in your classroom.
Kindness Challenge
Work with your students to create a list of simple acts of kindness. Encourage students to complete these throughout the day, week, or even the whole month of February. When you see a student do one of these things, draw a smiley face next to it on the list. If you have stickers, you could give the student a sticker to place next to the act of kindness. The kids will love seeing how many smiley faces or stickers they can earn!
Kindness Notes or Cards
Grab some paper and coloring supplies. Have your students write kind messages to classmates, staff members, or family. After they decorate their notes, send students to secretly deliver their messages. Students could also write simple kind sayings such as "You're awesome!" or "Have a great day!" and hang them up around the school for others to find.
Kindness Chain
Cut some colorful construction paper into strips. To start the chain, simply take one strip of paper, create a loop, and tape the two ends together. Whenever someone catches a kid doing something kind, they can add a strip to the paper chain. Your students will love to see the chain growing as more and more acts of kindness are completed. Hang the chain outside your classroom for all to see!
Classroom Act of Service
As a class, do something kind together. It’s a valuable opportunity to discuss what it means to be kind and all the different forms that kindness can take. Some ideas are:
clean up the cafeteria
pick up trash from the playground
collect items for a local cause
write and deliver thank-you notes to staff in your building
Kindness doesn’t need a holiday, but Valentine's Day and National Random Acts of Kindness Day can help remind us to be intentional about being kind. One small act of kindness in your classroom could make a big difference in a student’s day!
