Kindness Project

I forgot to post this activity from last year, but it is timely and perfect to share with you before your Valentine's Day festivities begin!

We began by talking about how, as a class, we are part of a special community. We come together each day to share, learn and grow.

Within our class community, we are unique individuals created with different interests and abilities.

 Students were given cards with each of their classmate's names on them. They had to think of something special about that person, and write their sentence on the 'compliment card'. 

 This was a FANTASTIC exercise to have students pause and reflect on every single member of the class. They soon realized that they could not just write the same sentence on every card--what may be true about one person would not apply to another person.

 When the 'compliment cards' were completed, students cut out the names and put them in piles {by student name}. I took the piles and randomly distributed them. The only thing I made sure of is that they did not get their own name...the rest was random!

 Using materials donated by generous parents, students set to work decorating the posters. They all worked SO hard to make the posters look fantastic!

 They were spread out in the classroom, hallway, and other rooms so that the posters were kept TOP SECRET. We did not want anyone to know who had their name!

 Earlier in the week, I asked students WHY are we doing this project?

Here are some of their responses:

...to be kind

...to show we love each other

...because we're friends

...to show respect

...to show how well we know each other

On the day of the big reveal, they were excited to see their posters, and to read affirming messages from every classmate, written especially for themselves!

I just love this community-building project, that also highlights the uniqueness of each individual within it!