A Kindness Challenge is one way to have your students spread happiness and cheer around your school.
Sometimes our students need to take a moment to step outside of themselves and their classroom and think about others, especially this time of year, and that’s where the Kindness Challenge comes in.
Here’s how it works:
1. Have your students brainstorm some potential random acts of kindness.
2. Decide how many days you’ll run your challenge for.
This year we’re doing 7 days before Valentine’s Day but in the past we’ve done ten days before Winter Break. You can do as many days as you and your students want.
3. Pull together your daily acts of kindness. For example:
a. Compliment five different people you see in the hallway today.
b. Create a fun bookmark to leave in random books in the library.
c. Hold the door open for someone else. Wish them a great day as they walk through.
4. Reveal each day’s challenge. Make it exciting!
5. Depending on the challenge, give students some time to complete the task in class.
***Make sure that if the challenge is to leave items around the school that you send students at the end of the day or week to pick the items up. The caretaker is our friend!
6. At the end of the challenge, give students time to reflect on the process.
This will help them to consolidate their learning and see the value of being kind!
Want a ready-to-go version of this Kindness Challenge? I’ve got you covered. Click here to check it out.
One thing I’ve noticed a lot lately, teaching post-pandemic, is how important kindness is and how much our students need to learn and practice empathy. While the Kindness Challenge isn’t a cure-all, it definitely helps to get them thinking about others and realizing how one small act just might brighten up anoter person’s day.
I’m Lauren, from “From Math to Music” – your go-to person for all things Math and Classroom Community.
Being a middle-school teacher and a mom of 3, I know how hard it is for busy teachers to create resources that allow for deep thinking and build classroom community. That's why I love sharing tips and tricks that you can you use in your middle school classroom right this minute.
