Know Your Why!: Kindness Resources for Teachers, Learners, and Families

Spring is a great time to learn & explore something new!

April 29th, 2023

If you’ve followed my blog over the last several years, you might remember that I occasionally create challenges for myself to explore, learn, and share what I discover. Last December, I challenged myself to explore 24 Days of Teaching and Learning Resources.

My challenge for April is to explore something new each day and share what I discover. Hopefully, I won't let you or myself down! (April Challenge Update Doc)

"Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” —Scott Adams

Today I am exploring kindness and resources for schools and families to engage learners. I believe kindness is one of the most important skills we can help develop.

Before I dive into the resources I discovered and wanted to share two resources shared by my PLN.

Anne Kasa, shared these incredible kindness cards that she gives to students, colleagues, and other humans in her daily life. This is such a simple, yet impactful way to make the world a little better. I just ordered something similar to give to my graduating Seniors, Kindness Matters Cards - Kindness Is Contagious Challenge Card,

Lainie Rowell, Author of "Evolving with Gratitude", shared the Greater Good Website and the organization's resources for educators. I still have some exploring to do, but I plan to bring the "Random Acts of Kindness Challenge" to my classroom.

Here are some of the resources I've started to explore connected to kindness.

Kindness Web Resources

Kindness.org - "Mental health. Physical well-being. Social dynamics. Healthy child development. And all with a naturally compounding effect. We’ve only scratched the surface of what we know kindness can impact - but it’s a pretty good start."

We Are Teachers - Kindness Quote Collection - 75 kindness quotes and graphics for kids of all ages. The We Are Teachers site also has an amazing collection of SEL resources.

Golden Rule Project - "The mission of the Golden Rule Project is to increase awareness and the practice of compassion, kindness, and peace by sharing the universal principle of the Golden Rule through education, programming, and partnerships." There are some nice lesson plans and additional resources for educators on the Lesson Plan page. I also like the "Story Starter Cards".

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation - "Kindness in the Classroom"® is a CASEL approved, highly effective, evidence-based, social-emotional learning curriculum used all over the world, with focuses on equity, teacher self-care, digital citizenship, and kindness. Be sure to also explore the "Kindness Calendar".

School of Kindness - "The School of Kindness aims to spread kindness and empower children by helping them to realize that the little choices they make every day have the power to change people’s lives, improve their own health and well-being, and ultimately change the world. We just need to choose kindness at every opportunity." The site has quite a collection of resources and ideas, including a nice collection of lesson plans.