Be kind.

Sometimes you only need one classroom rule: Be kind. This is a great book to encourage children to think about doing kind things for others.

In the book, Miss Ruler’s class keeps track of kind deeds on a bulletin board. The children do so many good deeds, like clearing the table after dinner and helping other people, and soon they have 100 acts of kindness.

After we read this, my class was really excited to share some kind things they each had done for other people, so we decided make our own heart board! This was our chart in its beginning stages. If one piggybacked on another, I put them beside each other. We talked about how boomerangs come back to you when you throw them, just like being kind comes back to make you feel better.

This Kindness Boomerang video goes along perfectly with the book, and is always a favorite. We revisit it several times throughout the year. After we watch it the first time, we have a great discussion about the small, kind gestures each person made, and how each one made someone happy so then that person decided to do something for someone else.

Another favorite:

If you haven’t read this book, here is a synopsis from Amazon:

Ordinary Mary is an ordinary girl from an ordinary school, on her way to her ordinary house-who stumbles upon ordinary blueberries. When she decides to pick them for her neighbor, Mrs. Bishop, she starts a chain reaction that multiplies around the world. Mrs. Bishop makes blueberry muffins and gives them to her paperboy and four others-one of whom is Mr. Stevens, who then helps five different people with their luggage-one of whom is Maria, who then helps five people-including a man named Joseph who didn’t have enough money for his groceries-and so on, until the deed comes back to Mary.

We started with a vocabulary lesson about “ordinary,” “extraordinary,” and “deed.” The book really got my kids thinking that they could each make a difference by doing something kind. They also loved the fact that it was a CIRCLE STORY! Gotta love that!

The very favorite part was the last page which shows exactly how one kind deed can touch everyone in the whole world. Mary made five people happy. They each made five people happy, so that made 125 happy people – and so on… See for yourself…

Another similar and wonderful book is The Boy Who Changed the World, by Andy Andrews.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

The Boy Who Changed the World opens with a young Norman Borlaug playing in his family’s cornfields with his sisters. One day, Norman would grow up and use his knowledge of agriculture to save the lives of two billion people. Two billion! Norman changed the world! Or was it Henry Wallace who changed the world? Or maybe it was George Washington Carver?

Both books have a wonderful message, but both were a bit wordy and long for my children. I condensed some of it so they understood the theme and message, because the message is fabulous.

This book is a simple, pay-it-forward message of kindness.

Even the smallest acts of kindness can powerfully impact the lives of others. This truth is beautifully demonstrated as we follow the far-reaching effects of young Katie’s innocent smile.
With this simple gesture, she ignites a circle of warmth that flows from person to person, touching the hearts and lives of people she may never even meet.

Dr. Jean and I have different character education activities, as well as activities and songs for all subject areas, in each of our monthly HAPPIES packets! You can find these at Dr. Jean’s website or at my TpT Store!