Every day is the perfect day to spread joy and compassion; however, there’s no better day to learn about and encourage kindness than on World Kindness Day. This day of awareness began in 1998 when world kindness organizations from 28 nations came together to launch the first ever World Kindness Day. Now, on November 13th, adults and children around the globe annually pledge themselves to committing acts of kindness in honor of World Kindness Day. When we demonstrate and learn about empathy at a young age, it brings us closer to achieving the world kindness organizations’ collective goal of creating a kinder world. As educators, it is imperative that we promote kindness both inside and outside the classroom through social and emotional learning (SEL).
Below are some of our favorite social and emotional learning activities, along with some ideas for kindness projects, to celebrate World Kindness Day.
Commit yourself to kindness.
In the spirit of World Kindness Day, start by committing to be more kind. Sign a pledge or take an oath with the children. You can even challenge them to do one act of kindness each day.
Share stories about when someone treated you kindly and how it made you feel.
Have children take turns recounting times when they felt compassion from someone else.
Make a list of various acts of kindness to complete.
An “acts of kindness list” provides good examples and holds the kids accountable. The children can even get creative and brainstorm these acts of kindness on their own.
Read a story centered around kindness.
Not only will children practice reading comprehension, they will also come to understand kindness better through the story.
Top 15 books that teach empathy and kindness to children! This book list provides lots of ideas for grades PreK-6!
Track acts of kindness and spread love with kindness cards
Keeping track of acts of kindness inspires kids to continue being kind in the future. Create a wall with student names and a paper folder or bucket underneath each name. Assign each student a partner and have them write something kind about the other person and put it in their bucket or folder. Work with students each week to share notes of encouragement and kindness with other students in the classroom.
By writing and delivering positive messages, the children can recognize the kindness in others while also doing something kind for others. These kindness hearts and messages from Social and Emotional Learning Activities for grades 1-2 provide great examples of how to show kindness to others.
Download these free SEL activities from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.
Teach kindness to oneself.
You can’t forget to be kind to yourself while also being kind to others. Have children write out their personal goals and coping strategies, as this allows kids to be more patient with themselves and navigate what to do in times when they are not treated with kindness. Download this free kindness activity for grades 3-4 from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.
World Kindness Day is a fantastic reminder that children should start observing, learning, and practicing kindness at a young age. Not only are these activities beneficial to the children, they are also beneficial to the teacher or parent, as they encourage positive behavior development; this allows for better classroom management and even creates a more inclusive classroom.
Are you looking for more SEL activities? Check out these free sample printables from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.
For additional lesson ideas on kindness and more, browse Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables for grades PreK–6. Try it for free for 14 days. School discounts are available. Learn more here.
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Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.