Did you know that it’s Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week? February 10-16 has been deemed the week to go out of your way and be extra thoughtful to others. It sure would be nice if this was a year-round practice. (It does seem like there are more notable stories of strangers being kind to strangers on a more regular basis, so maybe we are onto something!) For now though, we thought it would be fun to share some ideas of ways that you can incorporate RAK Week into your classroom and school!
Here are 5 ways you can introduce and/or promote the idea of doing for others:
- Write letters – Have students write letters of gratefulness to their favorite teacher, a parent or caregiver, or even one of their friends. Make sure they say thanks or tell them why they are special to them. In this digital age, a heartfelt letter is so meaningful!
- Group RAK at school – Take the kids on an “in-school” field trip where they can together come up with some random acts of kindness they could perform to benefit the school. Picking up trash outside, or even having older students pop in and read a story to the younger students are some examples.
- Circle of Kindness – Have students sit in a circle and toss a stuffed animal (if you have a Hardy Heart beanie, use that!) to one another. Once a student receives the “animal” they must say something positive about a classmate. The educator can designate who is the recipient of the compliment so everyone is included.
- Smile Challenge – Challenge the students to 1) do everything that week with a smile on their face; including house chores and smiling when asked to perform responsibilities at school or home and 2) go out of their way to smile at people they may or may not know throughout their day; a little smile can go a long way!
- Assign a RAK at home – As a homework assignment, have the kids seek out a situation outside of school where they can do something nice for someone in their home or neighborhood. Whether it be mowing a lawn or taking out their neighbor’s trash, a small act of kindness will be greatly appreciated. You can then have them write about their experience and how it made them feel as a writing assignment in class.
Try incorporating these into your classroom for the week or better yet throughout the year! Everyone will be in a better mood as kindness can be contagious!
What ideas do you have for random acts of kindness this week? We would love to hear them …
