We've been making Public Service Announcements about kindness
all week long to spotlight what we've seen, including students holding doors for each other, donating their gently-used shirts for our Clothing Exchange, and volunteering to serve at the Donuts With Divas event.
Click image for source.
In addition to all of the intentional kindnesses that our kids have shown,
I enjoyed putting stickers with affirmations on these cards ...
and creating this visual display in our teachers' lounge.
There will be a few more than you need, so have fun choosing.
Print them out on Avery 5160 labels and trim them slightly
down the righthand side to fit a standard-sized deck of playing cards.
A huge kindness that greeted me at Ward Elementary when I spoke there a few weeks back is this creative display. Doesn't this just send your heart soaring?
Those colorful little capes were absolutely precious, one prettier than the next.
Then this afternoon, I got this in my box:
One of our superheroes wanted me to know that she'd done all 50 of the Kind Acts on the checklist we sent home. Heart warmed!
Yes, the kindness boomerang is alive and thriving at our school.
Oh, and we're making Valentines for our troops tomorrow to send along with our homemade baked goods next week so they'll get there in time for Valentines Day.
If you've got a soldier on deployment, please email me the address so that we can send them some hugs from home and thank them for their service and sacrifice.
We've had a lot going on this week,
all in the name of
warming the world,
to make it a better place
for our ourselves,
for our kids,
for our future.
Kindness is a game changer!
Did you join the 10 million children who celebrated with us worldwide this week? How did it go? What did you do? How did it feel?
Today I'm inspired because we kicked off our Great Kindness Challenge 2016 a few days early by inviting this superhero from a neighboring junior high to engage our students in her backpack project to help Houston's homeless.
Her name is Reagan and she's super passionate about her cause.
But this crusader's cape, well, it looks more like a backpack. And though she doesn't help others for accolades and awards, I would like to affirm her work by mentioning that she is a recipient of the Charlotte Bacon Acts of Kindness Award.
It all began, she told a very still audience of 1000 students at our weekly Wednesday Warbles gathering, with a question:
Do you have a backpack?
She went on to explain that initially it was feelings of guilt about not being able to help the homeless person who asked that question that urged her fifth-grade self back then to ask her mom to take her to a store to buy some backpacks for them. When her mom told her to look for a more creative way to meet that need, Reagan only had to go to her room to find the first few backpacks that would kick off that initial collection of one hundred and twenty five backpacks three years ago. This year, her goal is to collect a thousand backpacks. She confidently told our students that it shouldn't be a problem to meet that lofty goal, because "I've got you."That's when she invited them to help her collect backpacks as a part of our Great Kindness Challenge next week. Kids helping kids; isn't that the best?
Check out her four-minute presentation here.
If you're in the Houston area and would like to donate to Reagan's We've Got Your Back project, you can bring your gently-used backpacks to Westwood or Bales any day next week.
Today marks the first day of our winter break and I couldn't be happier as I skipped out of the office and dodged raindrops to get to my van and
head home for the holidays. It's a #kindawesome feeling!
Where do you stay when you go on vacation? If we're not with family for friends, I prefer to stay at Marriott hotels, in large part because there's just something really special about the AVEDA rosemary mint shampoo they provide to their guests. So you can imagine my delight when my sister asked the cleaning staff for a few extra little bottles of it the last time we were together. Here's the token of our thanks I left behind. It was a beyond-#kindawesome trade.
Now that I'm about to run out of that happiness in those hotel-sized bottles, I'm thinking about some of my favorite things.
You see, although I like that yummy shampoo a lot, the bigger thing here is that my sister would think to request a few extra bottles ... for me ... just because she knew how much I loved the scent. A whole lot. It was the #kindawesome surprise that warmed my heart. Thoughtfulness is like that, more valuable than any thing she could buy for me.
Generosity is right up there with thoughtfulness.
Just last week, we asked our school family for socks, scarves, mittens, gloves and hats for the homeless in our Head To Toe Giving campaign. Yes, it's right before the holidays, {but who could resist those adorable signs the StuCo made?} and yes, we were still able to fill the back of a van with our warm donations. I had the pleasure of heading to the streets of Houston Wednesday night to help deliver the goods. Our character cam caught this homeless man warming up with the red scarf I knit ... just for someone like him.
Two of our students came along, with their Dad. What a blessing, to see these tween-aged girls ministering to the homeless population by sharing our surplus.
With joy and delight in their servant hearts.
Without an ounce of pity, fear or trepidation.
Smiling at and interacting with them,
as if ...
even though ...
and knowing that they need more from us than just
hats, mittens, and socks.
More #kindawesomeness!
Yesterday, one of my students brought a bar of shark-fin soap as a gift, with a note that a donation had been made to the United Conservationists. I talked with this first-grader when he delivered my gift; turns out he's done a lot of research and is quite passionate about saving the sharks. I think it's #kindawesome that he would include me on his crusade.
Another #kindawesome thing is Brittany's Dream, a girl's goal to raise $20K by cooking up kindness in the kitchen in exchange for help funding a water well in Malawi. She also organized a Well Walk to simulate what it's like to walk miles and miles just to get a drink of clean water water. Talk about your empathy elevator! For more information or to support her efforts, visit her Wishing Wellpage.
There's a really fun character clip about generosity {here} ... and then, Good News out of Dallas; you must watch what happens when this school's beloved crossing guard loses his car {here}.
Finally, check out this organization that sends challenges, ideas, and activities to put caring into action in the mail. If you need a creative and inspirational gift idea, why not consider a subscription to Giving Families.
Click the graphic below for details.
Opportunities to be caring, thoughtful and generous abound!
Today I'm excited because there are a lot of Random Acts of Christmas Kindness going on at school. Last week, Mrs. Collins' class delivered hand-made thank-you cards, two students from Mrs. Quigley's class brought me a cupcake, and two kiddos from Mrs. Janish's class brought me a Sonic drink. And I wasn't their only RACK recipient. I noticed that they were making posters to put at the trash cans to thank their garbage collectors, decorating thank-you cards for the cafeteria staff, and leaving sweet treats for the nighttime custodial staff, leaving no doubt that what we appreciate appreciates! It's the most wonderful time . . .
Isn't this a beautiful picture? The graphic was designed by Jill, co-founder of Kids for Peace, after we heard the Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District speak at the Character Matters Conference this past June. I loved meeting Jill on that trip; she's passionate, generous, and kind. If you haven't signed up for the KFP Great Kindness Challenge yet, what are you waiting for? When you register your school, you'll be able to download the page of 50 RAK suggestions to give kindness legs. Thank you, Jill, for being a Climate Changer.
Do you know about this Kindness Feedback Loop?
Check out this giving-fact graphic from our friends at Happify:
Consider the kindness cocktail, the helper's high ...
and imagine a world in which we were hooked on helping.
Are you looking for a year-end donation opportunity? Our friends at
Happy Heart Kidactivity kits, which include games, crafts and workbooks centered around particular character traits (like empathy and manners) are hoping you'll check out their Kickstarter Page. And while you're there, please support their cause as you can. I think you'll be glad you did.
Each snowman represents an opportunity for students to put kindness into action as spelled out on the brim of the snowy guy's top hat: on the playground, in the hallways, in the classroom, toward others. The buttons offer simple suggestions. I used fuzzy socks for scarves and real twigs for arms. The eyes are hearts, the smiles formed from stars. I had a blast putting it together.
Today I'm delighted to showcase a climate changer I met on Facebook {here}. Joelle Hood hails from CA and her work is designed sparked a Kindness Revolution as she experiments to make kindness contagious. How cool is that? Here's a graphic she posted yesterday:
Comfort and joy.
I like that on a to-do list.
She posts inspirational stuff every day,
because she lives it. It's a habit for her.
An advocate for social-emotional learning, she has worked as a teacher, a school administrator and a Catalyst Coach. Thank you, Ms. Hood, for being a force of nature. I appreciate you and all that you give. You are positively inspiring.
First, an update about our Sweets For The Soldiers campaign:
Forty boxes of homemade goodies and treats are shipping out this morning en route to sixteen different deployed servicemen and women around the world who won't be home for the holidays, along with heartwarming notes like this one.
I just love that this writer gives her soldier credit for her safe feelings. And if my heart weren't happy enough, this morning I get to start the day with my friend Jennifer down the road at Southside Elementary in Angleton for their National Schools of Character celebration. We're on the agenda right after the AHS cheerleaders; I'm so eager to dance the Six Pillar Shuffle with those superheroes. And, I've got just the right PPBF to launch us into our
Thanksgiving break week off.
Title:Mogie - The Heart Of The House
Author: Kathi Appelt
Illustrator: Marc Rosenthal
Publisher: Anheneum Books For Young Readers
Date: June 10, 2014
Suitable for: ages 4 - 8
Realistic fiction
Themes: compassion, friendship, empathy
Brief synopsis: Mogie is a Labradoodle who makes his way into the Ronald McDonald house in Houston to befriend and ultimately help restore mojo to a sick boy named Gabe.
Opening page:There once was a very special house in the middle of a big city.
Why I like this book: An adorable, active pup, a sick child, a charitable organization like the Ronald McDonald House ... what's not to like? Meet the real Mogie. This story is based on the real-life story of this empathy expert, who seems to have an uncanny ability to help the children who need him most.
Click the picture to read his real-life story.
In this PPBF pick, Mogie is the one pup in a passel (have your students look up that word) who isn't destined for something big like his siblings, some of which join a Search and Rescue operation, others who take a Service job, and the rest who become Show Ring trophy dogs.
Instead, Mogie is a rule-breaker who ends up at a Ronald McDonald House in Houston, destined to be the pet with the therapeutic ability to help heal. And when Gage, a sick child who is in the special house for treatment while he's ill, gets his mojo back, Mogie stays to help nurse Antonio back to health.
Sounds like a really good job for a dog, don't you think?
I read it to a first-grade class yesterday, and they identified it as a circle story. Use this circle story to talk about empathy. How can you tell from Mogie's tale that it might be possible for a pet to have empathy? Have them cite specific examples. Switch places with Gage. What must his experience be like? How do you think he feels? What do you think he needs? What do you think his parents need? How about his friends? How could you use your superpowers to help this family?
This would be the perfect book to springboard a service-learning project. Is there a Ronald McDonald House in your area? What services to they provide? What do they need? Maybe you could partner to provide them a service. Could you make get-well cards or notes of cheer for the residents and their families? Maybe they need stuffed animals or board games? Some of the chapters take those pop tabs from soda cans. Perhaps you could start collecting them? Research what they use those for to spark a discussion about repurposing.
My brother Mark is on the Board of the Milwaukee Ronald McDonald House Chapter, so this charity has a personal connection for me, another reason that I was instantly endeared to Mogie.
Finally, have students write an essay and draw an illustration about who the heart of the house is at their place and why. These would make really special presentations and perhaps even a holiday bulletin board.
Check out this book; I think you'll want a copy for your shelves, too. Then head to Susanna's blog for today's other PPBF titles.
Happy Sunday. How was your World Kindness Week celebration?
Our friends down the road at Ross Elementary hosted a Character Crusade on Friday night and it was a huge success. They partnered with the Bay Area Alliance and made 120 gift baskets for a residents at a nearby nursing home. Students who attended went home with a heart full of happiness and a spirit stick like this:
Kindness is so much bigger than a hashtag;
life is better when we make kindness a habit.
Look at all of the words that engulf the word kind.
Ponder their meaning ...
and reflect on Mr. Maraboli's wise words:
With one kind gesture you can change a life. One person at a time you can change the word. One day at a time we can change everything.
It doesn't have to be huge, just done with great love. Look around and you'll see kind acts all around you. As you watch, pay attention to the glow of their aftermath. Keep the flame glowing and feel the warmth of their ripple.
Then, find a way pay it forward, like what Heather's doing.
She was in the second grade when I got that job at Westwood Elementary. Fourteen years later I probably wouldn't remember that, but it's so vividly etched in my heart because that year, right after school started, one of her classmates was killed in a hit and run and I found myself in her classroom sharing the news that their friend had died. He was buried on 9/11.
Truthfully, she's really one of the only ones I remember from that class, in part because her mom reached out to me that day to offer not only a word of prayer, but to also come and sit with me while I talked with the class. That endeared me to both of them and created a special bond, one that would really be important when this little girl lost her mom in a accident just two and a half years later.
She's in college now and doing amazing things.
One of those things reminds me of that caring, generous mom
whose time with us was way too short.
She's going to be wearing a dress every day in December
to raise awareness and money for the Dressember Campaign,
which uses fashion and creativity to restore dignity to women.
One kind act ... endless possibilities rippling out.
Click the Dressember graphic to learn more and support this effort.
Small kindnesses are a big deal, to the person carrying them out,
and to the person on the receiving end.
Why not head out on a #kindnesscrusade and unwrap the gift.
One of my favorite presentations at this year's Forum was a gregarious group of students from Birmingham Covington School in Michigan whom I've come to revere as my empathy heroes. I cried in their session when they showed this clip that they made as part of their Project Cope service-learning project:
They set their goal at $12K, so they could purchase that tractor to help their friend Victor and his village. They did all sorts of projects, but my favorite was the jewelry they made by repurposing used gift cards ... and I'm not even a jewelry girl.
They had a booth set up and were taking orders
for custom-made pieces. So cool.
I donated my empty Starbucks card for the cause.
In their breakout, they talked in pairs about what they'd done, how and why. They were unstoppable in pursuit of their goal for this project with a purpose. They worked to find people to partner with; they even got Microsoft to contribute $3,000, which helped them exceed their goal by that much.
Kids as entrepreneurs and philanthropists, because of their elevated empathy for some people and their plight clear across the world.
I like it.
Want some more information on empathy?
Check out Teaching Empathy in Five Easy Steps {here},
I spoke with the counselor, who told me that her office was a total loss. Thirty years gone, just like that. So I packed up a few of our puppets and some other treasures to help her start over. We've also found a donor who has generously offered to pay for shipping so we'll be able to send some of our surplus library books their way.
If you want to help this school during its recovery, donations can be sent to
Post Elementary ~ 200 West Sixth Street ~ Post, Texas 79356.
We're also gearing up for our Celebrity Delivery Night partnership with Papa John's and busily making our student-created Box Toppers.
In addition to the fact that it's a really neat tale about hope and freedom, I'm excited because I was invited to write the Foreword!
Adding to the awesomeness is the fact that Maurice's charitable-giving app was released just this week! Download Maurice's Secret Sycamore for free {here}.
App description from the creators:
Picture yourself no bigger than a mouse, opening a door in the base of a Sycamore tree. You have magically arrived in the home of Maurice, world traveler and collector of the world’s wisdom. Secret passages lead to rooms full of math, memory, geography and other educational games. Game points earned can be transformed into books for kids in need. These donations model the lessons of compassion central to the companion children’s book series Maurice's Valises. This is a free, non-commercial app for children 5-9.
How exciting is that? Technology meets charity to create a win-win for young and old alike. Kids helping kids by donating books while game-playing is genius; I am so inspired by author Jerry Friedman and so grateful to be a part of his projects.
Congratulations to Leah, the winner of our Girl Power series.
Leah, send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the author
so that she can get your books on their way.
Today I'm delighted to share of few stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, for a cause. Here are some pictures of the Hope Rocks that I bought ...
from two brothers in our school who are making these
to earn money which they will, in turn, donate to charity.
Decorative rocks with a positive message ... made with love
Then Mrs. Krail gave me a 10-pack of these GiveBags, purchased to support another cause. From the package top:
Here's your good deed for the day. This is not your ordinary lunch bag. Give back with Givebags! Each bag buys a meal for someone who would otherwise go without. Join us on our mission to help feeding Americans in need.
Such a creative way to help feed the hungry.
Finally, check out this classy act by football sensation Aaron Rodgers, who stops by to help a young girl support a cause near and dear to her heart,
Annie said her brother Jack would want us to take action, so that's what she's doing. And that's what the Bhalla brothers are doing with their Hope Rocks. And that's what the duo behind the Givebags are doing.
