Mama and the Minis: August 2017

I tend to keep to myself. Rarely do I encounter another mom on the playground who is nice and starts chatting with me. They are either on the phone, with a friend, or fully involved with their child. I've never had a knack for starting a conversation with strangers and even in school it was hard to make friends, being the new kid in the grade. And not only making friends, but just being kind to the new person or the stranger they don't know. I remember being laughed at by other kids when I handed the bus driver a Christmas card, and another time when I helped the lunch lady because she dropped something. Kindness is lost on most people, but now more than ever, we need to teach kindness, remind others to be kind, show kindness in the hope that people will be involved in a ripple effect of kindness in the community.

I came across a few amazing teachings, really good ways to teach kindness and reminder lists on practicing kindness {the key component - practicing what you preach}, and I want to leave it here to remind myself.

Roots of Action is a wonderful blog and really struck me with these four steps that have in an article, click here for the entire article!
Teaching Kids about Kindness

Applying the Kindness Counts study in your home, classroom, or after-school program is easy. The goal is to help kids become more aware of doing acts of kindness and of their feelings of gratitude when they experience pleasant activities.

Follow these four steps to help enable children to be givers of kindness. Your efforts will be greatly rewarded!

Understand the Importance of Kindness

Learn about the benefits of giving for children and adults. Check the web for resources for home and classroom, like The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

Create a Kindness Project

Devise an activity where your family or classroom records ONE act of kindness or ONE pleasant activity per day. You might call it your “Kindness Project” or “Happiness Diary.” These activities could include helping with dishes, letting someone else go first, taking care of an animal, going out of way the for a friend, hugging someone to make them feel better, etc. Or they might include visits to places and experiences that make us feel good, like visiting a favorite park or a grandparent’s house.

Take Time to Share

On a regular weekly basis, take time to share as a family or classroom. Rather than sharing everything in your diary, share the highlights of your week. Share enough so that everyone learns from each other’s acts of kindness and begins to understand the types of experiences that bring gratitude to life. Sharing encourages self-reflection and helps bring meaning to our actions.

Practice, Practice, Practice

It may not be practical to keep up a routine where you are sharing from a diary on a regular basis. Reinforcement of the kindness habit comes with practice. But once children get into the habit, it’s easy to share from time to time.

Whether it’s planting a peace garden, making a get-well card for a sick friend, or simply inviting someone new to sit at your school lunch table, there are many free and easy ways kids can help create a more peaceful world.

Another favorite organization is Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and they have a great education tool here for teachers, administration and students alike. I have a future post about our families random acts of kindness over the holidays that I hope inspires all!

One more teaching that I am fond of, and wish they implemented in my school district, is MindUP ! So much is going on in your brain on any given day, it can be overwhelming and children can feel this same way too. Check out MindUP's philosophy to take care of ones self and create harmony in the classroom.

WE RISE BY LIFTING OTHERS