The Problem
Supporting kids outside of school that might be dealing with bullying, stressful situations, are lonely, worried, struggling with self esteem.
Our Plan
We plan to run a 6-8 week positivity program that will support social emotional learning, build leaders, boost self esteem, and share qualities such as kindness, integrity, courage, responsibility, inclusion, and respect. Incorporating fun activities the kids can carry home and into the community.
Themes Addressed
-
Education
![term icon]()
-
Friendship
![term icon]()
-
Inclusion
![term icon]()
-
Social-Emotional Learning
![term icon]()
The Benefit
-
People
![term icon]()
Here is how the project went:
Courage in Kindness is a project to expand kindness within our community. I was able to present the project as an after school program and parents registered their kids to attend. We met for seven weeks and each session we covered a desirable characteristic including Integrity, Courage, Caring(Kindness), Respect, Responsibility, and Inclusiveness. Our last class together, we did a project to spread kindness into our community with sharing appreciation hearts. Each child wrote 3-4 hearts expressing appreciation and/or encouragement to someone which could include parents, friends, teachers, etc. During each class we incorporated mindful movements that progressed through the weeks from being individual movements to partner and group movements, showing how teamwork and flexibility are also important traits. Each child received a workbook to bring home and do activities with their families, with five and ten day kindness and positivity challenges. Each child that put forth an effort was celebrated for their efforts. Initially, I had a group of 12 children and within the first two sessions, an additional eight kids joined the project. Parents/guardians and teachers gave wonderful feedback and expressed interest in continuing the project for the next school year. Parents/guardians responded to my emails with appreciation and excitement for the activities the children were bringing home. My son and I choose this project because there was bullying happening and we wanted to help spread kindness and also be very supportive for children to advocate for themselves and friends when they experience or witness bullying. I witnessed many of the children build in their confidence (courage) and finish out their school year with improved behavior for themselves and the kids they became role models for.
Through this project I/we learned:
Many of the children took their workbooks home and completed kindness and positivity challenges with their families. Increasing positivity and kindness at school and home was very rewarding.
What I/we might change:
Learnings for the future ~ Clear agenda for each class session and incorporating more movement breaks.
My/our favorite part of this project was:
We completed our project with Appreciation hearts and it was so fun to read the encouragement and appreciation the children expressed for friends, parents, teachers, community members, and even siblings.
Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:
I was amazed at the perspective and grasp that the children had of the characteristics we discussed and did activities around, such as Integrity and Inclusiveness.