1. Random Acts of Kindness Papers

Submitted by Beth, Wisconsin

A number of years ago, after the Columbine High School shooting, I had read how even talking about kindness made a difference in people’s lives. I asked my students to do an act of kindness for someone, write it up, and hand it in bi-weekly. Students were not graded on this “assignment.”

The paper they handed in needed to have three components. They needed to:

• Describe what they had done for someone

• Describe the reaction of the recipient (they could not tell the recipient this was an “assignment”)

• Write down how doing their act of kindness made them feel.

I randomly read some of the papers to the class without identifying the “doer.” I kept all the papers that were handed in during the year.

During the last week of classes, I handed the papers back to the students. The classroom was very quiet as the students relived their Random Acts of Kindness. They did make a difference in people’s lives.

2. Pennies with a Purpose

Submitted by Raquel, New Jersey

Each classroom is given a plastic 32-ounce pretzel jar. The goal is to collect only pennies and put them in the jar. When the jar is full, the class is given another one. The money collected will be given to Habitat For Humanity.

The purpose of this project is to show that one small act (symbolized by a penny) can grow into many good acts. One good kind act can grow into many acts of kindness. It is amazing to see how much money has been collected just with pennies.

This is also a good project for math problems (guess how many pennies are in the jar, how much does the jar weigh, etc.). The project has been very successful.

3. Dancing for Smiles

Submitted by E-Dee, Colorado

On a Saturday, members of my dance performance team hosted an entertainment program at an assisted living community. The dancers, ages 6 and up, are looking forward to sharing an afternoon of dance, fun, and smiles with the residents of the center.

Two groups were brought together—what a wonderful opportunity for kids and adults toshare the benefits of Random Acts of Kindness.

4. Valenkind’s Day

Submitted by Susan

I am the advisor of our school’s PEPP Club (Peers Educating Peers Positively), and we are sponsoring a Kindness Awareness Week. We have several activities planned.

1. Students are creating bumper stickers with messages & quotes of kindness to place throughout the school.

2. The week before Valentine’s Day, students are selling carnations along with a Heartprint—a card that will leave a kind message or thought for another student. These will be delivered on the day we call Valenkind’s Day.

3. Proceeds from our sale will be donated to “Pennies for Patients,” which is a national fund raiser for the leukemia & lymphoma society.

5. The Golden Rule

Submitted by Judy, Ontario

At the independent girls’ school , St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School that I work at as Director of External Studies, I am planning an activity for my grade 11 girls.

There are two parts to the activity. All girls in the grade (35 students) will be invited to perform a Random Act of Kindness betwe en December 9-17th. On December 9th, when introducing this activity, we will discuss what IS a Random Act of Kindness.

On December 17th we will record and share our acts, having a few special awards for the most notable acts. (We will decide on a criteria for “most notable” on the 9th of December.)

Then we will all write one kind statement about each girl in the grade. All of these statements will be placed in a festive decorated lunch bag for each girl to take home with her for the holidays.

I am calling the activity The Golden Rule to demonstrate that if you treat others how you would like to be treated, kindness and good things generally happen.

I am really looking forward to this initiative.

6. Kindness Bulletin Board

Submitted by Toni, Missouri

I am creating a Kindness Bulletin Board. We will brainstorm ideas for kind things to do unexpectedly for people... people who would not expect students to do a favor/kindness for them. We will put these ideas on the board, and when a student does one, they will sign their name on the act that is posted on the board.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, all of the brainstormed acts will have at least one signature on them to signify that someone acted in that manner for someone. Students will enjoy being able to write their name to be posted on the bulletin board.

7. Kindness Connects Us All

Submitted by Sue, New York

Right now I am getting a kindness activity going for our school. I am calling it “Kindness Connects Us All.” When the kids are caught being kind, they get to design a pre-cut- out person shape that will be displayed throughout the school, hopefully connecting one end of the building to the other. This activity will keep us busy for a while.

8. RAK Sightings!

Submitted by Jill, Kentucky

I am a therapist in an alternative high school in Buckner, KY. The majority of kids are high school age; we have a few middle school kids. Since the first day of school, we have been recognizing Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) observed by both students and staff. I have a large envelope outside my door that the students and staff write about the RAK that they have observed and who they observed doing the RAK.

Each morning I fill out a certificate that says: Therapeutic Hug presented to (student or staff) for (doing whatever they were seen doing). I handwrite “RAK” on the certificate and also include the date. Each morning, usually with a student, I hand out the RAKs during homeroom. We are working on printing up a new certificate (without the Therapeutic Hug part; it was all that I had at the time, and it has taken off!).

Initially, most of the notes in the envelope were written by staff members, but now the majority of them are written by students, which is really cool. Some teachers decorate the area outside their door with the certificates, some decorate a bulletin board in their room, and some of the students (and staff) hang their RAKs around their homeroom desk or on the wall near their area.

In August we handed out 111 RAKs, and in September we handed out 237, for a total of 348! Being an alternative school, we often have some really tough days (as does every school, I know), and sometimes I don’t always look forward to the new days, especially after a really rough one.

But when I see all the great “little” things that are going on in other areas of the school, while I might be in crisis mode all day, it really reminds me of the big picture. I also remember that both staff and students are recognizing kindness, and there is an abundance of kind acts happening all around us here at school on a daily basis. And these are supposed to be the “difficult” kids!!

For the most part, the entire school has embraced the RAK intervention. Only one student has reacted negatively; even the toughest/hardest kids have responded well to being recognized for RAKs. Most of them aren’t even aware of the RAK they are observed doing. Many of them want to know who put it in the envelope. Usually I just smile and say that I don’t know (and often I don’t; the notes are supposed to be anonymous).

But for the notes that are signed or if I recognize the handwriting, I often give the observer/writer a little wink to let them know that I know they just passed on the kindness by writing down their observation.

It has worked out really well for us and has been a lot of fun. Good luck!

9. School-Wide Kindness

Submitted by Kelly, Washington

As a school counselor, I try to do a school wide project every year at our elementary school. I received information about your foundation and thought I could base my school wide project on Random Acts of Kindness.

So here is how it works.

I. We have bi-monthly themes that give us a focus for our Random Acts of Kindness:

• Sept/Oct: citizenship and friendship
• Nov/Dec: older adults and family
• Jan/Feb: community and other schools
• Mar/Apr: school staff and volunteers
• May/Jun: animals and community as a whole

II. I teach a school wide lesson in every classroom the first week of every month, related to the above themes.

• Oct: The power of unkind words and how they leave “crinkles” in our hearts.
• Nov: Woven thank-you flags that are sent to the local veterans hospital. Read the book The Wall by Eve Bunting.
• Dec: Lesson on diversity among families and situations, in conjunction with food drive.
• Jan: Peace Cranes, in conjunction with an elementary school in Taiwan. We will make origami peace cranes with peace messages on them and send them to our host school in Taiwan.

The other months are in formulation at this time. We’ll be working with the humane society sometime in May and working with community people for some of the other lessons. I just adapt the same lesson to fit all students at our school so they are learning the same message.

III. RAK Club: This is a club for third through fifth graders. The club is based on service learning and community service. The kids have a three-step process (some writing, some getting signatures from staff members and signing a contract) to be part of the RAK Club. (I can send you more information or examples if needed.)

Through this process, I get responsible kids who are going to make the club successful. The kids in the club will brainstorm some service learning projects, and then we will implement them. Another thing they will dois to deliver the items that the school wide lessons produce to the people in need (e.g., pictures to senior homes, etc.).

The kids get special things for being in the club as well. They receive badges that are similar to our “security badges” that the staff wear. They also get special surprises. I had a local farm donate small pumpkins for all the students in the RAK Club, so they are in on the receiving end of RAK as well.

IV. RAK Weekly Awards: I have staff and students on the lookout for RAKs throughout the week. They have nomination forms to nominate students that they see doing RAKs around the school. Staff members are also awarded RAKs, and parent volunteers can be nominated as well.

The awards are announced over the intercom on Friday mornings with a RAK announcement or reminder. The child receives an award, a candy treat, and their picture is taken. The picture is put on a construction paper brick with their name and RAK. Each week the kids are seeing that brick wall grow, and they want their face and RAK on the wall. I am hoping to cover a large area by the end of the school year.

V. Buddy System: I had teachers buddy up with a needy student who needs extra attention or support. They agreed to eat lunch with their buddy once a month to check in and see how they are doing.

VI. Staff RAKs: To increase RAKs and morale among the staff, the principal and I are always providing RAKs for the staff. A local coffee stand offered to come to the school and make all the teachers’ lattes/coffee drinks one morning. Another thing we are going to do is randomly give a teacher an extra half hour and take over their class so they can have some extra time one day.

Teachers actually do not have a lot to do with this project, when it comes down to it. I think that is why it has been successful so far this year. They just support the program that I am running and continue the teaching in their classroom once I have left for the month. It really has been great.

I hope this gives you more of an explanation of our project. There is definitely more to it, but that is at least the skeleton of the project.

Follow-up about getting the staff involved:

I have gotten the whole staff involved and on board. We are using Random Acts of Kindness as a school wide project throughout the entire year. It is our main and primary focus. There are quite a few branches of how that is being implemented throughout the school.

The staff has been receptive to the idea because I end up doing a lot of the work and they just help me implement. There is one schoolwide lesson I teach to all grades each month. Once I teach the lesson, they use my offshoot ideas to continue the teaching of the idea for the month. There is RAK club, and its main purpose is to do service learning projects. Teachers help provide adult chaperones for field trips, etc. We have weekly RAK awards that everyone at the school can be awarded (staff included).

You just need someone willing to take the time to implement and do the leg work, because teachers have enough to do.

10. 40 Acts of Kindness

Submitted by Renee, Maryland

I am an art teacher and I have one to share. Last year was our school’s 40th anniversary. We were brainstorming ideas to celebrate the occasion, and I suggested that it might be nice to honor our school with “40 Acts of Kindness.” I couldn’t believe how well received it was!

I asked each staff member to organize one project alone, schoolwide, or within his/her class. I painted a

huge mural of a “Giving Tree” (from Shel Silverstein’s book), and I put up a pink heart shape labeled for each

act of kindness that was undertaken by students and staff. It looked beautiful, and the principal was so proud

of the project that she wrote it up and we won a “Good Neighbor Award” for our school.

Some of the projects included:

• chorus visiting a nursing home
• silent auction of children’s art work, which raised $350 for Kids Helping Hopkins program
• jump-a-thon for American Heart Association
• pen pals with a senior center
• Valentine cards for vets
• food, clothing, toy drives, etc.
• litter patrol

The most rewarding part for me came at the end of the year at the fifth grade assembly. Each student spoke about his or her favorite Harford Hills memory, and some of the kids mentioned their act of kindness!

This year, I want to do something with the idea of “Kindness Grows.”

11. Drive-by Flowering

Submitted by Shannon, Wisconsin

I lived in a very small town growing up, and my friends and I had to be very creative to alleviate boredom. One night, we decided to do a “drive-by flowering.” We went to a few different fields and gathered bunches of wildflowers until they filled my family’s van (not just with flowers... also with dirt... so be careful!).

Then we drove to our friends’ and teachers’ houses and left flowers tucked under the wiper blades of their cars and hanging from their front doorknobs.

It was an unforgettable night... but unfortunately my strongest memory of that evening was coming home and having my parents automatically assume I was up to no good.

As parents we need to remember that, in order for our teenagers to trust us, we have to trust them as well.

(NOTE: This activity could be used within the school, or on a neighboring street if students had permission to leave campus for a short while).

12. Random Acts of Kindness Week

Submitted by Pat, New York

Chestnut Hill Middle School enthusiastically celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week. It came at a perfect time of year as we remember those we love and extend that love out to the world. The Student Council and Mr. R, their advisor, spearheaded a week of great activities. Just check out all that happened.

Our students, faculty, and staff were very busy finding creative ways to let others know that they matter. Each homeroom took on a special project.

One homeroom collected children’s books that will be used in the courthouse. The Commission of Justice for Children at the Courthouse sends each child home with a book. Some students collected food and others met needs for the SPCA. Still others collected baby items to be donated to a program that helps mothers in need.

This is always a difficult time for those who are hungry. One classroom collected food for the food pantry. Mrs. M’s community skills class collected pennies for the hospital. Mrs. A’s homeroom visited Chestnut Hill Elementary and read to Ms. K’s and Ms. S’s classes.

Our music department and the very talented CHMS students hosted a brunch and concert for the staff. Balloons and individually decorated place mats welcomed us as we entered. The leftover balloons were donated to the nursing home for a special luncheon. Ms. O’s home and career classes worked creatively to make picture frames that would decorate the walls of some senior citizens at the nursing home.

The 8 Red team made warm fuzzies that acknowledged the acts of thoughtfulness by their classmates. Not to be outdone, the teachers had their own way to let students know that their good acts were noticed. They gave out tickets that recognized students who were “Caught in the Act of Being Kind.”

On Wednesday, all the students were treated to a multimedia production entitled “Common Ground.” The STOP DWI Program sponsored it through a grant. It underscored the themes of personal responsibility, working together to make a difference, and most importantly, getting involved.

All in all, it was a great week. We are proud of our CHMS community. As we extended ourselves, we discovered in the process the real purpose of Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Week. It was a memorable experience.

13. Letters to Inspire Smiles

Submitted by Claire

Most children love to write and receive letters from friends. How about getting the students to write letters to other students, not necessarily to their friends, which would make the receivers’ day.

Or get all the students in the class to write something they like about each student in the class, then get them all back and write a list of everything the other students wrote about that student and give it to the student. I got a list from of my year 4 class members, and I’ve still kept it, and it still makes me smile. (Note from The RAK Foundation: We have a special sheet you can print out on our graphics webpage for this purpose if you wish. The link is: http://www.actsofkindness.org/file_uploads/graphics/37_pdf.pdf)

Both these activities help the students make more friends and realize that they are loved and appreciated.

14. Random Acts of Kindness Journals

Submitted by Laura, Louisiana

After performing an act of kindness, my fourth grade students reflect in a classroom journal. They describe what they did and how what it meant to the receiving person.

Once every student has written in the journal, we have a kindness party, and the students take turns reading their entries. We also have snacks and drinks while we listen.

15. Involving Students in Kindness

Submitted by Cathy, California

Greetings from southern California! I teach middle school (7th grade) English and Social Studies. I have 47 students in two classes. We will be celebrating World Kindness Week in November in several ways, at least one of which will be ongoing.

I. Students have started picking up Kindness Slips from me to fill out and return. I got this idea from your website. They describe briefly an act of kindness they did for someone else and then turn the slip in. At the end of the year I will pass these back to the students for them to re-read and reflect on. Already, a few students have asked, “Would such and such be considered an act of kindness?”

During our meeting time at the start of class, we have opened it up for discussion. One student wondered if it “qualified” that he had given his little brother some of his Halloween candy. On the surface I thought, of course, but the student looked troubled. When the entire story came out, he told us the candy given was only candy which he himself didn’t like! This made for a lively discussion.

Another student was troubled that he didn’t know what kind thing he could do for his brother, because his brother was going through a “rough 8-year-old stage,” as he put it. Even though he knew he was not compelled to do an act of kindness for his brother, it was clear that this was the person he really wanted to do something nice for. This was a cool discussion too, because he wanted to do something nice for a difficult person. Hooray!

II. In our studies of both literature and social studies, we are learning about people during the Middle Ages on many continents. Each student will be given a card stock “quilt square” on which they must depict someone’s kind act from either a character in a story we’ve read, or an honoring type of custom we have learned about in social studies.

Their squares will be made into a large class quilt to be displayed throughout the year. We plan to place it in the office during the month our grade level is in charge of the bulletin board.

III. Using your graphics, I have made bookmarks for each of my students, which I plan to hand out on Nov. 13th, World Kindness Day. (Note from RAK Foundation: The link to the free graphics page is: http:// www.actsofkindness.org/inspiration/graphics.asp).

16. RAK Clubs

Submitted by Dr. Jean Allen, Tristan’s Quest

Our non-profit organization works with children with behavioral and emotional challenges. In the fall of last year we got a grant and started two Random Acts of Kindness Clubs in two of the self-contained classrooms in our school system.

What a marvelous experience! We have seen young, little lives be turned around because of our program.

This year I am proud to say that we got funded again for the RAK Club program and have added one additional classroom at another school. We have had two articles in our local newspaper and the children are well into their kindness activities this year!

All three schools where we have a Random Acts of Kindness Club will be celebrating World Kindness Week, and our kids are getting a chance to be leaders in a schoolwide activity!

We put together a graphics presentation about all of the clubs’ activities last school year and have shown it to various organizations and faith groups here in our community. We shared the success of our RAK Club model with many special education teachers at the 53rd North Carolina Exceptional Children’s Conference last week.

We are gaining momentum here! Kindness...pass it on!

17. Calendars and “Passing It On” with Second Graders

Submitted by Maria, California

I’ve been using several of the free graphics downloads in my second grade classroom. We are using the Pass It On cards to show how kindness spreads. The kids get excited seeing how their kind acts get passed on.

We are also using the kindness calendars. I’ve made monthly calendar journals. We read the daily kindness idea and use it as writing prompt each day. (Note from RAK Foundation: The link to the free graphics page is: http://www.actsofkindness.org/inspiration/graphics.asp).

18. World Kindness Week: Kindness Cards

Submitted by Karen, Georgia

We celebrated World Kindness Week at Stone Mountain Middle School. The Peer Helpers sponsored the activities by creating colorful posters advertising Random Acts of Kindness and hanging them around the school. We also printed some of your free downloads and laminated them on colored paper.

Each day the morning announcements encouraged the students and faculty to “get caught” doing a RAK, and if they did “get caught,” they would receive a card from a Peer Helper. I was informed that kids were coming up to the Peer Helpers and telling the Helpers they did a RAK, and could they have a card? The Peer Helpers said they saw kids who never do kind acts actually being kind in order to get a card!

The faculty and staff had fun with it and have asked to continue passing on the kindness cards even after World Kindness Week was over. We will make another announcement that, although World Kindness Week is over, we would like to continue passing kindness on throughout the year! It was a lot of fun!

19. Plus Signs for RAK

Submitted by Kim Marie, New York

We modified some of the ideas on your website. We created plus (+) signs for all our students, and constructed one large plus sign with our three grade levels and our teachers. When we “caught” students performing a random act of kindness, we put two hands shaking on their lockers.

On Wednesday, the Pepsi Co. will sponsor a Quest for Respect assembly in our auditorium. We are planning to pick one student from each grade level and one teacher’s name from the nominees caught doing kindness and hand out a prize.

20. Incognito Students for RAK

Submitted by Chad, high school student, Alabama

We usually try to make the day of a person who is down better. We usually know what is going on because we have a small high school of about 500 people including staff.

We give cards on everyone’s birthday and give gifts, such as candles and other neat things to students and teachers having a rough time.

Our latest gift was to a teacher that is having a baby and was put on bed rest. We gave her and a husband a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

We sign everything we give “RAK.” No one knows what that means, and suspense is building at Deshler High School. The cool thing is no one knows who is in it, either. We even have our own hand signals and handshake; it is so much fun.

We learned about RAK from a cool teacher, Mrs. Turner. It is our third block class that started it, and so far, that is all that is in it.

21. RAK Bookmarks

Submitted by Kay, Minnesota

I pass Random Acts of Kindness bookmarks out to children that I have observed doing Random Acts of Kindness in the elementary school in which I work. The children who have received one are the envy of all, and the others want to know how to get one. It presents an opportunity to speak to the child about kind acts that go above and beyond the norm, without sounding “preachy.”

22. All-School Kindness Program

Submitted by Cabrini, Colorado

The school year is going so well at Mountain View Elementary. So far, my schoolwide efforts to encourage kind acts and good deeds is paying off. Every classroom was asked to perform a kind act sometime during the school year and document it in a writing publication of their choice.

One that I wanted to share with you came from our third grade classrooms. They are doing a mitten drive. They advertised with posters around the school and in the newsletters. Outside of their classrooms is a Christmas tree where mitten and glove donations are hanging. I thought this was a great idea!

23. Kindness Jar

Submitted by Jacki, California

As a teacher of four-year-old preschoolers, I wanted to bring the concept of kindness to a level they could understand. I saw an article in a magazine about a Kindness Jar and instituted it.

We start with a clear plastic peanut butter jar. The first month of school I write down acts of kindness on sticky notes and read them at circle time, and the children put them in the jar. As the jar gets fuller, I challenge them, “Can we fill it up? Can you find someone doing a kind thing? Did you do something kind today?”

The jar fills, and I bring in a gallon jar and we dump in our notes. After Christmas we start focusing on specific acts of kindness: kindness to animals, our friends at school, our family, our neighbors, ourselves, the earth.

Before long they are running up to me outside and in the classroom, asking me to write down things they have observed or done. I then start encouraging them to write them down. They scribble a few letters and then explain it.

The joy on their faces as they do kind acts and get “caught” saying kind things is worth a million dollars. Christmas tree where mitten and glove donations are hanging. I thought this was a great idea!

24. 100 Acts of Kindness

Submitted by L. Davis & C. Adams, Iowa

Though respect of one another is part of every daily curriculum, to spark the midyear slump, my partner and I used this activity to help celebrate the 100th day of school.

We made a large poster in the shape of the number 100 to hang in the hall outside of our rooms. Several weeks before the 100th day of school, we would role play and discuss acts of kindness toward others.

Two weeks before the big day, we would announce open season on acts of kindness. We encouraged the children to recognize acts of kindness by others.

Each time they saw a classmate or friend engaged in an act of kindness, they would tell us and then be allowed to put a smiley sticker and their friend’s name on the poster. The students couldn’t name themselves, only others.

It was always easy to reach our goal of 100 acts of kindness. This made a profound difference in behavior, relationships, and outlook. It was a great activity that we worked on every year. We would often have children from other classes approach us and ask to put up a name.

25. Valentine’s Day Kindness Week

Submitted by Claire, Texas

I am chairman of the Spiritual, Character, Citizenship Education committee of Space Center Intermediate School in Houston, Texas. This is a new committee for PTA, which I think is an exciting step forward!

This year and last we had a Valentine’s Day Kindness Week where the students (or teachers) nominated others for doing an act of kindness. These ballots were entered in a drawing for prizes at the end of the week. The winners were announced over the loudspeaker and brought to the office to collect their prizes. Some examples of the entries are:

“She helped me pick up my stuff when it fell in the hall.”
“I am a new student from China. She helps me with English. She is a good friend.”
“She always helps people and became my friend when I was new here.”
“Smiles at me in the hallway.”
“He is my only friend.”
“She brightens my day.”
“Is nice to people and sticks up for people.”
“Leaves his friends to sit with students who are alone at lunch.”

When we had this last year, it was right after the Columbia shuttle tragedy, and many students went together and nominated Tal Ramon (his father was one of the astronauts who perished), and he won! It brought a smile to Tal’s face but also to the girl who nominated him.

My goal in setting up this Valentine program was to get more students involved in Valentine’s Day and emphasize kindness to others rather than romantic love.

26. Kindness Community Outreach

Submitted by Betsy, Indiana

In early December, I contacted the director of our local food pantry. She was down to five cans of food on the shelves.

Our Kids Care Club began a can drive for the next two weeks. We made it a contest between classes, with the prize being an ice cream party. At the end of the campaign, we had collected over 4,000 cans of food. On December 14th, the kids stayed after school to help load the food. I heard remarks like, “Some child won’t go hungry now.”

We have another project for March for the food pantry. We are sponsoring a soup supper and canned food drive. We have opened our project to the public, and many local business have donated items for the supper. We hope to sell at least 500 tickets to the event. A local bank has offered to be a drop-off site for canned goods for us.

The children also had a read-a-thon and collected $221 to give to our local Angel Tree Project.

27.Kindness Tree

Submitted by Marine Creek Elementary School, Texas

I am forwarding to you two pictures we took of our “Kindness Tree” during RAK Week. As part of kindness and caring, our students were read Heartprints, by P. K. Hallinan.

All students and staff were given heart-shaped construction paper which read, “You left a heartprint today!” These heartprints were joyously given around the school and some taken home. Many were attached to the Kindness Tree.

It was a wonderful week and really has helped improve the students’ relationships with one another.

 

28. Kindness In Bloom

Hatcher Elementary School, Kentucky

Hatcher Elementary will encourage each individual classroom to design and complete a large group act of kindness for Random Acts of Kindness week.

I. We will acknowledge individual acts of kindness by using leaves and attaching them to the tree trunk by in a hall. Each class will be given enough leaves for each child to have one per day to start. More will be available as needed. Each leaf should have the student’s name, date of act, and a one sentence description of the act. Acts may be committed anywhere, anytime, for anyone. The idea is to practice showing kindness. Teachers will continue to encourage and acknowledge acts of kindness throughout the remainder of the year.

II. We will also be using Kindness Buttons by giving three to each classroom on Monday of that week. The idea is that whoever gets the button first will pass it on to anybody who commits or shows a random act to the person who has the button.

Other Activities:

III. The fourth grade class is doing Kindness Pizza. Each student receives individual pizzas cut into 8 slices. For each act of kindness the student does, the receiver signs a piece of pizza. When all students have completed all eight slices, each student gets to sign his/her name on a slice of pizza displayed in the hallway. When all students have signed their name on the hallway pizza by Friday, the class will receive a pizza party.

IV. Students from three primary classrooms are visiting the police and fire stations during Random Acts of Kindness Week. To show appreciation for these community servants who put themselves in danger every day to protect us, we are providing a “cookies and milk” treat. While there, we will tour the facilities and discuss firefighting and law enforcement careers.

V. One class made treat bags for the hospital. They brought in money, and the teacher bought the items to put in their bags. Young and old residents of this hospital received treat bags. The bags were white and decorated with hearts, get well messages, flowers, and a rainbow. Inside were pencils, puzzles, a pen, memo pads, tissues, hand sanitizer, candy, a toy ambulance, a sticker, and a watch in a little case with a picture of a train. The recipients of these bags were delighted, and one wrote a five-page letter back to the students, thanking them and letting them know how she used each item.

29. Kindness Ideas

Submitted by The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation staff

In an article called “Recognition Makes a Difference,” Ron Jones shares many ways to recognize students and staff members. We felt that quite a few—perhaps all—of these ideas could be adapted into Random Acts of Kindness. Fortunately, both the author and the magazine staff generously gave us permission to share these ideas with you.

Following is a list of ways you might either show appreciation to others or spread some cheer to people you meet during the day. It might be fun to take some low-cost mementos and attach a note to each one. For instance, you could attach cards to inexpensive key chains that say “Thanks for your Random Act of Kindness. You are the key to a kinder world.”

See what variations or applications come to mind as you read this list. If you think of something, please email it to info@actsofkindness.org so we can share it with everyone!

• A thank-you note that is both personal and specific.
• An inexpensive memento, sold in bulk at party supply stores, such as the Oriental Trading Company, and other sources known to teachers. A memento might be a pencil, pen, key chain, squeeze ball, button, or other appropriate item. Some examples: a vinyl frog: “When I think of kindness, you leap to mind.” A small ruler or tape measure: “Kindness rules!” A musical note-shaped notepad: “Kindness puts the music in our lives.” A key chain with a tiny globe: “Kindness connects the world.” A flower: “Kindness helps us bloom!”
• Treats (for people you know), which might include candy, cupcakes, fruit, cookies, drinks, granola bars, etc. A neighboring teen attending college, or a parent returning to college, might appreciate a box of various munchies.
• Candy bars with notes attached for people you know. For instance, Power Bars (“You understand the power of kindness… thank you!”), Symphony Bars (“Your kindness is music to the soul!”), Kudos (“Kudos to you for the kindness”), 100 Grand Bars (“Your kindness was worth so much to me!”), Lifesavers (“You saved the day with your kindness!”), etc.
• Posters and flyers. Janice Margot, a teacher at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in New Jersey, takes a photo of students who have been observed doing a kind act. The photo is glued to a page that says: “WANTED… Caught Being Kind!” These notices, with the students’ photos, are posted in the main office windows and around the school.
• Notice or article in the school paper, or an announcement in school bulletin or over P.A. system.
• A helium balloon, a card, and a bag of treats to students on their birthday or half-birthday (for those with summer birthdays).
• Names displayed on a bulletin board or on a wall in a creative design (rainbow, cut-out bricks, people, hearts, stars, feathers, leaves on a tree, etc.)
• A thank-you or notice in the local community newspaper.
• For special recognition, a collage of a student’s photo, schoolwork or explanation, and certificate in enclosed bulletin board. A variation of this: students could write a kind comment about everyone in the class. Then these comments could be printed on different colored paper, cut out, and a collage made for each student with a photo in the middle. Hang them in the hall for parents’ night!
• A memento or treat with a note commending students who have done a kindness that would normally go unrecognized.
• Personalized items for every student and staff member, posted on the walls of the school. They can include individual construction paper cutouts of shamrocks, snowflakes, autumn leaves, or other item, personalized with each person’s name, and taped to the wall. Students enjoy finding their own name on the wall and often retrieve the items and collect them.

This idea could be modified with a kindness theme. For instance, the personalized items could be colorful, cutout people and the theme be “Kindness Connects Us All.” With stars, the theme could be “Kindness Lights Up Our World.”
• Buttons with a kindness slogan on them. (Del Oro High School uses Badge-a-Minit supplies to make buttons, and students put the various recognition buttons on their backpacks.)
• Attractive cards that have kindness quotes on them.
• Stickers: address labels on which compliments or a thank-you is written.
• Our thanks to both Ron Jones, retired activities director and leadership teacher at Del Oro High School in California, and Learning Magazine for allowing us to use the ideas in the article “Recognition Makes a Difference,” by Ron Jones, Learning Magazine, March 2003 (Vol. 31, No. 7), p.16-19. For more information on NASSP student activities programs, please contact 800-253-7746 or visit www.nasc.us.

30. Kindness Rainbow

Submitted by Miriam

The students in our school are building a “Rainbow of Random Acts of Kindness.” Students bring in a brief anecdote of their act of kindness. We then print it on a paper—one of the colors of the rainbow—and post it in place on a foam core board in the hallway.

31. Kindness Boomerang Chain

Submitted by Anne, Minnesota

At Glacier Hills Elementary, all our students were provided with a presentation on kindness. The fourth graders actually had a full day retreat. We have currently launched a project called the Boomerang Chain, where students and staff write up boomerangs about Random Acts of Kindness they are seeing throughout our school.

We want to see how long the chain becomes by Random Acts of Kindness Week in February. We find people are looking for all the good things that are happening. Like the boomerang, when you throw kindness out, it comes back to you. This was the message from our retreat.

32. Peace Flag

Submitted by Shawn, Indiana

Our school in Indiana has developed a specially designed school “Peace Flag.” The flag was sewn by a parent and features tie-dyed fabric with a peace sign in the middle. The flag is displayed in a prominent place in the school, at the meeting of two main corridors. As long as no teacher has witnessed students using unkind words, the flag remains in place.

Unfortunately, students sometimes forget the school’s goal of maintaining a kind and peaceful environment.

When this occurs, the students are sent to the school counselor to discuss their actions, alternative solutions, and are then asked to take down the Peace Flag. When the flag is removed, a simple sign stating, “The Peace

Flag has been taken down today. Please remember to be kind to one another.” is left in its place. The next morning the flag is returned to its place.

In addition, if the entire school is able to avoid taking down the flag for 10 consecutive days, the entire school receives a small reward (usually a pencil or eraser with positive character messages). Naturally this does not include weekends or holidays. At this time, our record has been 17 consecutive days without taking down the flag! Thus far, we are experiencing great success!

33. Garden of Kindness

Submitted by Chapparal Middle School, New Mexico

A tree died at our school over the vacation break so we decided to remove the old tree and begin a small garden. The sixth grade planted marigolds in the middle and the 4th and 5th grades planted spearmint around the flowers. A small brick wall went around the garden and we decided to call it our “Garden of Kindness” because all the students were kind enough to take care of it. A volunteer was kind enough to make a sign for our garden and not only plants began to grow but also “a feeling of being kind’ took hold.

In our second phase, each student, with parental permission, decided to bring one can of food and placed it on the brick wall for the needy in our community. All can goods will be passed out around Thanksgiving time. The students donated 66 cans of food on August 20th. We are extremely proud of our 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.

34. Someone Who Noticed

Submitted by Anonymous Teachers, Tucson Arizona

My friend and I teach at a middle school in Tucson, Arizona, in which many hard-working staff members felt over-looked. We started an anonymous “Someone Who Noticed” program in September 2003. We made a complete list of the adults working in our building and each of us took half. Between us, we snuck little gifts in 10 people’s boxes per week. Each gift included a typed note thanking that person for their contributions. We make each note as personal as possible, citing the little things that the person does and recognizing the obstacles they face. We sign each note “Someone Who Noticed.”

The results were “spendiferous!” Everybody started treating each other a little bit more gently, because for all they know, anybody could be “Someone Who Noticed.” Of course, we are careful to send each other gifts once in a while to avoid suspicion. We get tickled listening to people postulating about who it must be. We became more careful listeners, trying to pick up on little bits and pieces to use in our notes. As a result, we got to know everybody in the building much better than before. We started again this year in September. It was a real thrill to hear a teacher exclaim to another, “Guess what? Someone Who Noticed is back!”

We get our gifts from online catalogs, swap meets, discount stores, our own kitchens, and craft stores. Some of the gifts we have given include those cool pencils with a Hershey Bar eraser, homemade sachets for the socks drawer (for women), Oreo cookies mounted on sticks and dipped in melted chocolate, little pen flashlights, miniature Rubik Cubes, teacher-themed keychains, chocolates shaped like coins or Band-Aids, candles, candy bars, and pens shaped like fish (for the guys).

35. Meridian’s RAK Week Activities

Submitted by Sherry, Meridian High School, Mississippi

In Meridian, Miss., we are having a RAK week with “Fill the Halls with Words of Kindness at Meridian High School.” I have downloaded lots of useful stuff and created even more. We will fly our Kindness Flag High this week. We are having: a Kindness essay, poem and song contest, How many words can you make from the letters in the word kindness? contest and our prize patrol is on the lookout for kind words and acts to reward. Kindness is still alive in Meridian, MS. We posted words of kindness in three languages on our walls.

36. Reading Kindness

Submitted by Kerri, Hatcher Elementary Kentucky

I have a fifth grade class and we celebrated our RAK Week here at Hatcher Elementary. Throughout the year we have been participating in Reading Buddies, which is where my fifth graders are paired up with Kindergarten and first grade students. Due to this, we decided to invite a Headstart classroom over to our school for our group activity. My kids read aloud The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle and then we discussed what happened to the seed. After the discussion, the students worked together to plant their own seeds so they could watch them grow over the next few weeks. My students really loved working with the younger kids and had to use their negotiating skills to ensure that things went well. My kids had a blast and we plan to get together with the Headstart class again in the near future.

37. Candy Grams of Help

Submitted by Mary

After finding out that a first grader in our school was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor on her brain stem, some parents in the Parent Teacher Student Association decided to sell Candy Grams at our school. The proceeds would be donated to the fund set up to assist the child and her family. Then, the parents reached out to all of the schools in our district and they volunteered to sell grams at their schools as well to help this little girl. I think we all got a better sense of the real meaning of Valentine’s Day!

38. Dual RAK Week Projects

Submitted by Allison, CC Griffin Middle School, North Carolina

I am a teacher at CC Griffin Middle School in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. I am the chair of our Character Education Committee. For Random Acts of Kindness Week 2005, we collected money for a student in our school that is in intensive care at the hospital. Her family is struggling financially. We raised over $4000.00 and think the total may still increase due to late donations.

We also made Valentine cards in our homeroom to give to the nearby nursing homes. The nursing homes gave one to each person today on Valentines. Our goal for RAK week was to stress to the kids that kindness and caring for others is important not just on holidays. The kids loved both projects and they feel proud of themselves.

39. Welcome to our school

Submitted by Anne

This school year, I will be much better organized as I’ve given our Random Acts a lot of thought.

One thing I thought would be nice if new students arrive at the school, they are welcomed on the P.A. or in an assembly and get a small gift bag with pencils, erasers, crayons, etc. In the bag there will be a note, “We are happy you are here!” Then, one student from the class could give the new student a tour of the school and maybe stick with him or her for the first few days until the child becomes more comfortable.

I have other ideas forming. There are more and more grandparents out there raising their grandchildren. They are giving up their golden years to take care of these children and they need to be honoured in a special way. If there are one or two in the school, maybe a gift certificate to a restaurant would be nice or something which provides them with much needed comfort. If there were enough of them, I would do a “tea” for these grandparents - not the usual “grandparents day” but a special day devoted to honour the grandparents who are raising their children. All of this costs money. Maybe your RAK group could have a bake sale or a draw of some sort to raise money. I found teachers did not want to be continuously asked to collect money as they already do to for food days, school trips, etc.

This past year, we recognized Educational Assistants (Teachers’ Aids) who are really underpaid and unrecognized. Schools cannot function without them. They have to toilet some children, take blows from aggressive or out of control students, etc. I had a gathering in the library for them and had a cake thanking them. I also gave each a thank you card with a lottery ticket in it.

I work in two schools. In the other school, I had “Educational Assistant” Week. It was announced on the P.A. and everyday, they got something in their mailbox - a pen, a few chocolates, a scratch ‘n win lottery ticket, etc. On the Friday we had a cake thanking them for their hard work and a small group of students sang a “thank you” song for them. I had a draw in some of the classes (if I started at the beginning of the year, I could have got to all of them). I pulled one name and that person got little surprises when they didn’t expect it. I’d bring them hot chocolate in the morning and a donut or a Sports magazine. One girl got a “For the Preteens Soul” book. Another student got a submarine sandwich. A group of them had a pizza lunch.

Last year, I spent lots of my own money on a lot of this stuff but, it was okay for me, because I suspended my normal charities for a while. We put together snack bags and gave them to a shelter for the homeless. In there was a pudding cup, fruit box, orange and apple, granola bar, etc. The students loved putting them together. They were very excited about it which was so pleasing to see.

Anyway, like I said, I will be more organized in September. I will appoint someone in the group to check with the office on new admissions. I’ll have the students do the draws rather than myself. I really spread myself a little thin this past year but all in all, it was a “feel good” year.

The one pitfall I had was when people didn’t show an ounce of appreciation for something. I have to admit, I was resentful of this at times. Somehow, I ploughed on anyway with a bit of encouragement from someone on this site and had a successful year which I hope will only be better next year!

40. Pennies for Pets

Submitted by Stacy, Lakeshore Elementary, Louisiana

After the Humane Society Adoption Center came to visit our school and explained the need for heartworm prevention for their shelter dogs, Lakeshore Elementary went into action to raise “Pennies for Pets.” Every classroom collected pennies in an empty milk jug. After a month, the school was able to donate a little over $500 to the Humane Society which helped to put several dogs through heartworm treatments and save their lives! It was wonderful to see all the students participating and some of them even brought in their entire piggy banks to empty in the “Pennies for Pets” jug! There were no prizes handed out, but the feeling of doing something good for the community and save lives was well worth it.

41. Keeping Kindness Alive

Submitted by Kelle, Louisiana

My name is Kelle and I work at a small country school in Louisiana. I love my work and believe that children can learn that every act of kindness will brighten someone’s day everyday. At our school we have a program called “Keeping Kindness Alive”. For every act of kindness that the student does, their name is put into a basket and at the end of each week a child is pulled at random from this basket and their picture is taken and put up in the lunchroom along with their good deed. They are given a pack of Lifesavers because they were a “lifesaver” to someone. They get a chance to help out the principal and secretary or just get a chance to visit with them for a little while at the end of the week. This is just one thing in my life that I am involved in and it makes me proud to be a part of it.

42. Chico Junior Community Service Club

Submitted by Mary Anne, Chico Junior High, California

Our school has a great group called the Chico Junior Community Service Club. The students, a core of about 12, have seen meeting for the last eight school months at lunch every Tuesday. So far we have accomplished these projects:

• Care for Soldiers Drive - collected 700 personal care items to be sent to soldiers overseas. We also watercolored note cards to be included in those items.
• Paper Cranes - At the local hospital, Enloe, the Cancer Center held a paper crane folding project community wide. Our club and school folded over 700 cranes, with the community contributing over 10,000. They were displayed at the Chico Mall, then at the Cancer Center.
• Baby Blankets - We have made four baby blankets by hand that are to be donated to the Chico police department for their cars. If they encounter a situation where a small child needs comforting, the blankets will be used for that child.
• ”Operation Christmas Child” - The school filled 12 shoeboxes with small items that will be given to children as part of a worldwide giving program that serves impoverished villages.
• Great American Bake Sale - to raise money for hunger programs in our community.

We also put kindness quotes in our daily bulletin. We are having fun doing this and the students are getting a lot out of it. I am proud of them.

43. Stepping Up the RAK Program

Submitted by Maria, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Our school has had a RAK program for some time but it was pretty low key. I have taken the program over this year and I am trying to put a bigger focus on it. Especially in conjunction with our anti-bullying program. We have weekly RAK drawings (1 winner for each grade) which are announced by students on our weekly school news broadcast. The winners are drawn by a different 5th grade student each week & get a “congratulations you’ve been caught being kind” (taken from your web site) that I put their name, the date & laminate it for use as a bookmark. I also laminate their winning RAK to take home and show their parents. Additionally, they pick a small prize.

The RAK’s which are not chosen each week get linked together as a chain and we’re making a “rainbow” in the school’s entryway as a visible sign of all the kindnesses in the school. Also once a month we are drawing a staff RAK so the students can see the adults continue to be kind.

44. Messages of Kindness

Submitted by Myrtle, Franklinton, North Carolina

We just started our club in October. We are a small high school (approximately 730 grades 9-12) and have had one fund-raiser in which we raised $85 for our club by selling “messages of kindness” attached to a lollipop. We are planning to use part of this money to give a Christmas party to our disabled students class and to make them Christmas bags. We hope to donate around $50 to a member of our staff whose family is in need this Christmas. We hope to sponsor a teacher talent show to raise more money and to help the Leukemia Foundation by doing the “Pennies for Patients” program. We are getting off to a good start.

45. Musical Can Vote

Submitted by Ellen

We have a group of 13 students at our school that are called the Peacebuilders. They are third through sixth graders. They spearheaded a canned good drive that collected 600 items in a two week time period for the area food pantries. Every year, area high schools are asked to collect can goods for local food banks. We are off two weeks of this time due to our modified year round calendar. Our school normally only collects a few cans to give to the high school to turn in to food pantries. The Peacebuilders wanted some way to collect lots of cans. So we came up with an idea and called it Musical Vote Canned Food Drive.

It worked like this: The Peacebuilders picked three groups: Ciara and Bow Wow (as one since they sang together), Kayne West, and Destiny’s Child. They got boxes and we put a couple of cans in each. Then they went around to classrooms and told the other students that each can good brought in would count as one vote for their favorite group. Each day the cans were collected and counted. At the end of the day one of the Peacebuilders would make an announcement about how many cans and would give a line of encouragement about the next day.

The cans poured in and so did the excitement. The kids were cheering when the announcements were made. Cupboards were raided. The second week the student that made the announcements decided we needed a “pick me up” so we added the group Green Day. The excitement was now wild. Kayne West and Ciara/Bow Wow were trading the lead back and forth. Green Day passed Destiny’s Child in one day. We collected for only two weeks and ended up with slightly over 600 cans. Not only did the food banks get much more food, the students felt like they were giving to someone less fortunate than them.

The Peacebuilders group also collected money for the Heifer International to buy animals for someone in another country. They read Beatrice’s Goat to each class and gave a poster of animal prices to each also. They collected two times a week and made announcements every day. In two weeks the total was almost $200. In this school, many have emptied their piggy banks completely to help.

46. PAL’s Hard Work

Submitted by Nancy, Amarillo, Texas

Last year our 4th grade PAL Team members gave each staff member a snack with a Certificate that said, ”Someone Noticed!” This year they gave each staff member a handmade Valentine with a small bag of Hershey’s Kisses. These same kids help watch over our early arriving kindergartners and walk them to their portable classrooms.

Our PAL Team members conducted a canned food drive this year to replenish our Food Bank, because it had been depleted for the hurricanes. We also conducted a drive and collected 10 huge boxes of hygiene items, school supplies, toys and games and books for Hurricane victims. One year the PAL Team collected new socks for adults and took them to our Homeless Center - they collected 1800 pairs of socks!

47. The Kind Fairy

Submitted by MaryAnn, Skammestein, Norway

I found you quite by accident while searching the web for a quote by James Boswell having to do with kindness. I feel blessed. I teach at a small school in rural Norway and was inspired by your latest newsletter to begin a project with my students who are in grades 1-4. I made a small fairy fashioned after the WEE FOLK pattern and she holds a tiny book titled “The Kind Fairy”. On the inside is written, “Has a kindness been shown to you? Pass it on.” She has a special little box to live in, so she doesn’t get crushed traveling in the children’s backpacks, and she goes from student to student with words of kindness which the children have written themselves.

It’s been lovely to see the anticipation and the warm glow upon the faces of the recipients and the givers. And without my having to say anything to them, they are careful to make sure that the fairy makes a stop at everyone’s desk so that no one is excluded. She has made a subtle and wonderful difference in our perceptions of each other and the realization of how little it takes to turn indifference into affirmation. Thank you for the inspiration and keep up the good work!

48. Teacher Appreciation Day

Submitted by Carly, Truman Elementary School, Minnesota

I am submitting a idea that our Truman Elementary Student Council did here at our school for our elementary teachers. The student council declared May 3rd Teacher Appreciation Day and honored our elementary teachers. They served a light breakfast to the teachers in the morning, and gave them goodie bags with an apple, a apple pen and apple note pads. They made several posters are still hanging in the hallways thanking the teachers for all that they do. The council members also made announcements over the intercom to encourage all the kids to express their appreciation for their teachers.

49. Kindness Songs

Submitted by Bonnie, Pennsylvania

I thought of two piggyback songs (new lyrics to a familiar tune) that I plan to use in my first grade classroom. I was wondering if you are interested in adding them to your collection. (Lyrics by Bonnie Gambler)

A KIND ACT
(TUNE: If you’re happy and you know it)

Be sure to do a kind act every day.
Be sure to do a kind act every day.
For when we are kind to others,
We’ll all learn to help our brothers,
So be sure to do a kind act every day.

SHOW YOU CARE
(TUNE: Twinkle, twinkle, little star)

Do a kind act every day,
Show you care in many ways.
When you lead by being kind,
Happiness is what you’ll find,
Do a kind act every day,
Show you care in many ways.

50. Action of the Heart

Submitted by Betty, Ada Vista Elementary, Michigan

I am the librarian at Ada Vista Elementary. We are a Spanish Immersion School K-6 in Michigan. I highlight RAK all year round, put up your posters, calendar for the parents to see, read portions of the RAK for Kids book, etc. However, the reason I am writing is that one of our teachers (counselors) wrote this wonderful poem for RAK Week and I thought you might like to see it. I am always looking for things in Spanish for our students and maybe others are too:

ACCIóN DEL CORAZóN

by Sra Willoughby

En el mes de febrero, voy a mostrar
Respeto, cariño y como saudar.
Si algo está sucio, lo voy a limpiar.
Si alguien herido, lo voy a cuidar.
Si yo tengo extra, a los otros daré,
Si un niño está solo, con él jugaré,
El mes de febrero es para celebrar
Nuestra escuela y simpático estar.

English Translation:
In the month of February, I am going to show
Respect, Caring, and how to greet others
If something is dirty, I will clean it
If someone is hurt, I will take care of them
If I have extra, I will give to others
If a child is alone, I will play with him
The month of February is for celebrating
Our school and being kind

51. ?

Submitted by YOU?

We are always looking for more ideas to include in our Teacher’s Corner - Shared Ideas activity guide. You can e-mail what your school did to celebrate kindness to info@actsofkindness.org or call 800/660-2811.