Grade Levels: PreK through Primary Grades
Age Levels:
- PreK 3-5 yrs (preschool)
- 5-6 yrs (kindergarten)
- 6-8 yrs (primary)
National Thoughtfulness Day
August 28th is National Thoughtfulness Day and we thought this would be a perfect day to share with our readers as our kids head back to school. Teaching kids to be thoughtful towards others is an important social skill, but there are other benefits as well. For example, when we show thoughtfulness, it boosts our mood (consequently increasing happiness and decreasing depression), it can increase our feelings of self-worth, and it can strengthen our connections with others. While some of our compassion may be innate, it is important that we model thoughtfulness and give children opportunities to practice thoughtful acts. Below are some ideas for being thoughtful towards others as well as some books we recommend about thoughtfulness.
Acts of Thoughtfulness:
1. Write a note to someone letting them know why you appreciate them.
2. Draw pictures or cards and drop them off for residents at a local nursing home.
3. Make Thursdays “Thoughtful Thursdays” to set up a weekly practice of thoughtfulness.
4. Make small handmade gifts for neighbors and leave them as a surprise at their door (my daughters used to love picking flowers and making a bouquet for our elderly neighbors).
5. Compliment five people in one day.
6. Read Megan Sheakoski’s list of 100 Acts of Kindness for Kids on her blog Coffee Cups and Crayons for lots of other great ideas.
Books:
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
One of my favorite books about being thoughtful towards others is Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. I love this book as it shows a child’s missed opportunity to be thoughtful to another student in her class. The ending really makes us think about how our actions can influence others. The book is best for children in elementary school.
Lost and Found Cat by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes
Another great book about a thoughtful act of a stranger is Lost and Found Cat, a true story about a family fleeing Iraq with their beloved cat. This book is also best for children in elementary school.
Here is a Random House Kids interview with the author Amy and her story of finding Kunkush the cat.
Kindness is My Superpower by Alecia Ortego
Kindness is My Superpower is a book about being thoughtful that is geared towards younger children (Preschool-Elementary age). The book presents kindness examples in a fun rhyming format.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” Margaret Mead
Let’s go out and teach our children to change the world!
Tags:
- Reading
- Parent-led activity
- Difficult conversations (The Lost and Found Cat book is about a refugee family fleeing their country)
Developer:
Karena Rush
Credit:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
Credit: ConnectionSpot.org on 08/25/2021
