A final day of kindness today. Wednesdays are “Kindness Cards” days, (see Kindness Connects). And this year, though it came late in the year, Kindness Cards have seemed to play a more important role than ever. Each week I am amazed at how enthusiastically and authentically kids engage in this activity. I love how they have come to “read the room,” making sure no one is left out. It is just another connection creator that honors the humans in the room.
And I will miss these particular humans a great deal. More, I think–I know–they will miss each other, too. We will all miss “us.” And it’s not only a guess on my part. I know because they tell me, and the last few days, as the end draws near, they have begun to tell me even more. In fact, it’s been a regular “frown” this week.
Frown: I’m gonna miss this class.
Yes, we all are.
Happy Wednesday, all.
Do. Reflect. Do Better.
I love this idea! I read the original Kindness Connects post too 🙂 Can you share a little more about the logistics? Do students write to other students in their class? Do they draw random names? Are the messages direct/personal, or could the message apply to anyone? How do you deliver them? Do you give suggestions/examples as to what message to write?
Good morning. Sorry I did not respond sooner. We only write Kindness Cards for the members of each class. The kids choose whom to write the cards to. I ask them to be mindful of their inclusiveness, reminding them about the importance of making connections. In my experiences, kids do great with this, and over the course of the semester, all kids get many messages. The messages are either random or personal, serious or lighthearted. I deliver them as we go. Kids just hold up a card when they are ready, and I deliver it. As for getting them started, I will suggest that they maybe–minimally–just thank someone for being a part of our classroom community. The kids quickly fall into it after a few times. Much of the time, and since we do it right after, the kids reference things that were shared during Smiles and Frowns. In the end, I don’t think there’s A way to do this, but I do think that doing it consistently is key. The kids look forward to it each week. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any other questions. Happy summer. 🙂🙂