The Kindness Kit: Free Teacher Resource
Calling all teachers! We have a free teacher resource called The Kindness Kit for you you won’t want to pass by!
There is one thing that we just can’t have enough of, and that is kindness. In today’s world, we need to be givers and receivers of kindness. Teachers know this at the most fundamental level. Great teachers drive their students to think of kindness as a necessary part of one’s education. It is often the kindness of a teacher that students remember more than any academic lesson taught.
Kindness isn’t just kind, it’s a brain builder.
It also boosts neurotransmitters, making us feel safe, loved, happy and rewarded in kindness, both in the giving and receiving. The boost kindness gives our brains strengthens our mental health because kindness releases neurotransmitters such as serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine that boosts our mood and health, including our immune system.
Teaching kids kindness is crucial because it leads to feelings of connection, safety and love. It opens the pathways to cognitive learning because it decreases stress responses that may limit prefrontal cortex functioning. Kindness creates a positive feedback loop in the brain, and when practiced and experienced regularly, can reduce pain, stress and anxiety.
Patty O’Grady, Ph.D. Neuroscience Professor states: “The neuroscience and social science research is clear: kindness changes the brain by the experience of kindness. Children and adolescents do not learn kindness by only thinking about it and talking about it. Kindness is best learned by feeling it so that they can reproduce it. Kindness is an emotion that students feel and empathy is a strength that they share.
The evidence is clear that we need to teach children not only to think kindly but also to help them feel kindness.
We created a free teacher resource called The Kindness Kit that aims to do just that. Whether you are in your classroom with your students or teaching virtually, whether you are a veteran teacher or a homeschooling mom, this kit will help you connect with kindness.
I was just sitting with a teacher friend and asked her to look at this kindness kit as something she would like to use in her classroom. She read through and teared up. When I asked her what was going on, she responded, “Thank you for making this. I don’t have the time or the energy to make or think of activities right now, but it is so badly needed. Thank you for making something I can do with both my virtual class and my kids in school.” Then she laughed and said, “you don’t mind if I take this copy, do you?”
If you are a parent and are looking for ways to connect with kindness on an even greater level, check out our Social Emotional Learning Activity Kit: The Gift of Kindness.
If you are a teacher, check out our curriculum, Grow Strong Roots, which deep dives into the social-emotional connection of kindness that you can integrate directly into your academic learning.
We are so happy to share some of our kindness activities with you from The Kindness Kit and would be delighted to hear what you think of them! Feel free to message, email or leave a comment and let us know.