KINDNESS BUDDIES WEEK ONE
We have started on this journey with a secret kindness buddy. Each member of the class drew out a name and that person became their secret kindness buddy for the week. It was their goal to be as kind as possible to that class member. At the end of the week, they found out who their buddies were and we shared our kindness stories and talked about ways people were kind to us. A lot of the people did not notice their kindness buddy being kind because they just did things which we would expect any good classmate to do.
Here are some of the ways people said they were kind to their buddy:
1) Got their books out for them (my students don't have desks so their books are kept in boxes labeled by subject)
2) Loaned them stationery
3) Tidied up their mess for them
4) Taught them something e.g. in Maths
5) Helped them with their work
6) Opened and shut the door for them
7) Got them a chair (our chairs are all stacked at the end of each day)
8) Included them in a game/activity
9) Got a cushion for them to sit on
10) Put a kind note in their tote tray
11) Helped them at clean up time/ did their duty for them
12) Played with them in the playground
13) Picked up their stationery when they left it someone and gave it back to them
We decided that we needed to step up our kindness a level in order to ensure our buddy could really notice our kindness.
KINDNESS BUDDIES WEEK 2
I received some Kind Heart Postcards (see pic above). Everyone was given one each to surprise their kindness buddy with (anonymously) sometime during the week. On the post card they needed to tell their buddy why they like having them in the class - listing their favourite personal qualities. E.g. I really like having you in my class because you always make me laugh and I love your sense or humour.
This week was a real highlight in my teaching career. I loved seeing the look on my students' faces when they found their kindness postcards. Seeing the joy and happiness was such a pleasure. It was also great seeing the students feel so good about themselves when they found out their buddy had read their messages. Knowing that they had made someone happy, made them happy too! Every student received one. No one missed out! Some students were so inspired by the cards that they even wrote their buddy more secret kindness notes on paper and snuck them into their belongings somehow.
Everyone was a detective trying to discover who their buddy was. It was really fun and definitely brought some magic into our class.
Today I revealed who everyone's kindness buddies were. It was really awesome because I asked the students who they thought their buddies were and many listed a heaps of names and said they were unsure. I said, "Wow I am happy all those people were kind to you but guess what? None of them were your kindness buddy!" That means that people were kind to each other even if it wasn't their kindness buddy. Here is some feed back from my class:
Reasons why we like having kindness buddies....
Child 1: You can help people
Child 2: Trying to keep it a secret is fun
Child 3: Some people who never be nice to you are nice
Child 4: You can do nice things for them. It’s nice. It makes you feel happy when you know you’ve done something nice for someone else.
Child 5:It's a mystery to figure it out
Child 6: You can make new friends
Child 7: After we have done the kindness things people might like to extend the kindness further
Child 8: It's fun having a secret admirer
What we like about getting a kindness postcard:
Child 1: It feels like getting a million dollars
Child 2: it made me feel really bubbly and happy
Child 3: I think to me it felt like somebody actually cares about you
Child 4: It feels like getting a present your birthday
WEEK 3 KINDNESS BUDDIES
This week we all have a kindness buddy in our class AND a kindness buddy in Room 2 (Yrs 2 & 3). Because there are only 22 students in Room 2 and 25 in ours, 3 of my students got an adult. Mrs Marshall (principal), Louise (office lady) and Viv (teacher aid) have all got a secret kindness buddy too! We are spreading the kindness a little bit further now. When I went into Room 2 to tell them what we were doing, they got so excited. They can't wait to discover their postcard from their mystery buddy! I'll let you know how we went in the next post.
We have started on this journey with a secret kindness buddy. Each member of the class drew out a name and that person became their secret kindness buddy for the week. It was their goal to be as kind as possible to that class member. At the end of the week, they found out who their buddies were and we shared our kindness stories and talked about ways people were kind to us. A lot of the people did not notice their kindness buddy being kind because they just did things which we would expect any good classmate to do.
Here are some of the ways people said they were kind to their buddy:
1) Got their books out for them (my students don't have desks so their books are kept in boxes labeled by subject)
2) Loaned them stationery
3) Tidied up their mess for them
4) Taught them something e.g. in Maths
5) Helped them with their work
6) Opened and shut the door for them
7) Got them a chair (our chairs are all stacked at the end of each day)
8) Included them in a game/activity
9) Got a cushion for them to sit on
10) Put a kind note in their tote tray
11) Helped them at clean up time/ did their duty for them
12) Played with them in the playground
13) Picked up their stationery when they left it someone and gave it back to them
We decided that we needed to step up our kindness a level in order to ensure our buddy could really notice our kindness.
KINDNESS BUDDIES WEEK 2
I received some Kind Heart Postcards (see pic above). Everyone was given one each to surprise their kindness buddy with (anonymously) sometime during the week. On the post card they needed to tell their buddy why they like having them in the class - listing their favourite personal qualities. E.g. I really like having you in my class because you always make me laugh and I love your sense or humour.
This week was a real highlight in my teaching career. I loved seeing the look on my students' faces when they found their kindness postcards. Seeing the joy and happiness was such a pleasure. It was also great seeing the students feel so good about themselves when they found out their buddy had read their messages. Knowing that they had made someone happy, made them happy too! Every student received one. No one missed out! Some students were so inspired by the cards that they even wrote their buddy more secret kindness notes on paper and snuck them into their belongings somehow.
Everyone was a detective trying to discover who their buddy was. It was really fun and definitely brought some magic into our class.
Today I revealed who everyone's kindness buddies were. It was really awesome because I asked the students who they thought their buddies were and many listed a heaps of names and said they were unsure. I said, "Wow I am happy all those people were kind to you but guess what? None of them were your kindness buddy!" That means that people were kind to each other even if it wasn't their kindness buddy. Here is some feed back from my class:
Reasons why we like having kindness buddies....
Child 1: You can help people
Child 2: Trying to keep it a secret is fun
Child 3: Some people who never be nice to you are nice
Child 4: You can do nice things for them. It’s nice. It makes you feel happy when you know you’ve done something nice for someone else.
Child 5:It's a mystery to figure it out
Child 6: You can make new friends
Child 7: After we have done the kindness things people might like to extend the kindness further
Child 8: It's fun having a secret admirer
What we like about getting a kindness postcard:
Child 1: It feels like getting a million dollars
Child 2: it made me feel really bubbly and happy
Child 3: I think to me it felt like somebody actually cares about you
Child 4: It feels like getting a present your birthday
WEEK 3 KINDNESS BUDDIES
This week we all have a kindness buddy in our class AND a kindness buddy in Room 2 (Yrs 2 & 3). Because there are only 22 students in Room 2 and 25 in ours, 3 of my students got an adult. Mrs Marshall (principal), Louise (office lady) and Viv (teacher aid) have all got a secret kindness buddy too! We are spreading the kindness a little bit further now. When I went into Room 2 to tell them what we were doing, they got so excited. They can't wait to discover their postcard from their mystery buddy! I'll let you know how we went in the next post.