Happy December!!  Yes, that's right - December. A month filled with lights and carols and joy and giving. And if you're in the classroom, add to that a month filled with a little craziness and excitement! We can all use some fantastic ideas for our classroom right about now, so I'm linking up with my friends over at I Teach Second for the first of what will be a monthly linky:

 

This linky is filled with great ideas you can use in your classroom - now and after the holidays!

 



Sometimes our little ones forget that this month isn't all about them. I go out of my way each year to actually TEACH my students how to be kind, respectful and caring towards others. Although kids can easily share some of the big things they do to show kindness - food drives, helping another student, etc. - they often don't realize that it's the LITTLE things that can count the most.

 

December 1st brings the entrance of a new friend to our classroom... meet the Kindness Elf.

I know that Kindness Elves are not new - I've seen many classrooms doing them now instead of the traditional OTHER elf.  For me, I was looking to use them to show students how they could show kindness every day - even in the little things they did... and that the result of that kindness could be very powerful, even if they didn't know it. I started doing this last year in my room after seeing a blog post from The Imagination Tree. Her post focuses on Kindness Elves at home, but I was inspired to come up with a way to infuse kindness into our classroom.  I decided to create a "Kindness Challenge!"

I found some little elves on Amazon and knew they would be perfect for my little covert operation.  There are 4 different elves and they each have Velcro on their hands - perfect for hanging around the room! (It seems that the price has gone WAY up from last year! I know I did not spend over $20 on these guys!)

The next part was to come up with 18 different ways (yep, that's how many school days till Christmas break!) students could show kindness.  I wanted most of those ways to be easy and quick.  It's going to be the little things that matter when we're trying to develop a culture of kindness. I wanted them to realize that it's not always the bigger things we do that count - it's the little, everyday actions that mean the most.

Soooo... after a bit of brainstorming... here are the "Kindness Cards" that the elves will be bringing each day! (You can click on the image to download them - black and white version, too!)

The plan is to have one of the elves bring a card every day until Christmas break.  They might show up in the morning, after lunch or even right before we go home.  I chose acts of kindness that would be easy for my kiddos to do. I also mixed in things they could do at home, as well. Spread the good cheer! Each day, when the elf, appears, we read the kindness challenge card and talked about how we can successfully accomplish it. We also talked about the impact each little act of kindness could have on our classroom, grade level, school and family.

 

I can honestly say the focus and conscious effort on teaching kindness in a meaningful way definitely had a positive impact on our classroom community. I noticed students continuing to do kind things even after Christmas break and they also began noticing when others did something for them.

 

This year, I'm changing it up a bit. I'm still going with the kindness theme, but after seeing this creative poster from Digital: Divide and Conquer, I knew the elves would be replaced by a kindness reindeer!

 

I printed and laminated (4 to a page) the cards to make the poster, and the reindeer will bring them along on the first day when she makes her appearance. (You can snag the posters by clicking on the image.) I'm excited to start this with my class this year.  I have such a wonderfully caring group of students I know they will really take this to heart.  And who knows - if kindness takes over classrooms everywhere, think of what a huge impact we can all have on our little part of the world!

 

If you're doing kindness elves - or any kindness acts in your classroom, I'd love to hear from you! And be sure to check out some of the other great ideas in the link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Elementary Stories

It's time for that one last push before the holiday break!  I'm linking up with Abby at the Inspired Apple for some holiday sharing.

 

Let's start the party!

Head over to the Inspired Apple to see who else has linked up.

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Elementary Stories

Teachers are wonderful people.  We are constantly giving of ourselves - to our students, our families and our friends.  I think it is just part of who we are.  Here is just another way to show that.  I'm linking up with many fantastic teachers from TpT for a day of Giving Back, tomorrow, Dec. 14. 

Everyone who participates is donating a portion of their earnings from that day to a charity or organization that is special to them.  I am donating all my earnings that day to the Special Olympics.  (Who, as it turns out, is matching donations dollar for dollar through Dec. 31!)  My brother has Down's Syndrome and Special Olympics has allowed him, from the time he was little through now as an adult, to share in the fun of sports.

My family always went to all his events and tournaments - every year was special.  I do have one memory that I always think of, though.  My brother plays soccer and for many years when he first started playing, he wouldn't move from his "spot."  Other players would come running by with the ball - but he would stay right there, guarding his spot.  It really was kind of funny, and the coaches and the other families would laugh and say what great defense he had, because no one was going to mess with is spot!

Well one day the game started and sure enough, my brother defended his place on the field.  Knees bent, hands on his legs, ready to defend.  The ball got kicked in his direction.  AND HE MOVED!  And not just a little - he got the ball and started kicking up the field toward the goal.  I'm going to tell you, I have tears in my eyes just typing this.  The excitement in the stands and on the field that day was not because he was going to score  goal.  As a matter of fact, I don't remember if he really did or not.  (I called my Mom to see if she remembered this.  She said he didn't score a goal, but she immediately knew the time I was talking about!) But all those families and players and coaches who had spent so many hours, weeks and for many of us - years - attending these events.... to see my brother run down the field kicking that soccer ball was like he had won an Olympic medal.  They got it.  That's what Special Olympics is about.

I'm sure others in the stands thought we were crazy, cheering and yelling so hard for some who just seemed to do what he was supposed to do, but we knew how big that moment was.  I've gone to many Special Olympics events over the years and probably witnessed many more times like that for other families that I don't even know about.  But I'll never forget that feeling.

So.... if you're looking for some last minute holiday activities to do with your students before the break, or if you're already planning for when we come back in January, stop by my store and check out a few of my resources. 

100% of everything I earn on Dec. 14 will be donated to the Special Olympics.  TpT has been a blessing and given me so much.  It's nice to give back.

Take a look at more sellers who are Giving Back on Sunday.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Elementary Stories