World Kindness Day is coming up on November 13th.
This is a good day for the people of planet Earth to bless one another with simple acts of kindness.
It’s also a good day to do some activities with your children that revolve around this important virtue. In fact, you might even want to spend this entire week teaching your children about the fifth fruit of the spirit. It would make a nice character building theme for the next five days.
I have come up with some activities that you can do as a family to celebrate World Kindness Day or to use as a mini-unit on kindness. They include stories to read aloud, poems to share, a free Kind Capers printable, and more. I hope you find them useful for your homeschool.
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Activities for World Kindness Day
Read aloud stories about kindness to your child. Here are some possibilities:
- Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
- Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
- The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
- The Berenstain Bears: Kindness Counts by Jan and Mike Berenstain
- Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
- The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
- The Parable of the Good Samaritan from the Bible
Perform the Reader’s Theater version of The Lion and the Mouse. Role playing and drama can make learning more tangible for children. The Lion and the Mouse is a good piece for showing children the value of kindness to others. You can find a script for it in Reader’s Theater: Classic Poetry.
Read about famous people who were known for their kindness. Get books from the library or look up information on the web about people such as:
- Mother Teresa
- Florence Nightingale
- Gandhi
Sing a song about kindness. If you Google “songs about kindness for children,” you’ll get some links to YouTube videos of kindness songs. I would preview them before you show them to your children.
Pray this kindness prayer as a family. Or pray another that you know.
Have your child write a kindness prayer or do it as a family project. This is a good writing project for older children.
Kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit. Have your child draw and color a picture of his favorite fruit and put the word “kindness” in big letters on or under the fruit.
Share these quotes about kindness from the Bible:
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
–Ephesians 4:32
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
–Colossians 3:12
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
–1 Corinthians 13:4
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
–2 Timothy 2:24
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
–Galatians 5:22-23
Have your child make a kindness poster. Tell him to draw a picture of someone doing an act of kindness and title the poster, “Kindness.”
Let your child go to Freerice.com and answer the questions. 10 grains of rice are donated to the poor for every right answer. There are multiple subjects to choose from including vocabulary, multiplication facts, foreign language vocabulary, geography and science.
Your family can do acts of kindness this week both at home and in the community. You’ll find some lists of ideas to share with your family in this free Kind Capers printable.
Share these classic poems about kindness with your child:
Little Things
by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our earth an Eden,
Like the heaven above.
Deeds of Kindness
By Epes Sargent
Suppose the little Cowslip
Should hang its little cup
And say, “I’m such a little flower
I’d better not grow up!”
How many a weary traveller
Would miss it’s fragrant smell?
How many a little child would grieve
To lose it from the dell!
Suppose the glistening Dewdrop
Upon the grass should say,
“What can a little dewdrop do?
I’d better roll away!”
The blade on which it rested,
Before the day was done,
Without a drop to moisten it,
Would wither in the sun.
Suppose the little breezes,
Upon a summer’s day,
Should think themselves too small to cool
The traveller on his way:
Who would not miss the smallest,
And softest ones that blow,
And think they made a great mistake
If they were acting so?
How many deeds of kindness
A little child can do,
Although it has but little strength
And little wisdom too!
It wants a loving spirit
Much more than strength, to prove
How many things a child can do
For others by its love.
Perform the Reader’s Theater version of these poems. The script for “Little Things” is found in Reader’s Theater: Christian Poetry. “Deeds of Kindness” is in Reader’s Theater: Classic Poetry.
I hope your family has a blessed World Kindness Day full of love and kindness.