Kindness Board

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Home : 2002 : January : 30

Kindness Board
By Abby

We do this in our class. We call it The Coyote Kindness Board. We 1st talked about how important it is to be kind and respectful to one another as well as to ourselves. The talks started during the 1st week of school and
we still have discussions quite often. Now we have a basket with small pieces of paper in it and whenever a student/teacher appreciated what someone else did for them or anyone else, they write a little note to to that person and express their appreciation. At the end of the day if someone has a Coyote Kindness to present to a classmate, they share it with the class and the person receiving

the kindness note tapes it on our board. At first, they would come up with little stuff like---Mary let me use her markers and I would like to say thank you. Now, they are more heartfelt and sometimes so powerful. Every now and then I make them write a note to themselves to express something they are proud of. AT first, it was really, really hard for them to be kind to themselves. Some struggled to find something good and some are embarressed. Sometimes we have 5 Coyote Kindness notes and sometimes we go a week without one. I am so proud of my class because this small activity along with consistent class meetings (they can call a class meeting to express their concerns )has turned this year into a WONDERFUL year. This year has convinced me to stay in teaching a little longer. If I rambled on, sorry. I really think teaching kindness has made a difference this year. I watch Oprah once in a long while and I was inspired by one of her "kindness" shows.