Kindness Advent Calendar to Build Character Traits this Christmas
Get your free advent calendar below!
Ho, ho, ho!! Many of us go into denial when Christmas rolls around again. What? Um, it's time to get out the advent calendar but didn't we just celebrate Christmas? I'm pretty sure science hasn't proven it, but I'm convinced that time goes faster the older we get!
Though parents and teachers are usually busy at the end of the year, it's actually a great time to get your kids to participate in acts of kindness. Encouraging kindness should, of course, be a year-round endeavor because it's shown that after the fourth grade, positive perceptions of kindness decrease in children. Another great reason why schools should include lessons on kindness for children of all ages.
Positive perceptions of kindness were found to decrease as students increased in grades. This decrease in perceptions of kindness is in concert with other research noting a decline in prosocial behavior as students move from pre-adolescence to adolescence.
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Grab your free advent calendar
Because we know you've got other things on your mind right now, we've put together a kindness advent calendar to help you foster the positive character traits we all want our kids to adopt.
The hard work has been done and all you have to do is print and inspire your kids to participate!
Download the kid's advent calendar in US Letter Format
Download the kid's advent calendar in A4 Format
Customize your advent calendar
Now that distance learning is a thing, some teachers need Christmas resources that cater for kids who are still learning at home.
If you're looking for a digital resource that can be tweaked to your liking, then our editable advent calendar could be just what you're looking for.
Ideas to inspire more kindness
Here are a few tips to help encourage kids to participate and check off as many acts of kindness as possible:
On a biochemical level, it is believed that the good feeling we get is due to elevated levels of the brain’s natural versions of morphine and heroin, which we know as endogenous opioids. They cause elevated levels of dopamine in the brain and so we get a natural high, often referred to as ‘Helper’s High’.
You can download a copy of our adult kindness advent calendar in the appropriate format below.
Download the adult advent calendar in US Letter Format
Download the adult advent calendar in A4 Format
We hope you have a lot of fun during December and would love to hear about your experience using the advent calendars. Please write to us in the new year to let us know how you and your kids enjoyed 31 days of kindness. Photos of checklists with first names, age and state/country are also welcome and may be shared to inspire others on the site or via social media.
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AUTHOR: Lisa Currie - Ripple Kindness Project
Lisa is passionate about contributing to a happier world by building emotional intelligence in kids through fun and engaging social-emotional learning resources. Her core value is kindness as she believes it to be the “mother” of all character traits. She started Ripple Kindness Project to spread kindness in schools and communities. She is also the founder and director of an outreach program that supports disadvantaged families.