teaching

3 Ways to Teach Kindness to Reduce Bullying as You Go Back to School

January 14, 2021 RippleKindness Children, Classroom Activities, Education, Kindness, Social and Emotional Learning

If you have a problem with anti-social or bullying behavior in your classroom, I urge you to consider including kindness in your back-to-school curriculum. We’ve been advocating for teaching kindness, or more specifically, social-emotional learning (SEL) to improve wellbeing, self-esteem, mental health, social connection, and academic results for years. And, these are just a few of the benefits of teaching kindness at school.

We’re very happy to see that many teachers now embrace and incorporate these concepts into their classroom curriculum. You’ll notice I said “incorporate” and that’s because SEL shouldn’t be an add-on. Teachers now have access to an array of wonderful resources that make it easy for them to switch out traditional lesson plans and worksheets for those that cover academic requirements but also build emotional intelligence.

5 Free Kindness Posters for Students, Teachers, Kids and Parents

February 14, 2020 RippleKindness Children, Classroom Activities, Education, Kindness, Parenting

Free kindness ideas poster for home and school

If you enjoy the feel-good emotions produced by doing good then perhaps you're the kind of person who looks forward to the official days that celebrate kindness. Did you know there are 3 of them?

9 Kindness Activities for Students for Random Acts of Kindness Day

January 29, 2020 RippleKindness Classroom Activities, Education, Kindness

Activities for students to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Day

Many teachers like their students to participate in kindness activities at school to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day in February and World Kindness Day in November. They understand the importance of these days as opportunities to build character and instill good values that become the foundation of an emotional skill set that's essential for their future success. Beyond feel-good emotions or reducing bullying, kindness is a highly valued character trait.

Enemy Pie Book Review – A Friendship Lesson

September 18, 2019 RippleKindness Book Reviews, Bullying, Classroom Activities, Education, Parenting, Social and Emotional Learning

Title:

Author:

Illustrator:

Age group:

Theme:

Enemy Pie

Derek Munson

Tara King

4 - 10 years

Friendship, Problem-Solving, Bullying, Judgement, Respect

Story overview

The story is narrated by a young boy. He was looking forward to a really great summer. That was until Jeremy Ross moved into the neighborhood!!

After laughing at him when he struck him out at baseball and not inviting him to his trampoline party, Jeremy Ross became the first person on the boy's enemy list.

He talked to his dad about his problem. His dad said he has a sure fire but secret way of getting rid of enemies. Enemy Pie!!

Classroom Management Strategies & Resources for Calm, Happy Students

May 31, 2019 RippleKindness Blog, Children, Classroom Activities, Education, Social and Emotional Learning

Classroom management strategies and resources for calm, happy students

There's nothing fun about a classroom that's out of control. It's stressful and unproductive. Thinking about kids running amok reminds of something my husband often says. "Start how you intend to finish!" For me, that means starting the year with strong classroom management strategies in place. Setting the rules at the start of the year means everyone is on the same page. Start planning before you head back to school and be prepared to involve the students in your new grades.

Literacy Pegs: A Fun Way to Improve Vocabulary and Spelling

March 6, 2019 RippleKindness Children, Classroom Activities, Education, Parenting

Literacy Pegs Easy DIY Teaching Resource Ripple Kindness Project

I stumbled upon this video for a clever DIY teaching resource that can be made and used by both teachers and parents to expand vocabulary and improve spelling and literacy in children. What I really love about it is that with the use of pegs, children are not only flexing their mind muscles but also building coordination and strengthening the fine muscles in their hands that are used for writing.