Showing You Care
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
Princess Diana
Teach Peace Now‘s theme for the month of April is Caring and Compassion. All month we will be presenting books, activities, and thoughts about ways to become more loving, more caring, and more compassionate to ourselves, to others, to our community, and to the earth.
Let us start with simple kindness…
Four Books About Kindness
We cannot start too early to teach our children how to be kind. The following books are suitable for toddlers through lower elementary grades.
Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud
This uses the idea of “filling one’s personal bucket with good deeds.” You will find numerous activities, songs and games on the related website Fill a Bucket.
I See Kindness Everywhere by Shelly Frost
This book takes a little different approach. Instead of passing on kindness, this book focuses on the other component of being kind, noticing the kindness of others and showing gratitude. The author writes “any act that benefits you – large or small, intentional or even unintentional – is a kindness given to you.” You can find book related activities at Enlightened Arts.
Kindness to Share from A to Z by Todd and Peggy Snow
This book illustrates 26 different acts of kindness- one for each letter of the alphabet.
Small Acts of Kindness by James Vollbracht
Beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings, and starting with a big hug, one boy’s small expression of love is passed on from page to page in this book set during Biblical times and which ends with a shepherd boy’s gift at the nativity. Suitable for lower elementary.
