“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” -Dalai Lama
One way students can show kindness to one another is through compliment cards. When we give genuine, meaningful compliments to others we not only brighten their day, but we also boost our own self esteem and confidence.
For World Kindness Day and beyond, encourage students to say something nice or give thoughtful praise to others. Maybe they admire one student’s extraordinary math skills or another’s ability to make everyone laugh. By sharing compliments, you can help create a culture of kindness, positivity and friendship in your after school program.
Materials:
- Printable compliment cards
- Markers
- Construction paper
- Strips of paper
- Small box or container
- Glue
Instructions:
- Write each student’s name on a small strip of paper, and place the strips in a small box or container.
- Without looking, ask each student to pick a name from the box. They will pay a compliment to the student selected.
- Give each student a compliment card. With the person they selected in mind, ask them to finish the sentence: “What I like most about you is..” Give examples, like “smile,” “imagination,” “hair,” “friendly,” or “sense of humor.”
- When the cards are completed, have students cut a square out of the construction paper that is about the size of the compliment card. Glue the compliment card to the construction paper to make it sturdier.
- Ask them to write the name of the student to receive the card on the back. Allow time for the cards to be hand delivered by the sender.
- Alternatively, the sender can remain anonymous. In this case, the teacher collects all of the cards and then delivers them to the right student.
- Once all students have received and read their compliment cards, discuss how it feels to give and receive compliments as a group. Did it make them smile? Did they expect to receive that compliment? Did they make a new friend because of the compliment? Allow them to openly express how the experience impacted them.
- To keep it going, keep blank compliment cards available at all times. Encourage students to compliment others whenever they recognize their skills or personality or simply have something nice to say.
Sharing compliments is just one way to spread kindness. To incorporate kindness character education into your program, check out this enrichment kit which provides a month's worth of interactive lessons that incorporate language arts, mathematics and creative arts.
This activity is repurposed from Summer Sizzlers & Magic Mondays: School-Age Theme Activities
