Choose Kindness!

Character formation is a key role for educators and, with that in mind, kindness is something that’s become a buzz word in my classroom. The quote made famous by the movie Wonder “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kindness” (Dr. Wayne Dyer) is posted in my room along with things like the Color Wheel and IB assessment criteria. My students know that I’m into seeing them be kind to each other. I bring it up all the time and compliment students publicly when I see acts of kindness. I even hear students say “hey, choose kindness!” to each other sometimes when they want to change what someone is doing.

Kindness stones have been around for a long time, and I’m taking no credit for inventing them. While I wouldn’t make an art unit with kindness stones. They’re a great project to have during summer camp or to keep students busy when they finish a project early. If you’ve never heard of them before, it’s a pretty simple concept. Paint a beautiful image onto a rock, write something nice on the other side. Then go put it somewhere where a stranger will find it and hopefully it will brighten their day. The idea of painting something on a rock, writing kind words on the other side, and then hiding it for someone else to find is so beautifully selfless in its nature.

I recommend buying nice smooth, flat rocks from a landscaping business and keeping a small space to paint kindness stones in the room if you can spare it…or just keep the materials in a bin. Use acrylic paint and consider putting a clear water-based varnish when finished (like Mod Podge). At my school, the students hid the stones around the kindergarten for youngsters to find.

The photos show some kindness stones, the messages on the reverse side, and placing one next to a plant outside.