*Updated*
Random Acts of Kindness or RAKs are a great activity to support social-emotional learning in the classroom. I’ve found that when kids are busy trying to find nice things to do for others, they spend less time some of the friendship problems that seem to crop up in elementary school.
Picture books are a great way to introduce and talk about friendship issues with kids. Check out the guest post below to see how the author, Maria Dismondy uses her book Potato Chip Champ to encourage kindness towards others.
Random Acts of Kindness Guest Post
I am thrilled to be a guest blogger for The Helpful Counselor today! My name is Maria Dismondy and I’m a children’s book author who writes books geared toward empowering children to be themselves. You may have heard of my best selling book, Spaghetti In A Hot Dog Bun – or – The Juice Box Bully (coauthored by Bob Sornson).
Today, I want to share my newest book with you, The Potato Chip Champ! In this book, the main character, Champ, has it all. He has all the latest toys and is good at just about everything. Then there’s Walter. Walter is a kid who doesn’t have much.
But one thing he does have is a kind spirit. The Potato Chip Champ is about Champ’s big quandary: “Why does Walter have so many friends?” As the pages unfold Champ watches as Walter displays kindness, caring, and empathy. He soon learns how much Walter really does have.
Thanks to the holiday season, the month of December is a great time of year to focus on kindness, which is a fitting tie-in to the theme in this book. Here’s a perfect follow-up activity to do with your class after reading The Potato Chip Champ:
Write the word “kindness” on a piece of paper. Then, come up with the definition of kindness as a group. List examples of kindness observed in your classroom. Next, come up with 10 Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) your class will commit to completing during the month of December!
These RAKS can be done at school or out in the community. After the group gets a few RAKs under their belts, talk to them about how it makes them feel to do good things for others.
Then go back to Champ’s big question from The Potato Chip Champ. Why DID Walter have so many friends? It wasn’t because he was the best baseball player or because he had a cool bike. It was because he was a GOOD and KIND person. It’s that simple.
I would love to hear about the great things you and your students are doing for others. Find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mariadismondy and share your Random Acts of Kindness. It’s bound to inspire others to get out there and share kindness with the world!
*****
Thanks, Maria for joining us at The Helpful Counselor! I love the idea of having children practice RAKs…I made this coordinating free printable download to help my kiddos keep track of all of their awesome deeds. Bonus: Keep their RAK record in their writing journal in case they need a few ideas for a first-person narrative. 🙂
Looking for more counseling ideas?
Looking for more counseling books?
Great Books on Manners
Books for Counselors to Read Over the Summer (or whenever)
Leave a Reply