HOW CAN WE HELP?
Kindness Grows Here cannot fulfill its mission without connecting with children. Schools are a crucial part to helping us connect with kids. If you are an administrator, teacher, or parent, please read below and learn how Kindness Grows Here can help you foster kindness at your school or in your classroom.
Kindness Assemblies
Our founder and President, Kristen Caminiti, has a master’s degree in Social Work and she has spent her career talking with children about difficult subjects. As part of her work with Kindness Grows Here she has developed two kindness assemblies.
WHO Do You Want to be Right Now??
This program encourages students to contemplate who they want to be right now. Through engaging discussion, a game show (that includes audience participation), stories, and videos, Kristen helps students to realize that the decisions they make, the actions they take, and their choices define who they are. She inspires them to want to be seen as good people, and thus to reject bullying behavior in themselves and others.
Kristen has done this presentation for varying age groups, including community-wide presentations and numerous presentations to local elementary, middle, and high schools. At the elementary level Kristen prefers to do two presentations. One for K-2nd graders that utilizes a series of kindness themed books, and then a second for grades 3rd-5th that is the program described above.
Let’s Celebrate Differences
This assembly, ideal for the elementary grades, brings a party to your school! Complete with celebratory music, this assembly seeks to show that differences are something to celebrate, not ridicule. Using a series of children’s books, music, discussion, and interactive demonstrations, Kristen gets kids excited about the things that make them each unique and special. The assembly starts by showing kids that it is never acceptable to be unkind to someone. The assembly progresses to help kids to notice differences in their neighbors, their peers, and strangers, and to see the differences as things that make the world more beautiful and interesting!
If you choose to bring this assembly to your school you’ll get so much more than just a 1 day assembly. You’ll also have access to:
*Customized Flyers to inform parents about the upcoming assembly.
*A “Let’s Celebrate Differences Garden Growing Kit” so that you can easily create a visual reminder to students of the messages communicated in the assembly. (This includes 15 gorgeous, unique plant coloring sheets created by local artist, “Larsen Lane Lettering”)
*A “Take Home” handout informing parents of what was discussed and giving them suggestions for how to continue the conversation at home.
What are people saying about our assemblies?
Are you not yet convinced that a Kindness Grows Here assembly would be worthwhile for your school? Please see below what people are saying about our programs:
“Today I attended an anti bullying presentation by Kindness Grows Here at Crofton Middle School. It was amazing! Through power point, video, storybook sharing, interactive games and other devices, she was able to not only define bullying, keep the children engaged and involved, but also give them concrete tools on how to be kind, supportive allies to each other and to consider their own responsibility in forming what kind of people they are. This kind of preventative action and empathy education is what we need in all of our schools! As parents, educators, members of society, we need to all be a part of teaching our children what it means to care for others and to not only raise others up, but to be there as a friend and ally when they are beaten down.
The presentation was filled with so many wonderful pieces, but to me, a couple of the parts that resonated the most were when she asked them not what they wanted to be when they grow up, but instead, “Who do you want to be right now?”.
And she also reminded them that: “Your decisions, your choices, your actions, and the words you use and the way you treat others, define who you are.” Thank you so much for this opportunity!”
–Sarah Blaser, Parent & Reading Specialist in AACPS
“Mrs. Kristen really made everyone think. She didn’t preach to us but really treated us like young adults. I loved the assembly!”
—Caleb, 8th grader, Crofton Middle School
“Our assembly today was amazing! It was one of the best I have ever been to. Kristen is an amazing speaker. Her slides were beautiful and well planned, and the presentation was perfect. My students really enjoyed it. I have one student in my class who has a really difficult time sitting through class. But he was completely engrossed by this assembly.”
—4th grade teacher, Nantucket Elementary
—An e-mail received from an elementary School Counselor the Monday after an assembly:
Good morning! I wanted to share something that warmed my heart! Over the weekend I received an email from a student who felt so moved by the “Let’s Celebrate Differences” assembly she made her own version of the presentation. I also heard another students in the car rider room rebut an unkind statement with , “aren’t we supposed to be celebrating our differences?” The impact of your discussion with them on Friday is already spreading!”
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If you’re not sure you’re ready for an assembly, we can support your school in other ways:
Bring our Be Kind to Your Mind program to your school. Click image below for more details:
Develop a Kindness Campaign Unique to your School
There are lots of ways to enact a kindness campaign at a school. But only you know what will work for your population.
Some schools make excellent use of morning and afternoon announcements and the students are really engaged and paying attention. For schools where this is the case we can write morning announcements specific to your school that include skits, role-plays, and engaging stories that high-light the kindness related values on which you most want to focus.
A key aspect of enacting a successful campaign at a school is to be sure to inform and include the parents. The conversations about kindness that are occurring in school must continue at home in order to truly have an impact. We can provide monthly “Kindness Conversation” handouts that can be sent home with each child.
These handouts include a summary of the kindness related values being focused on that month as well as “conversation starters” that give parents ideas for topics to discuss with their kids at the dinner table, before bed, and when driving in the car. Also included in these handouts are ideas for activities that they can do as a family to foster kindness and other related values at home.
If you have other ideas for how to establish a successful kindness campaign at your school please let us know. We are open to any and all ideas and eager to help!
Classroom Lessons on Kindness
For individual teachers looking for ways to foster kindness in their specific classrooms we can come to your room and do a lesson on kindness.
We will use age appropriate books, videos, handouts, and writing prompts to inspire students to seek ways–on a daily basis–to be kinder to their fellow students, their teachers, and all those present in their school and community.
We know teachers work so hard, and have such a full plate. Let Kindness Grows Here lessen your load by having us come in and teach your lessons for a day!
If you have other ideas for how we can support your school in spreading kindness, or questions about the programs described above, then don’t hesitate to contact us! We can be reached at info@kindnessgrowshere.com. We look forward to hearing from you!