Spreading Kindness on Campus

"The basis of all good human behavior is kindness." — Eleanor Roosevelt

Dec. 5, 2011 (TAMPA, Fla.) –As third-grader Andrew Nadler was walking to the lunch pavilion at Independent Day School-Corbett Campus, a spot of red in the crook of a tree caught his eye. He reached over the fence and picked out a small, painted stone. He knew there would be a message on the bottom, so he turned it over and read, "Say hello to someone new."

That afternoon heading to intramurals, he passed the fifth-grade class. He spotted someone he had yet to meet, so he connected by walking up and offering a big, friendly, "Hello."

Second-grader Haruka Ozturk found a red stone on the playground. The message on it was, "Write a nice note to someone." She did, and gave it to a fellow IDSer on the bus going home. Fourth-grade student Daiton Roberts found a white stone with a message that said to turn off the lights when the class was leaving its room. So he did.

Members of the 3rd grade Navigators and 4th grade Going Places Intermediate Leadership Council created and hid Acts of Kindness (AOK) rocks on campus for students to find. Students performed the act of kindness described on the rock and then placed the rock in the AOK jar.

With character education integrated into classroom lessons, kindness is a frequent topic of discussion and reflection for IDS-CC students. Students are continuously reminded in a multitude of ways that a small, thoughtful gesture – a kind word, a sincere compliment, an unexpected smile, a helping hand – can make someone's day. That's why members of the 3rd Grade Navigators and 4th Grade Going Places Intermediate Leadership Council decided to spread some extra kindness across campus in a fun and creative way.

Leadership Council members began by painting and decorating small rocks. They then brainstormed numerous suggestions for acts of kindness – small gestures such as "Say something nice about someone" that a student could easily perform. These acts were then glued to the back of each rock. Then the students fanned out across the school's east campus and hid the colorful stones in nooks and crannies, in trees, under bushes, and even out in the open, so the school's youngest three-year old students could spot them. The fun continued the next day when fellow IDSers started finding them.

"Since the parents of a number of our students are in the military, and we were getting ready to celebrate Veterans Day, the council members decided this activity should have a patriotic theme," said third-grade teacher Tracey Price."They painted the rocks red, white, and blue, in honor of veterans and the huge acts of kindness and sacrifices members of our military make on a daily basis."

Throughout the day, after finding the rocks and completing the act of kindness, students brought the rocks to the school office and placed them in a designated Acts of Kindness (AOK) jar. The vase became a visual reminder of how individual acts of kindness can add up.

"This activity helped shine a spotlight on the importance of kindness," said fourth-grade teacher Kim Rostick. "And out of all the things children learn, what could possibly be more important than that!"