Friday Kindness RecapHappy Friday and welcome to October! A new season is upon us, the air is crisp, and the leaves are changing. In a survey, 45.6% of people identified Fall as their favorite season. How about you? What is your favorite season? Tell us by posting a comment on our blog or using the #ichoose2bekind on social media. Here is your recap of the week of September 30 - October 06: Five Acts of Kindness. Are you a Go-Giver of Kindness? How did your acts of kindness go this week? What book did you give away? We'll bet someone really enjoyed the morning latte you gave away this week. Blog Post: Be a Go-Giver of Kindness Kind News. Sometimes it is hard to believe there is good in the world. If you are feeling that way today, read these three stories, and you will have a change of heart.
Self-Kindness. Dustin Wax from Lifehack says, "When we write something down, research suggests that as far as our brain is concerned, it's as if we were doing that thing. Writing seems to act as a kind of mini-rehearsal for doing." Blog Post: Benefits of Hand-Writing Your Self-Kindness Kindness in Action. Post your pictures using #iChoose2BeKind or #KindnessInAction, and we will post them to our blog & social media channels!  Article on Kindness. Can empathy be taught, or is it genetically hard-wired? You may have heard people say; "You either have empathy, or you don't," "Everyone is born with a certain amount of empathy," "Girls have more empathy than boys." Carol Dweck points out that if we develop a growth mindset, we can change the way we view and do things. In other words, you can teach an old dog new tricks if they have an open mindset. Blog Post: Fun Kindness Project on Empathy Report back and tell us how it felt to be kind to others. Comment on our blog or social media using the #ichoose2bekind Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind.
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Three Acts of Self-KindnessAccording to The Wall Street Journal, the act of writing engages your motor-skills, memory, and forces you to slow down. The article goes on to say, new research shows that when you write by hand, you engage the brain in active learning. Dustin Wax from Lifehack says, "When we write something down, research suggests that as far as our brain is concerned, it's as if we were doing that thing. Writing seems to act as a kind of mini-rehearsal for doing." Let's see if the research is valid; we invite you to practice self-kindness this week by doing the following writing activities. Let us know how it goes!
 Five Acts of Kindness for 9.30-10.6In the book, the Go-Giver, authors, Bob Burg, and John David Mann suggest when you change your focus from getting to giving incredible things will happen to you. Similarly, The Arbinger Institute, literary works, and workshops focus on educating schools and organizations on the principle of changing the culture by changing mindsets. Arbinger Institute states, "mindset drives behaviors, changing behavior requires a fundamental change in mindset. What may seem to be a behavior problem is actually a mindset problem." This week we invite you to switch your focus from getting to giving and changing your mindset from I-It to I-You. Perform these five acts of kindness with a giving heart:
Until next time... be present, be thoughtful, and be kind.  Wednesday Challenge 9.25.19We've been practicing self-kindness for about one month now. Practicing self-kindness can feel a little strange when you first start doing it but, like anything else, it gets more comfortable overtime. Are you still struggling with the idea of practicing self-kindness? If so, watch this TedTalk by Kristen Neff. She walks you through what self-compassion is and why it is so essential to your mental health. Also, in the talk, Neff touches on the importance of modeling self-kindness at school and home. Keep practicing self-kindness, and we promise you will make a significant impact on those around you. Do these three acts of self-kindness this week:
Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind!  Acts of Kindness Week of 11.23-29Did you know Touch is the first of the five senses to develop in humans? Physical contact is essential to brain development and human growth, especially in babies and toddlers. According to an article by REUTERS, "Touch is essential for babies' development for their physical, emotional and eventually social health. What about teens, do they need hugs too? Psychotherapist Virginia Satir said, "We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance, and twelve hugs a day for growth." Wow, that is a lot of hugging time in one day! Sight is the last sense in human development, for the apparent reason that when babies are born, they open their eyes for the first time outside the womb. As our minds develop, our vision helps us define our responses to situations. Harald T Schupp believed visual cues were responsible for emotional categorization. Dr. Schupp studies found that "Visual attention can be voluntarily directed toward stimuli and can have a negative or positive emotional outcome." Now it's your turn, try lighting up all your five senses this week by doing these five acts of kindness:
 Friday Weekly Kindness RecapHappy Friday! Wow, this month is going by way too fast. Do you agree? How are you and your students doing? If you are noticing some burnout, take action now by doing acts of kindness for others, and practicing self-kindness. Here is your recap of the week of September 16 - September 20: Five Acts of Kindness. Just like in Star Wars, technology has a dark side and a good side. And just like Luke Skywalker, we need to make a decision on which force we will join. So, which side did you join this week? How did you use technology this week with your acts of kindness? How many text messages did you send? How did your SnapChat kindness streaks go? Did you inspire others to join the streak? Blog Post: Monday Kindness Challenge September 16, 2019 KindNews. Lending a hand to someone in need is this week's theme for our Kind News spotlight. These three stories are all about love, kindness, and innovation.
Blog Post: Avoid Burnout with These Acts of Self-Kindness Kindness in Action. Post your pictures using #iChoose2BeKind or #KindnessInAction, and we will post them to our blog & social media channels!  Article on Kindness. There is a big debate about students having access to their cellphones in the classroom. What do you think, should we allow cellphone use in school? Or do you think we should help the students learn the proper way to utilize the smart-device? Blog Post: The Debate is Real, Should Cellphones be Allowed at School? Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind. Wednesday Challenge: September 18, 2019Even though school has been in session for a little over a month, teachers and students can already show signs of stress and burnout. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of teens, 45 percent, said school pressures stressed them out. In most cases, the stress is from academics, not social issues or bullying. Patrice N. Douglas, a licensed marriage and family therapist, says, "Going more than seven days without taking a day off is harmful on your body and mind." Dr. Douglas recommends we take one to two days to recharge our batteries by either catching up on some needed sleep or doing something you love. While practicing self-kindness this week, remember that we all need a little downtime to recharge our batteries. Trust us, everyone (including you) will be a better teacher, student, parent, friend, and person for it. Do these three acts of self-kindness this week and tell us how you feel by using #iChoose2BeKind on your favorite social media channel.
Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind.   There is a big debate about students having access to their cellphones in the classroom. Edweek's article, Schools Say No to Cellphones in Classroom, points out the fears parents, teachers, and administrators have, "Sexting. Cyberbullying. Googling test answers. Taking a picture of a quiz and sending it to friends who have the same class later in the day. Paying more attention to Instagram notifications than biology class."
Some districts have new policies that set limitations or bans for the use of cellphones throughout the school day, even during lunch. California Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed Assembly Bill 272 in early July allowing school districts the right to restrict or prohibit device use in class. According to Edweek, a few more states are looking to follow California. While others are saying, "It's better to keep cellphones in school and help train students how to use them responsibly, rather than just banning their use." Teachers agree, "We should be teaching our students how to utilize educational apps, navigate through the online world of social media, and teach them how to self-regulate. We should be teaching these things at home and at school." What do you think, should we allow cellphone use in school? Do you think we should help the students learn the proper way to utilize the smart-device or do you believe we should ban them from school? Let us know your thoughts by adding a comment to our blog or posting on social media using #iChoose2BeKind Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind. Acts of Kindness for week of 10/16 - 10/22Just like in Star Wars, technology has a dark side and a good side. And just like Luke Skywalker, we need to make a decision on which force we will join. The dark side of technology and students are things like, cyberbullying, Googling test answers, sexting, air dropping a picture of a quiz to a friend, viewing social media, and playing on apps while in class. The good side of technology and students are things like, independent learning by using tools such as Grammarly, Kahoot, Quizlet, and Khan Academy. Students can also spread a little kindness using technology. This week we challenge to use the force of kindness to do these five acts:
Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind.  Friday Weekly Kindness Recap It's Friday the 13th! We can help you ward off bad luck by sharing some KindNews with you. We'd even bet you will have fantastic Karma today if you did all of your acts of kindness this week. Extra Karma points for sharing how it went, tell us about it using our #iChoose2BeKind when posting on social media, or you can post a comment on our blog. Fun Facts to Talk About in Your Classroom. There are many myths about why Friday the 13th is bad luck, here are three of the most popular:
Here is your recap of the week of September 09 - September 13: Five Acts of Kindness. Did you feel your brain getting happier this week? How did it go? What kind of sweet treat did you bring to share? Who did you give a heart attack, did their heart beat faster? How many people did you schedule a time to connect? And your neighbor, did they love your meal? And what did the bus driver, school custodian, parent volunteer, office staff member, resource teacher (or whomever) do when you said thank you? Blog Post: Monday Kindness September 09, 2019 KindNews. Kindness in sports can seem so rare, or at least the news doesn't often cover it when it happens. This week is for all you sports fans out there. Check out these three stories that show kindness in front and behind the limelight.
Self-Kindness. When we exercise self-compassion, we do not feel the need to look for the approval of others. Additionally, when we are kind to ourselves, we invite others to be kind to us too. So, what are you waiting for?!? Do these three acts of kindness of self-kindness this week. Blog Post: Science Backs Practicing Self-Kindness Kindness in Action. Post your pictures using #iChoose2BeKind or #KindnessInAction, and we will post them to our blog & social media channels!  Article on Kindness. Kaffenberger & Seligman report that 20 percent of students need mental health services, and only one in five students can get the services they need. One of the primary places for students to acquire social and emotional skills is at school. Read our blog post below to find resources for helping your students with social and emotional learning (SEL). Blog Post: Social & Emotional Learning is Getting Much Needed Attention Report back and tell us how it felt to be kind to others. Comment on our blog or social media using the #ichoose2bekind Until next time... be thoughtful, be present, be kind. |