Tis the season to spread some holiday cheer through acts of kindness. We’ve come up with two mini kindness activities to use in the days leading up to Christmas and winter break. Please note that we do celebrate Christmas at our schools, as we both teach at Catholic schools. You could tweak these ideas just a bit for your school to include all students!
Here are your Holiday Kindness ideas for your classroom:
Secret Santas
Put a twist on this gift-trading game, and instead give an act of kindness. Write or type out all your students names (and yours!) on the template provided. Then cut out all the names and place them in a small container. Have each student (and you) select a name from the box. They must keep their name a secret (unless they have their own, then it should be placed back in the box) and during the day try to do a few secret acts of kindness for their person. To keep students from guessing who has them, we like to encourage our students to do kind things to other students as well, to keep up the mystery. Before you know it, kindness will be spreading like wildfire. At the end of the day, we allow a few minutes for students to guess and/or reveal who their Secret Santa was. (If you only have students for one period, simply extend the activity for a few days).
*Tip: Laminate your name tags so they last longer!
Notes of gratitude
Use this template for writing a good thank you note and have students create notes for someone that works in the school (a previous teacher, the principal, librarian, custodian, cafeteria worker, etc…) that deserves some appreciation. Provide students with envelopes to decorate and some time to hand deliver their letter of gratitude. These are sure to bring some Christmas joy to members of the community. Bonus: This thank you note lesson may come in handy for students when they (hopefully!) write their thank you cards to relatives after the holidays!
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday and Christmas season!
