Supporting education in Kindness

I am a teacher by profession. I teach first grade school children in a California public school and this is my 20th year. This year has been exceptionally hard for young kids as everyone has to do distance learning in my school district. To liven things up and make my class zoom lessons more interesting, I decided to incorporate thematic teaching with Sharing that kids can do. So in October, they shared the different colors of fall leaves they can find and made leaf books. For November, we did stories on the meaning of Thanksgiving – what we are thankful for, and I shared the unfertilized egg from a mourning dove that was left on my bird feeder (I give out bird seeds daily). Perhaps that’s their way of showing gratitude, lol.. For December, we did the meaning of Christmas (sharing kindness with family and friends). An injured bird stayed in my backyard seeking shelter for 3 days and night, until one night the temperatures dropped to low 40s. I didn’t see it again the next day. I also shared pics of earthworms that ventured out from the rain and told them not to step on any. And not to squish ladybugs. They all belong to nature. This way, the students are also inadvertently learning all the vocabulary and required skills, in a fun way and also understanding the importance of being kind. I hope by teaching young minds that if we show kindness to sentient beings, it will provide the opportunity for them to practice and earn kindness in return. They always love to see my pictures and realia on kindness in zoom class!