An activity that encourages children to do small kind acts regularly.

Balance beam is a fun, physical way to get kids up and moving while also teaching them about helping others, particularly those who are having a hard time. All you need is some tape.

Categories is a fun vocabulary game that kids can enjoy. You can change up the categories to make it more fun and interesting, but try to keep some kind of empathy in the mix!

It can also be a great way to teach kids how to make charts and stay organized!

Charades is a classic game that most of your students have probably played. Switch it up and use it to help them act out and identify feelings and think about how others might feel.

Here a great vocabulary lesson that you can maintain throughout the school year, adding as necessary. It makes a great poster or word wall, too! Have fun with it!

A game that has kids practicing giving meaningful compliments and working on doing it more often.

Hot potato is a fun game that can get the whole class playing together. Adding in compliments just makes the game even kinder and more inclusive!

Compliment telephone helps teach kids the importance of listening and saying kind things. Kids can practice giving compliments. It can help make the classroom a kinder place.

A game that kids have a lot of fun with that helps them to find things they have in common with others (connections) so they can start to build more friendships.

This is a great way to mix up our other activity, the Acts of Kindness Challenge. Mix up the acts of kindness from week to week to keep it fresh!

A creative, fun way to get creative with emotions! By combining different features, challenge kids to read emotions and come up with scenarios where one might feel that way.

Help kids to understand emotions and times when people might feel that way.

Have kids think of a feeling from as many angles as possible and get to know not only how it feels, but what it looks like.

Kids can learn with this game about how different people react differently to the same thing. We aren't all happy when playing with a puppy, playing hopscotch, or eating chocolate. We have to think not only about how we feel, but how others will feel who look at things differently from us.

A fun game that has kids smiling at one another and learning how one small thing can have a positive impact on the people around you.

Kids learn new and creative ways to think about what others are going through and ways to help them feel better.

A fun game where kids learn to listen to one another and take cues from the people around them to accomplish a goal as a team.

I Spy and 20 Questions are fun games that most kids already know, but that can both be re-framed by simply having a discussion afterward. See the rules and steps below, as well as some suggested discussion points!

Dominos are a fun toy that a lot of classrooms already have available. Use them to teach a lesson in kindness to your class! Make sure to talk about all the discussion points to help your students understand.

Duck, Duck, Goose is a fun game that most kids know, and a good way to get your students up and active. Like many of our other games, it's all about how you frame it and the discussion you have afterward.

Nice, Nice, Mean is just like Duck, Duck, Goose with a particular discussion afterward.

Kids get good practice seeing things from someone else’s perspective.

Kids follow the teacher’s lead (and later, other students) to work together and create a rainstorm as a group.

Help kids think of meaningful compliments specific to those around them, as well as reflect on good things other people have done that should be recognized.

Role play has been proven to help students learn and effectively teach them how to handle difficult situations. And it's a lot of fun! Have kids acts out as many different scenarios as you can think of!

Encourage kids to find all the things that are similar and different about themselves and a partner, or all their classmates. Finding connections helps build strong relationships.

Use cards featuring different situations to talk about how people would feel in that situation. Have students create their own situation cards and take the perspective of others.

Talk with kids about things that hurt their feelings and that they don’t want people to do to them. Encourage them to examine their own behavior toward others and do better following the golden rule.

Students create craft sticks with compliments, positive memories, and activities that help them feel better written on them. When they are having a bad day, they can reach for a stick and feel better!

Everyone is good at different things and has a hard time with others. Kids need to understand that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and making friends with people who have different strengths from us is great!