Random Acts of Kindness Month

Our school decided to make February Random Acts of Kindness month. Some teachers and TA s made three large hearts, one for each floor, and numerous smaller hearts for individuals to use each day of the following two weeks. Teachers, and later students, "caught" students acting kind in a random manner and wrote about it on small hearts. Those were later taped to respective larger hearts for all to see. It took a few days to catch on, but once students started realizing we were writing nice things about them they warmed up to the idea. It made for some worthwhile reading.

I had a student ask me to help her write. I asked her who was kind to her that day. We went through a list of the class' activities, and finally decided that a classmate played fairly and was a good Simon for "Simon Says." She finally wrote, "_______ played Simon Says well with me."

Week three took our kindness outward. On Tuesday a group of teachers and students went to a Grandma House after school for some cleaning and singing. Some sixth graders joined a couple of teachers and high school students this time. Before we left, one of the sixth graders asked me, "Are you going to give us candy?" I said no.

Later on they grabbed rags and went to work on the floors. By the end of the day, I had no doubt they knew why they were doing this. Still, asking for candy is funny.

I wasn't prepared for the singing part this time, as I thought we would just go to clean. Do'h!
Thankfully, we were able to improv. Memo to me, plan plan plan.

The sixth graders also joined us on Wednesday after school for a trip to the orphanage. We sat in a room with a group of three and four year olds, reading stories in English, coloring with them and teaching the hokie pokie. The latter was a noble attempt, and one of the kids joined in. The rest listened and watched the strange giants dance.

At one point, we were intent on helping our respective kids color and write letters of the alphabet, while some of our students read to others. Seemingly out of nowhere, one adult started singing the alphabet song. Others joined in, and before long, we were all singing together. It was rather magical.

On Thursday we grabbed some trash bags and gloves and set out to pick up trash on the property near our school. Teachers and students, grades K-12, discovered just how much litter is out there. I followed with a camera and enjoyed a chuckle when one student said, "Wait! I have to fix my hair!" before I took a picture. You're picking up trash. I think hair issues would be understandable.

The elementary students almost moved me to tears. They could see there was something they could do now, and they did it. Later I asked some students if they knew why we did this. Love for others and God was the main answer.

Friday was our fashionably late Valentine's Day Banquet, a fundraiser for our Spring Break missions trips to the Philippines and India. As we shared with parents and friends where we are going and why, I was reminded of a Nietze quote made by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Ethics. "...your love for your neighbor is ... love for yourselves. I say shun your neighbor, and love those farthest from you!" In our case, hopefully it starts with our neighbor and continues outward.