Good Evening from JMS Counselors! I think most of us get caught up in our own lives and the daily stressors that we put on ourselves, forgetting that the simplest of things can make the most significant impact on someone else. A smile, a compliment, providing a helping hand to a person in need or to let someone know you care. We must think every day how we can be a better person because it only takes one person to give the extra energy to make a difference in one person’s life. Start today and make someone’s day better.
I hope the next 30 JMS Acts of Kindness Ideas (from now until Spring Break) are helpful to you, so we can all spread joy to others. Teaching our children compassion and kindness for others is one of the best things you can give them. Here are some ways we can teach them:
1- Appreciation Bucket (Alber, 2017)
First, create a bucket to leave in the back of the classroom or a room in your house. This can be an opportunity to get creative and make a bucket that reflects the personality of your class or house. Explain to the child(ren) why you picked this theme.
Wherever you place the bucket, make sure to leave small slips of paper or sticky notes nearby. Tell child(ren) that they can use the bucket to write down positive messages, “thank you” notes, or messages of appreciation or encouragement to their fellow students or the teacher, teaching assistant, or adult(s) in the home.
The students may need some examples of the kinds of messages to write. Model what a good appreciation message sounds like by doing a few sample messages out loud.
You have a couple of options when it comes to reading the notes of appreciation:
1. You can open the lid of the bucket every few days and read all the notes to the class.
2. You can take out a few notes and read them aloud. Pick a time that is most influential.
3. You can give students a set amount of time to contribute to the bucket, then distribute the notes to their intended recipients at the end of that period (could be the last class before winter break or summer vacation).
You can choose any of these methods or create your own method that works for your class – the important thing is that each student should eventually get to hear or read a note of thanks or appreciation that someone has written about him or her.
This activity encourages students to be kind to one another and to be on the lookout for positive things to write down and slip into the appreciation bucket.
2- The Write Around
If you’re interested in getting everyone writing than talking, this is a similar activity that can get everyone in a more positive mood.
First, you will need to put together a handout with seven sentence stems (or starters) on it (Alber, 2017):
1. One idea I’ve gotten from you is…
2. I really like your personality because…
3. I know I can count on you when…
4. I really appreciate when you…
5. Some adjectives that describe you are…
6. I am impressed by the way you…
7. I look forward to seeing you because…
Make sure to leave plenty of room for everyone to finish these sentences.
Next, pass out the handouts and ask each person to write only their name at the top of the paper. Collect the handouts and pass them out once again, randomly this time. Make sure each person received a different person’s handout.
Instruct everyone to be silent for a few minutes while they write something about the person whose handout they received. They can respond to just one sentence or several if they have more good things to say about their person.
After the few minutes are up, have each person pass the handout to another person (not the handout’s owner, yet). Encourage everyone to complete whichever sentence calls to them, whether another person has completed it or not.
After doing a few rounds of this, pass all of the papers back to their owners and give them a chance to read all of the nice things that others have written about them.
If you’d like to continue the good feeling, you can ask for volunteers to share one or two of the positive things on their handout. It will make the reader feel good, the writer feels good, and encourage everyone to be a little more positive.
3- Model the Kind of Behavior we Expect
Just as younger kids learn from our actions, our middle schoolers look to us to provide examples of how to act in every situation whether we’re in the car, at home or out in public. For example, keeping our motions to ourselves isn’t easy at times, but the way we act sets an example for our adults-to-be who are paying attention to our words and actions.
The bottom line is our kids act out what they see. If they see us acting badly towards one another, they will too, and we can’t teach kindness unless we are kind toward others. But no one is perfect. It’s easy to say we will take a deep breath to channel the calm, but it can be hard to remember in the moment. It’s better to acknowledge the less-than-ideal way you handled the situation when you’re around your kids. It opens the door to a conversation about what you did wrong, what you should have done instead and shows them that you’re working toward being a more kind person at all times, just like you hope they are too.
4- Make yourself Available
We think our middle schoolers are grown up and independent and for the most part, they are but there are other times when they need us, and they let us know in the most, subtle ways. It can be difficult to pick up on these cues when we’re looking at our phone or preoccupied with the endless mental to-do list, so find times in your day to make yourself available to your tween or teen to check in.
You’ll probably get a single word answer when you ask them how they’re doing, but when you talk to them about something going on in their world, it could spark an unexpected conversation. Making yourself available without being too intrusive is key. Prying is not ok but asking a question in just the right way can be the key to getting your kids talking about issues that matter to them.
Sometimes using drives to an extra-curricular activity to discuss upcoming activities can lead to conversations about team dynamics and individuals who aren’t being team players.
Lastly, try mentioning an article you read about someone in your community doing something kind for others and ask if it’s something they’d like to help with.
Upcoming Dates:
Important Dates:
February 4th Mid-term ends
February 4th - Avid Interviews
February 6th CCTE Day in gym (3rd period)
February 7th Grade reports sent home
February 25th 8th graders tour ORHS (Permission slips will be sent home February 3rd)
February 27th 6pm- ORHS Parent Night to talk with different academic departments and expectations for registration
March 5th ORHS Counselors to meet with 8th grade students to discuss registration process (3rd period in JPAC and Gym)
March 12th ORHS Counselors at JMS to register students for classes (All Day in JPAC during Science Classes)
New ORHS 2020-2021 Academic Planning Guide:
Click right and open hyperlink http://www.ortn.edu/ORHS/2020_2021_APG.pdf
