Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Every teacher wants to help their students learn to be kind. But it can be hard to know where to start when talking about kindness in the classroom. I find that crafts about kindness are one of the most effective ways you can teach your students about kindness.

Kindness crafts are a fantastic resource because they are a fun activity that students will want to do, they can be pulled out any time you need them, and they really do help reinforce kindness. Now, there are so many ideas for crafts about kindness, it can be very overwhelming. Luckily, I've done the work for you and rounded up the very best kindness crafts I could find.

Read on for the 10 best crafts about kindness for the classroom… I've even listed a children's book about kindness you can read to your class for each craft!

(Looking for some kindness activities that are ready to print and go? Check out my Kindness Activity Bundle right here.)

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Crafts About Kindness

Before I dive into my favorite crafts about kindness, here are my top tips on how to use these to the best effect in your classroom:

• Choose a clear teaching point
• Pick your timing
• Make it fun

The very best kindness crafts should have a clear teaching point. Yes, we want them to be fun and cute. But the most important part is helping our students get a better understanding of kindness. The kindness activities I pick for my students are always chosen with a clear intention.

For example, let's say I'm noticing that students are using unkind words with each other. Then I'll choose an activity that gets students to think and practice kind ways of speaking. Or, if I'm seeing a lot of competition and arguments, I'll look for a craft on kindness that focuses on patience and flexibility.

Timing is important too. Sometimes I'll choose to do a whole Week of Kindness if I feel that we need a really hefty dose of kindness in our classroom (read this post to find out how to do a Week of Kindness in your classroom)! Other times, I'll just sprinkle in one of my favorite crafts about kindness on a specific topic whenever I see the need.

Finally, it's important that it not feel like a lecture or a punishment. Students will get so much more out of it if it's a fun break from academics. After all, crafts about kindness should be fun, right?

Kindness Crafts To Try

Okay, without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite kindness crafts! I've included the specific teaching point that I think they would be great to use. I'm also going to list a children's book about kindness that would be absolutely perfect to pair with each kindness craft. (Want to see all my favorite children's kindness books? You can shop my favorite books on kindness here.)

Notes To Classmates – Spreading Kindness

This is the perfect way to get kind vibes spreading all over your classroom. In this craft about kindness, students write kind notes to give to other students. You can make these available for students to grab and write on their own Or, you can assign students other students to write to in order to make sure everyone gets a note.

The kindness children's book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? would be a perfect companion to this craft.

Kindness Rocks – Spreading Kindness

If you're a teacher who loves hands-on, crafty projects, then this is perfect for you! Painting kindness rocks is a kindness craft your students will absolutely love. Pair this craft with the kindness book A Small Kindness.

First, help your students think of kind phrases that would cheer people up. Then let them paint their rock with the phrase and decorations. Finally, hide the rocks around the playground for kids in other grades to find and keep! This is one of the best crafts about kindness for practicing generosity as well as spreading kindness.

Bucket Filler – The Effects of Kindness

This craft for kindness is perfect for emphasizing the effect that kindness can have on all of us. The bucket metaphor is one that students can immediately grasp – when someone is kind, it fills their bucket, but when someone is mean, it dips their bucket.

If you've never checked out the book How Full Is Your Bucket? you definitely need to add it to your list! It's always on my list to read to my class year after year.

Kindness Crown – What Kindness Means

The word “kindness” gets thrown around all the time, but there are lots of other fantastic words that go hand in hand with kindness. I like to introduce students to our “WOW words” – like generous, inclusive, helpful, flexible, etc. Talking about these traits helps students understand how to be kind. Plus, you then have a list of wonderful adjectives to use when noticing your students and positively reinforcing their kind behavior.

Weaving in a crown craft is a great way to learn about and celebrate these WOW words. This is one of my favorite crafts about kindness because it ends with something students can wear! Always a big hit.

The book Tomorrow I'll Be Kind describes many of these important words, and it would be a perfect companion book for this kindness craft.

Class Quilt – Friendship

Creating a class quilt is a wonderful way to display your students' commitment to kindness in your classroom. First, students decide how they want to be a good friend. Then they trace their hand and decorate their square of the quilt. Finally, display these in your classroom on a bulletin board!

I Walk With Vanessa is a story of friendship and kindness. This is a great book to have students brainstorm ways to be a kind friend.

Kindness Bingo – Putting Kindness Into Action

This kindness bingo board is one of the most fun crafts about kindness! Throughout the week, students try to complete the kind acts on their boards to get bingos. You can celebrate bingos with a sticker or a small class cheer. (If you want a full class activity version of this, I have a class anchor chart version you can check out here.)

The children's book When We Are Kind helps students reflect on the effects of kindness. It would be a wonderful companion to the kindness bingo craft.

Kindness Cootie Catchers – Putting Kindness Into Action

In this fun kindness craft, students create cootie catchers with kind actions inside. When they play with a friend, whatever kind action the friend lands on – they have to do that! A great way to make kindness into a fun game.

A book that would be wonderful to go with this craft is Be Kind. It helps demonstrate the importance of kind acts every day.

Friend Flipbook – Friendship

Being a good friend is a skill that students are working on at school just as much as the academic skills. Teaching explicit ways to be a good friend helps students in their social life, but it also helps your classroom run smoother. Students are friendly to one another can work well together, making partner and group activities much more successful.

Finding crafts about friendship are an important piece of your crafts about kindness. Friendship and kindness are so interwoven, and it's such a big part of classroom dynamics.

Each Kindness is a poignant children's book that really gets students thinking about the effects of their actions and behavior towards others. It will help them examine whether they are being a good friend to other students who are in need of a friendly word.

Kindness Flower – Acts of Kindness

In this craft for kindness, students write down acts of kindness on the petals of a flower. This helps students think of different ways to be kind throughout their day.

Class Kindness Rainbow – Acts of Kindness

Students brainstorm acts of kindness and add it to a handprint cutout. Make sure you pass out handprints in all the colors of the rainbow. When you put the handprints together in a display, they make a beautiful kindness rainbow! For a larger rainbow, invite students to make more than one handprint.

Read Kindness Is My Superpower with this craft about kindness. It will help students brainstorm different ways they can be kind throughout the day.

Crafts For Kindness

These crafts about kindness will help fill your classroom with positivity and happiness. It's no secret that when students are treating each other kindly, schoolwork and teaching is easier for everyone. Finding time in your week to slip in a kindness craft and book here and there will have undoubtedly have a positive effect on your classroom.

If you're looking for enough kindness activities to use throughout the year or to do a kindness unit, check out my Kindness Activity Bundle. It includes 10 printable craft templates, 5 anchor chart templates, and 5 days of lesson plans with companion books.

Which craft are you excited to use? Let me know in the comments!
xoxo
Laura

Resources For You

Articles For You

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