Summer, especially if you live somewhere that gets a real winter, is often the favorite season for many. It’s time for vacations and no school and lazy days at the pool or beach.

Summer is the time to play with friends and ride bicycles around the neighborhood and have water balloon fights.

And for most of us, we spent the first half of the year counting down until summer and summer break and hot days.

We love counting down to summer break with this kindness activities.

Because with all the unstructured days of summer, it’s actually the perfect time to intentionally spread kindness to our neighbors and friends. 

And to make spreading kindness even easier this summer, you can use these Summer Kindness Notes.

Ways to Spread Kindness and Cheer During June, July, and August

If we want to raise kind kids, we have to give them specific and tangible ways they can speak and act with kindness more often.

Because being kind takes practice before it can become a habit for our kids. 

Summer is a great time to help our kids spread kindness to those around them.

You can Countdown to Summer Break with this Kindness Paper Chain or you can use this Summer Kindness Challenge to encourage one act of kindness per week.

You can also encourage more kindness with this Summer kindness Bucket List.

You can focus on volunteering with your family this summer with our June Volunteer Challenge, our July Volunteer Challenge, and our August Volunteer Challenge. 

Or you can get this Summer Social Emotional Learning Bundle that includes 3 summer-themed kind or unkind sort games and 3 summer-themed craft and writes: suns, popsicle and water splashes.

You can read a Summer Kindness Book like this one:

Summer Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness:

You’ll also love this I am Kind in Summer Emergent Reader that focuses on all the ways kids can be kind during the summer months. It also includes discussion starters and writing prompts.

But we also love using these Summer Kindness Notes.

They’re a perfect way to connect with neighbors and spread some cheerfulness and kindness. 

Related: Other Ways to Spread Kindness to Neighbors

How to Use the Summer Kindness Notes

1. Print out the Summer Kindness Notes on cardstock (download them below).

2. Cut out the cards so they’re ready to use.

3. You can write your name on each of the cards or choose to remain anonymous so the notes are more of a random act of kindness.

4. For the lemonade notecard, staple a lemonade packet to the note before delivering. If there’s more than one child at the house, make sure to include the right number of packets.

5. The card asking neighbors if they need help is perfect for anyone living alone, single parents, parents with a newborn baby, or elderly neighbors. Add your phone number to it and deliver it to someone who would most likely need your help this summer. 

Kindness is perfect any time of the year, but intentionally spreading kindness during summer is a lovely way to stay off screens, fight summer boredom and connect with neighbors in a way you don’t have time for during the school year.

Get them here. 

 

The post Summer Kindness Notes Kids Can Give to Friends and Neighbors appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

When I worked as a florist in college, the busiest day wasn’t Valentine’s Day. It was Mother’s Day.

Around the world, people young and old show kindness and love to moms and mother figures on at least one day of the year.

And while we can all agree that moms don’t get nearly enough recognition and relaxation and kindness they deserve, we can do a small something about it…we can teach kids how to show more kindness to moms year round, but especially in May.

To help them understand all the different ways to show love and kindness to Mother’s Day, we can use this I am Kind to My Mom Emergent Reader set.

Other Ways to Celebrate Mother’s Day with Kindness

We love this Mother’s Day Poem we can use as a gift for moms on Mother’s Day or use as a card. It comes with 6 different versions for a mom, mama, mommy, mum, mama, and special person.

Kids can write or copy or dictate their answers to make a sweet keepsake of what kids know and think about their mom. 

Moms will also love these gifts for Busy Moms on the Go.

We can also make these Pointillism-inspired gifts for moms. 

We can use these May Flower Kind or Unkind Sort Game to play.

We can also make this Friendship Flower for our moms by writing adjectives on each of the petals about her.

And we read these Mother’s Day books:

I Love You Like No Otter

Mama’s Day Surprise

What Not to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day 

And we read this I am Kind to My Mom Mother’s Day Emergent Reader.

How to Use the I am Kind to Mom Kindness Emergent Reader

1. Purchase and download the I am Kind to Mom Emergent Reader Set.

2. Print out the version you wish to use: color or black and white and cut them apart. I swear by my paper cutter I bought my first year teaching because I can’t cut a straight line.

If your kiddo has a special person in their life instead of a mom, you can use the write in version so they are included. 

If you use the black and white version, use these skin color crayons so students can color in the people.

3. Read the book together. You can follow up with partner reading, silent reading, group reading, or reading to a class pet/stuffed animal.

4. Students can draw on the interactive page.

5. Use the Discussion Starters to further the conversation about Mother’s Day and moms and why it’s important that we know all the different ways to show kindness.

6

6. Connect the reading with writing about kindness and moms.

And then celebrate Mother’s Day with gusto…get all the candy and the hearts and give the flowers.

Ready to get the I am Kind to My Mom Mother’s Day Emergent Reader Set?

Purchase the I am Kind to My Mom Emergent Reader in our online store. 

Purchase the I am Kind to My Mom Emergent Reader on Teachers Pay Teachers.

The post Mother’s Day Emergent Reader: I am Kind to My Mom appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

Every day, our moms do everything for us.

And to be honest with you, this isn’t news to you.

Because if you’re reading this, you’re probably a mom yourself.

And you do all the things. You pack the school lunches, and help with homework, and know when the next spirit day is at school.

Moms juggle it all and even if our spouses are hands-on co-parents, we still take on the lion’s share.

The mental workload of moms can be shockingly overwhelming.

And hopefully, you’re doing it without mounds and mounds of mom guilt.

There aren’t many days that celebrate all the hard work we do.

But we do get one day.

Mother’s Day.

But because we only get one day, to make it truly our day and spend it the way we want to, sometimes we have to ask for what we want.

What to ask for as a Mother’s Day Gift:

Every mama wants something different to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Some of my mama friends want time with their kids, time with their families and breakfast in bed.

Some of us want time off, time away, and a bit of a break. Preferably with a cocktail and a massage booked at a spa.

But I think all of us would be super happy if our kids took a second and told us how much they appreciate us, how much they love us, and show us how well they know us.

Related: Read our I am Kind to Mom Emergent Reader

So we have to ask for what we want.

And we could ask for a nice piece of jewelry, or a massage or a new bag.

But we can also ask for the sentimental stuff.

We can encourage our kids to show kindness to moms. Even if that mom is us. 

So we can ask our husbands or family members to help our kids fill out a Mommy Is Poem (or Mama Is or Mum Is or Mother Is or Mom Is).

Because it’ll be a snapshot of how our kids see us.

How they think we think.

And how well they know us.

Educators- These make great Mother’s Day cards and gifts! Just ask your students which version works best for them (What do they call their mom?)

How to Use the Mommy Is Poem to Show Kindness to Moms:

1. Download and print the Mommy Is Poem (download it below).

2. Choose which version poem fits best: Mom, Mommy, Mother, Mum, or Mama.

3. Ask your kids to fill out the poem/have your students fill out the poem.

If your kids aren’t readers or writers yet, they can dictate their answers to an adult, to an older kiddo or to you.

For the line, “My Mommy is…” they can write a different line each time or repeat the same line to make it more of a poem.

4. Encourage your kids to color in anything they want.

This can be given as a Mother’s Day card or can be a Mother’s Day present.

I don’t need another Mother’s Day mug or frame or homemade pasta necklace.

But I can always use sweet words from my kids. 

That beats a cocktail and a day at the spa any day.

Download the My Mommy Is Poem here (and all the versions!)

The post How to Show Kindness to Moms on Mother’s Day appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

Teachers deserve all the accolades, all the praise, and all the money.

We all know that no amount of teacher appreciation gifts and teacher luncheons and sweet notes will ever compensate them for educating our kids. 

When we were all quarantined at home, we all quickly learned just how much educators did for our communities. 

So we can join the school board and run for local government to make real change happen in schools and give educators the salaries and respect they deserve and the supplies and safety protocols they need.

But, right now we can do one small thing: we can let our educators know how much our kids appreciate everything they do. 

We can wait until Teacher Appreciation Week in May to thank teachers. We can wait until the end of the school year to thank teachers.

Or we can thank them just because. 

These fun Teacher Appreciation Notes from students are a perfect way to show their current teacher, their past teachers, and their “specials” (music, art, PE, etc.) just how much they are valued.

If you’re part of the PTA or organizing End of the Year Parties, these are also perfect Thank a Teacher Grams where kids can attach a flower or candy to their sweet note and you can deliver them to their mailboxes or classrooms.

Because until we can get our educators the money and the resources and the safety they deserve, the least we can do as a community is to let them know that “their kids” love and appreciate them. 

Other Ways to Show Appreciation to Teachers

There are tons of ways to thank a teacher and show you appreciate them.

When in doubt, here is the number one gift you can give teachers: a gift card with a sweet note professing your undying love to them for helping your child learn and grow and succeed, accompanied by a sweet note written by your child about how they’re the bestest teacher ever. 

You will also love these Teacher Appreciation Ideas:

22 Sweet Ways to Thank Your Teacher- #8 is my personal favorite!

Starbucks Coffee and Tea Order Form 

Teacher Favorites Form So You Give Teachers Exactly What They Want

School Spirit Teacher Appreciation Notes 

And you can use these Teacher Appreciation Books:

Thank you, Teacher!

A Teacher Like You 

A Teacher is The Greatest Gift

Why We Need Teachers

Dear Teacher

We also use these Teacher Appreciation Notes from students they can write to their teachers.

How to Use the Teacher Appreciation Notes

1. Print out the verison you wish you to use, color or black and white and download them below.

These are perfect for Teacher Appreciation Week (1st full week in May), End of the School Year, or just because. And they make great Thank a Teacher Grams. 

2. Kids can choose which of the 20 cards they wish to use. (Here’s a little behind-the-scenes pic of my kiddo writing notes to her teachers.)

3. Kids can write their teacher’s name on the line. They can write or dictate a message underneath (and continue onto the back if needed ) and then sign their name.

4. If you use the black and white version, kids can color in the picture and color in their bubble words. I you use the colored version, kid can color in the bubble letters. 

5. Encourage kids to write these for teachers, aides, and specialists (music, art, PE, librarian, media/computers, etc.). These are also great to write for their past years’ teachers. You never appreciate how truly incredible an educator is until you no longer have them and you’re with an educator who doesn’t reach your kid in the same way. 

6. If you’re a classroom teacher, you can encourage your kids to write them to other staff members, including their teachers from previous years.

7. If you’re organizing an End of Year Party, you can set up a “Thank a Teacher Station” so kids can write notes to current and past teachers and you can put them in their mailboxes later.

8. You can turn them into Flower Grams or Candy Grams and attach a flower or candy to the notecard when it’s delivered.

It doesn’t matter how you use them as long as the educators in your life feel valued, seen, respected, loved, and appreciated. Then let’s all go figure out how to get them more money. 

Download the Teacher Appreciation Notes from Students

The post Teacher Appreciation Notes from Students to Thank Teachers appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

As an elementary school teacher, I always looked forward to the holiday gifts and teacher appreciation gifts my families would give me. I got every teacher gift under the sun, from a gas station card gift certificate to plates of cookies, to a bright red mouse candle glued to a real mousetrap.

Seriously, I could not make that up.

It was the weirdest gift I ever got.

And with the list of everything moms have to do in December, purchasing teacher gifts can often get forgotten until the last possible second.

Between planning classroom holiday parties and practicing songs for the holiday performance with our kids and remembering to make the dish you promised for the PTA potluck, it’s hard to add one more thing to your to-do list.

But let me tell you, teachers love gifts.

Teachers are clearly not in this profession for the money.

They teach because they love making a difference in our kids’ lives.

So it’s nice to shower our teachers with gifts at the holidays and during the first week in May which is teacher appreciation week because it’s a simple way to tell them:

• thank you for everything you do to help my child learn and grow and thrive.
• thank you for being another adult who deals with my kid because I kinda need a break for a few hours
• I want you to know that I know you don’t get paid nearly enough money for what you do and since I can’t fix that, here’s a gift.

So here is the gift every teacher really wants.

5 of the Best Teacher Gift Ideas that All Teachers Want

It can be hard to know what teachers really want when you’re picking out holiday gifts for them or teacher appreciation gifts.

But I have a secret to share.

There is one major thing all teachers really want. What they get super excited about.

And I’ve polled every teacher I know…friends, colleagues and my kids’ teachers.

They all agree.

So to make your shopping easier in December and early May, and to make teachers happier, I’ve compiled a list of teachers’ favorite go-to gifts that we give to my kids’ teachers.

1. Gift Cards Make the Best Teacher Gift:

I can not state enough how much teachers love gift cards. They are seriously the best.

Want to make it cutesy???

Starbucks gift cards– pop it into a to-go cup (Starbucks will happily give you a clean cup and lid) and write, “Thanks a Latte” on the lid.

Target and Amazon gift cards– teachers spend their own money on almost everything they need for their classrooms.  It’s so nice when they can shop with someone else’s money. You can pair a Target card with “I’m right on Target because of you,” and  on an Amazon gift card you can write “You’re an amaz’on teacher!”

Barnes and Noble or a local independent bookstore gift card– most teachers, me included, have a serious book addiction. We can’t pass a bookshop, a book fair, or a thrift store without searching for a new or old book. Help your teacher add to her library with books she really wants.

Purchase a gift card (or a gift) off their favorites list (get it below)- ask your child’s teacher what their favorite things are… favorite restaurant, favorite dessert, favorite candy, favorite hobby and get them a gift card for that. I’ve purchased a frisbee golf disc for a teacher who loves playing frisbee golf, and a gift card to the Olive Garden.

If they like it, I’ll buy it.

Download the Teacher Favorites printable down below. You can literally ask your kids’ teachers what they want. No more guessing.

2. Favorite Drink:

One of my favorite teacher gifts to give is to find out their favorite morning beverage.

Instead of a gift card, my kids roll up to school with their teachers’ favorite drinks to hand them.

We’ve dropped off fresh squeezed oj, Starbucks drinks, and an extra large McDonald’s diet coke.

All it takes is a quick email to find out their drink of choice and leaving the house a few minutes before school to hit up the coffee store. Or the McDonald’s drive-thru.

Use this to help decide what drink to get your kids’ teachers.

3. Teacher Gift for their Classroom:

Another easy gift is to ask teachers what they really want for their classroom. Ask them what the next thing they were going to buy is or what’s on their wish list.

We’ve bought a class book for an upcoming lesson, a rainy day board game, and craft supplies for a project they really wanted to try.

We’ve added money to a teacher’s Go Fund Me Page,  a DonorsChoose.org page, and bought Teachers Pay Teachers gift certificates.

Again, teachers spend their own money every single day on our kids.

This is a simple way to let them keep a little more money in their pocket.

4. A Sweet Handwritten Card from Your Kids:

I know money can be tight, especially when you’re purchasing something for each of your kids’ teachers.

With three kids, it can add up fast. Plus, we have specialists and religious school teachers to shop for.

I loved getting handwritten cards from my students letting me know what they love about me or our class. I still have many of them. My favorite is one that announced how beautiful I was because I wear pretty lipstick.

You know what? I’ll take it. It’s better than a #1 Teacher Mug.

You can use these sweet Teacher Note Cards. 

5. Did I mention Teacher Gift Cards?

Seriously, when in doubt, go with a gift card. Teachers have enough mugs, and lotions and ornaments. They get frames and bath gels and red mouse candles on real mouse traps. pping in the Target dollar bin or go frisbee golfing with their new disc.

And those are the gifts I’m more than happy to give.

Download the Teacher Favorites Printable here. 

If you’re looking for something more personal or crafty or more cutsie, you’ll love these 22 Sweet Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas That Teachers Will Love. 

The post How to Pick Out a Teacher Gift They Really Want appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

When I taught third grade, I had a room partner who was super generous and thoughtful. Randomly, she would bring me an orange juice or a bagel or a coffee when she got one.

And it always came with a smile and a reminder that I deserved the treats because teaching is one of the hardest jobs out there. 

That little treat always made my day so much better. It put me in a better mood. And it made me feel appreciated.

And now that I’m a parent and no longer in the classroom, I make sure to return the favor by paying it forward to my kids’ teachers.

I encourage my kids to take the time to appreciate their teacher and thank them each day…because teaching is often a thankless job. They get paid too little to do too much with too few resources. And that’s in a normal teaching year. Teaching in the middle of a pandemic proved even more how valuable our teachers are.

But teachers don’t often feel valued. 

So a simple way to let our teachers know they are valued and appreciated is to take the time to value and appreciate them.

One of our favorite ways to do that is to drop off their favorite coffee drink on a random school day to brighten their day and start them off on the right foot. 

Other Ways to Show Teacher Appreciation

Official Teacher Appreciation is the first week in May every year.

And Room Moms and PTAs go big during this week…which is great. Teachers get flowers and cards and parent-sponsored lunches.

But it’s also important to let teachers know they’re appreciated way sooner than May. 

We love these 22 Sweet Ways to Show Teachers Appreciation. 

You can gift them with these Teacher Appreciation Notes.

We also love sending them this Teacher’s Favorites Sheet for them to fill out so we know what they love and can give more personalized gifts.

Here’s how we appreciate teachers during a pandemic while social distancing.

And this is the Number One Gift All Teachers Prefer. 

But we also love randomly dropping off their favorite drinks to them throughout the year.

I tend to drop off drinks on the day after Halloween, which is the worst day to teach.

But before you can send a drink to school, you have to know what their favorite drink is. 

One year, I asked my son’s teacher what she wanted and she gave me her Starbucks order. I assumed it would be a similar Starbucks drink for my daughter’s teacher. When I asked him, he shyly said, “Actually, I don’t drink coffee. But I love Diet Coke from McDonald’s.”

So we made two stops the next morning on our way to school…the Starbucks drive-through and the McDonald’s drive-through.

But our thoughtful gift of appreciation would have fallen flat for my daughter’s teacher if I hadn’t asked what he wanted to drink.

How to Use the Favorite Drink Order Printables:

1. Since we don’t know what our kids’ teachers like until we ask, download and print out the Favorite Drink Order Printable (download it below).

2. Cut out the order form and send one with each of your kids (or if you have a middle or high schooler, have them choose their favorite teacher). You can use the Starbucks order form or if you have a local coffee shop you prefer or another coffee chain, send in that order form.

3. Once you get the drink order forms back, choose a morning when you have a little extra time and can get through the drive-through line before school drop-off.

4. Encourage your kids to fill out a little notecard to go with the drink. There are coffee ones and tea ones, depending on their teacher’s drink of choice.

5. Drop off the kids, the coffee/tea and the notecard when you can.

6. Next month, fill their drink order again or send in a drink order form to a school staff member who rarely gets appreciated or thanked: a teacher aide or the school nurse, or the school custodian.

7. Know that a $4 coffee and the time you took to get it will make a teacher feel appreciated. There’s no need to wait till May’s official Teacher Appreciation Week.

The first time my kids climbed out of the car with their backpacks and their teachers’ coffee and McDonald’s Diet Coke, I knew their teachers’ days would be slightly better…just like mine was years ago when I got my orange juice and bagel.

Download the Teachers’ Favorite Drink Order Printable here.

The post Celebrate Teacher Appreciation with Teacher’s Favorite Drink appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

Teaching can be a thankless job.

Most things teachers do go unnoticed and unappreciated by their students and their principals.

It definitely goes unnoticed by the person calculating their salary.

But at the end of the day, teachers are in it for the kids. They want to help our kids thrive and learn and grow.

Because honestly, why else would they still be doing what they’re doing?

So there is one time during the year when it’s our turn—the parents’ turn—to ensure our teachers know how much we really do appreciate them. Value them. Kind of revere them.

Because let’s face it: could you be locked in a room with 25 five-year-olds all day long and live to tell about it?

Probably not.

How about a room full of moody pre-teens for 56 minutes? Most definitely not.

As a former teacher and a current parent of three school-aged children, this is my public service announcement: MAY IS TEACHER APPRECIATION MONTH.

But in case you do miss it, a teacher appreciation gift is very appreciated at any time during the school year.

Trust me.

But what to give them as a thank you?

Know you can always buy a gift card. When in doubt, always buy a gift card. It’s what most teachers really want. 

But if you have your heart set on something more personal, or want to add something sweet to the gift card, here are my go-to ideas I’ve used in the past, or plan to use this May.

This list of teacher appreciation ideas ranges from Martha-Stewart-level-crafty on down to pulling something together the night before.

Teacher Appreciation Ideas and Teacher Thank You Present Ideas:

1. Did one teacher teach all of your kids? Create something that includes all of your kids to showcase their years of service.

2. Feeling organized? Send an email to each parent and have them send in one flower from their garden or the store. Stand outside the classroom in the morning and put each of the flowers into a vase for a sweet, but kind of disheveled bouquet.

3. Use their handprint on a potted plant, an apron, a canvas, or a poster board. Cute little phrases like, “Thanks for Helping Us Grow” and “Thanks for the Helping Hand” make most teachers smile. Or you can use these free teacher appreciation printables to create gifts.

4. Feeling creative and have lots of patience? Spell out “Thanks” with the kids’ bodies.

5. Not feeling crafty? Did I mention buying a gift card? Craft stores, movies or restaurant cards are all perfect. It really doesn’t matter. A colleague of mine once got a gas card and swore it was the best teacher gift she ever got. And it doesn’t need to break the bank. A $5 gift card so they can go get coffee would be perfect. Put it in a paper to-go cup and write “Thanks a Latte” on it.

6. Buy a gift for the whole class… a new book, an educational game, or craft supplies. Ask the teacher what they could really use in their classroom. My daughter’s first-grade teacher wanted tissue boxes and hand sanitizer because she was tired of catching their colds.

7. Have a class pet? Make a cute sign for the animal’s home to spruce up the cage.

8. Gift them Margaret Wise Brown’s The Important Book and have your child tell you what they think the most important thing about their teacher is. You can create a poem similar to the ones in the book and glue it to the front page. My daughter’s Kindergarten teacher told me she cried when she read it!

Edited to add: my daughter is now in 5th grade and her Kindergarten teacher seeks me out once a year to remind me how much she loves this book. She reads it to her class every year and they write their own Important Poems.

9. Have your child draw, dictate or write them a card. Sweet words from students are always appreciated. I still have one from a student who thought I was beautiful because my lipstick was pretty. You can use these printable Teacher Appreciation Notes. 

10. Find out what your teacher loves…their favorite sweet, favorite color, favorite book genre, favorite hobby, favorite drink. Get them something you know they’ll love. Get this FREE printable and find out what their favorites are so your teacher appreciation ideas are perfect for your kid’s teacher!

11. Write them a letter from you and tell them how important they’ve been to your child and to you. It feels good to hear it sometimes.

12. Bring in fresh juice and a bagel and set it on their desk. That will make any teacher’s morning better.

13. Have lots of pictures? Make a collage they can hang in their classroom.

14. Let your child pick something out they think the teacher might like and attach a note explaining why they thought it was the perfect gift. One year I got a bright red mouse-shaped candle glued to a real mousetrap. Looking back, I really would have loved to have heard the story on why that was the right gift for me.

15. Ask them what their favorite morning beverage is and make a coffee run before school. When I handed a teacher her green tea before the morning bell even rang she had this look in her eye that might have been true love.

Use this Favorite Drink Order form to bring them their drink of choice. 

16. Buy their initial at the craft store and glue on cute clothespins. It’ll be an instant desk organizer or picture holder.  You can add a sweet note or one of these teacher appreciation idea quotes.

17. Feeling super organized? Send an email to the other parents and have them ask their kids what they love about their teacher. Older kids can email you one adjective that describes their teacher. Collect their responses and write it down on poster board.

18. Glue crayons or pencils onto a frame and stick in a picture of the whole class. Print it from their class website if you need to.

19. You can rarely go wrong with potted plants, flowers from the store, or flowers straight out of your garden with the roots still hanging on. Teachers keep jars in their classes for this purpose.

20. Donate money towards their GoFundMe or Donor’sChoose.org projects. Get them one step closer to their iPad or whiteboard or PE equipment.

21. Bake some cookies and send them in with a note about how sweet they are or how your student is becoming a “Smart Cookie” because of them. Or buy some cookies from the store. A sugar pick-me-up is always appreciated, no matter how it was baked.

22. Bring in a box of donuts for the staff lunchroom with a note about how you “Donut what you’d do without them.” That’s a recess the teachers will especially look forward to.

The bottom line is, you can’t go wrong when you’re thanking a teacher.

This is the time to show them how much you appreciate how hard they’re working to teach your kids.

And it really truly is the thought that counts when you thank a teacher. Unless you’re buying them a bright red mouse candle attached to a real mousetrap.

Then, they might also need a cookie.

Get the Teacher Favorites Survey here to find out what your kids’ teachers really love.

The post Teacher Appreciation Ideas: 22 Thoughtful Gifts Teachers Will Love appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

My kids love celebrating Easter. They love the bunny pancakes I make them, dying eggs, and of course the goodies the Easter Bunny leaves for them to find.

So they love counting down to Easter every year.

And instead of just asking Alexa every day how many days are left until the Easter Bunny comes, we’ve created a way to incorporate a countdown to Easter and more kindness activities.

Every day, as we get closer to the holiday, my kids and I do one of these kindness activities.

Related: Sneak in some kindness activities into your Easter Egg Hunt 

These Easter kindness activities are perfect for spring and include being kinder to the earth, kinder to neighbors and spreading some Easter cheer.

Why Should We Even Do Kindness Activities?

We are on purpose raising our kids to be kind.

We talk about it all the time with these 60 kindness discussion starters. We have them say this Kindness Promise and these Kindness Affirmations.

We read kindness books. 

And we have made Being Kind one of our two family rules.

We do this Spring Kindness Challenge and this March Volunteer Activity and this April Volunteer Activity. 

But we also have to inspire them to act. We have to encourage them to act with kindness. And most kids have no idea where to even start.

So we need to help them show their kindness by giving them ideas on how to be kind more often.

We use Kindness Elves to inspire them to be kind and we use these fun paper chain countdowns around holidays to spread a little extra kindness.

And we use these Easter kindness resources.

Other Easter Kindness Resources:

Encourage more kindness with this Kindness Easter Challenge positive reinforcement printable.

Practice being kind before Easter with these Easter Role Playing Cards. 

Get all of our Easter kindness resources in one place with this Easter Kindness Bundle. 

Hide these Easter Egg Kindness Notes in your plastic eggs during your Easter Egg Hunt.

Sort the bunnies into the kind or unkind Easter baskets to play this Easter Kindness Game. 

Read this printable Easter Kindness book about all the ways to be kind during Easter.

Supplies Needed for Easter Kindness Activities:

• 1.5-inch x 10-inch construction paper strips
• stapler and staples
• scissors
• gluestick
• downloaded the kindness activities (download below)

Related: Do your kids love crafts? They’ll love this Easter craft 

How to Make the Paper Chain Countdown:

1. Download and print the 15 Easter Kindness Activities Sheet (download below).

2. Cut the strips apart.

3. Glue the strips onto construction paper strips.

4. Turn the first strip into a loop and staple.

5. Link the next strip through the first loop and staple.

6. Continue until all the links are looped through.

7. Hang the Easter Kindness Paper Chain somewhere you’ll see it.

15 days before Easter, rip off one of the links and do the kindness activity together.

Because Easter changes dates every year, you’ll have to do a little math to figure out when to start this paper chain countdown.

Continue every day until you get to Easter and you will have done 15 Kindness Activities.

Want to keep going with kindness and raise kind kids?

Try our 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge or Kindness Tic Tac Toe.

And join our Raising Kind Kids Facebook Community.

We’d love to have you join our tribe of parents who want to raise kinder kids.

Resources Needed for the Activities:

• To send an Easter Card to a child in the hospital, click here or click here.
• To figure out where to donate filled Easter baskets, search for “donate Easter baskets” and your city name.
• To find your closest Ronald McDonald House, click here.

Click here to download the Easter Kindness Activities Printable:

The post 15 Easter Kindness Activities to Raise Kinder Kids This Spring appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

The post Kindness Valentines to Spread Kindness this Valentine’s Day appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.

Valentine’s Day is a lovely time of the year.

Maybe it’s the candy hearts with messages printed on them or Valentine’s Day card exchanges, or the sweet notes that come with chocolate, but it’s a wonderful thing to look forward to during the cold winter months.

And since Valentine’s Day focuses on love it’s a great time to focus more on kindness and generosity and helping those around us. 

So to encourage even more kindness during February we use Valentine Kindness Notes that tell classmates and adults why they’re important to us.

We use these Kindness Elves to inspire more Valentine kindness as we countdown to Valentine’s Day with this, we play this Valentine’s Day gross motor jumping game, we use this Free Valentine’s Day mad libs, we make these Felt Valentine Hearts  and we use a tutorial on How to Weave a Paper Heart.

And we also intentionally teach what is kind and what is not kind with this Valentine Kindness Kind or Unkind Sort. 

How to Encourage Kindness During the Winter Months

Valentine’s Day is all about love, but treating people with love is really about treating them with kindness and treating them the way we want to be treated.

But we can keep the kindness going all winter long with these kindness activities that are perfect for February: 

Valentine’s Day Kindness Notes

Freebie Valentine Cards for Classmates and School Adults 

February Volunteer Challenge (it takes five minutes!) 

Winter Kindness Notes

Winter Kindness Challenge

Want more Kind or Unkind Sorts perfect for Winter?

Mittens Kind or Unkind Sort

Snowmen Kind or Unkind Sort

Hot Cocoa Kind or Unkind Sort

Connect Kindness with Valentine’s Day Through Books:

We also love reading Valentine’s Day books and our family definitely has favorites:

The Runaway Valentine

You Are My I Love You

A You’re Adorable 

The I Love You Book

Oh, Valentine, We’ve Lost Our Minds (chapter book)

The Valentine Bears 

Valentine’s Day

Lego City Wrecking Valentine’s Day

How to Use this Valentine Kindness Activity:

1. Purchase and download the Valentine Kindness Kind or Unkind Sort.

2. Print and laminate the cards and the Kind or Not Kind Envelopes.

If you print them in black and white, you can color the cards first. You can use these skin color crayons.

3. Cut apart the cards.

4. Go over the pictures on the cards to make sure the children understand what the picture shows. You can use these as discussion starters before or after the activity.

5. The kids will sort the cards by kind actions or unkind actions by placing the cards near the correct Valentine envelope.

They can do this in small groups,  independently, or you can do it as a whole class.

You can also turn it into a “game” by placing the cards face down.

6. To follow up the activity, kids can draw a picture/write how they will choose to be kind this Valentine’s Day. They can use either writing sheet depending on their writing level.

Ready to Purchase the Valentine Kindness Heart Kind or Unkind Sort?

Get it in our store here. 

Get it on Teachers Pay Teachers here. 

The post Valentine Kindness Activity Kind or Unkind Sort to Teach SEL appeared first on Coffee and Carpool: Intentionally Raising Kind Kids.