Inside: Use this Recipe for Kindness for Social Emotional Learning Writing to connect kindness to creative writing skills.
My kids love to cook and bake with me and my husband ever since they were little.
As they got older, the recipes got more complex and they got more independent.
Besides the fact that cooking and baking are essential life skills for everyone, time in the kitchen is a great way to connect as a family, and it sneaks in a little learning: following directions of a recipe, math and fractions and measuring and halving/doubling recipes.
So since we also spend a ton of time focusing on kindness, there’s a simple way to connect kindness and social emotional learning and cooking and recipes: our Recipe for Kindness.
When kids can articulate what kindness is and what they look for when they’re choosing kind friends, and can write down those attributes, it helps kids to speak and act with kindness more often.
Other Social Emotional Learning Writing Activities
Focusing on Social Emotional Learning can be hard when you’re trying to find extra minutes in your day or in your lesson plans. But, if you can double dip and teach more than one thing at one time: like social emotional learning and writing.
When we’re teaching creative writing and expository writing, we connect it to what we’re already learning…in this case, kindness.
Craft and Writes for Every Holiday and Season
Say it or Don’t Say It Writing
And we can use this Kindness Recipe.
How to Use the Recipe for Kindness for Social Emotional Learning Writing
1. Download and print the version you wish to use on colorful cardstock paper (or on white and kids can color in the recipe card). (Download them below!)
2. Cut them apart.
3. Brainstorm with kids all the ways to show kindness. Here’s a few to get started:
-smile at someone
-invite someone to play
-invite someone to sit
-greet people
-hold the door open
-take turns
-play fair
-help others
-give compliments
-let someone go first
-cheer up others
-cheer on others
-helps someone who is hurt
-return a lost item
-share your supplies
-give a hug
-thank someone
-patiently wait for others
-clean up the mess
-write a sweet note
-stand up for someone
-split a treat
-save someone a seat
-say excuse me
-give a small gift
4. Encourage students to choose “ingredients” they would want someone to show them kindness.
5. To connect to math, you can go over different measurements. You can bring in a measurement cup and teaspoons and tablespoons so they can visualize the amounts of fractions.
6. Show them a recipe card so they can see examples of baking terminology they can use when writing the directions: “stir in, fold in, mix in, combine,” etc.
7. Encourage kids to write out the directions to speak and act with more kindness more often on their recipe for kindness.
8. Keep the learning going with these extension ideas:
- Display all the recipe for kindness cards on a bulletin board or make a classroom book.
- Have students share their recipes to practice listening and speaking skills.
- Connect to baking and more math by making Friendship Cookies.
- Use these Kindness Cookies Kind or Unkind Sort
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