Kindness challenges bring courtesy to classroom

DOLA — A colorful paper chain spells out the word "kind" on the trophy case at Hardin Northern School. Each link tells how a student has been considerate or someone has been kind to them. Kindergarteners are keeping track of others they see performing acts of kindness by adding pom-poms to jars. And third graders are filling out "A String of Kindness." They've been tasked with completing random acts of kindness not only during the day at school, but also at home and in the community. Afterwards, they can hang a Christmas bulb crafted from construction paper on the string. Shelby Ruhlen, social-emotional learning director at the school, said this week is all about the "On Our Sleeves" Kindness Challenge. The movement was designed by Nationwide Children's Hospital to help bring awareness to children's mental health while challenging families to make kindness a habit and priority. "They (Nationwide Children's Hospital) were talking about different types of kindness since Nov. 13 was World Kindness Day," she said. "So they came up with five days of different kindness challenges." Ruhlen decided to put them together and do them collectively as a school building. "Last year I guess we didn't devote a whole week to it. It was just World Kindness Day. So this year we're just adding to it," she said. "I think in essence we have kind students. We have a great community. And I think it's just bringing awareness to a lot of the great things they already do." Monday's theme was "Brighten Someone's Day," Ruhlen said. "So the challenge was call someone, video chat, draw them a picture, something to let them know you're thinking about them," she said. On Tuesday, students were encouraged to "Be Kind to Yourself." "Here in our hallways we have different positive affirmations that are up, just being kind to you. So be positive when you talk to yourself, think about the things you're doing, do something that you enjoy," Ruhlen said. The challenge Wednesday was to complete at least one act of kindness such as volunteering, leaving a note or eating lunch with someone new, she said. Ruhlen said some classrooms came up with their own ideas. Second graders wrote notes and attached them to the high school students' lockers. Some sixth graders created personalized thank-you cards for staff members who have helped them through the years. And instead of just a week, third graders are continuing with the kindness string challenge through Christmas break. Today has been set aside to "Volunteer or Help Someone," she said, which is tricky this time of year. "Some of them get done in the fall before it gets too cold and a lot of them get done in the spring. So for a lot of our kids, we already do that. But it's just volunteering to help out in some way, spending time together with people," she said. The week will conclude with "Pay it Forward" Friday. "So it's just how being kind can start a chain reaction, and just inspiring others to do kind things as well," she said. The 375-student school district also uses social-emotional curriculum, Ruhlen said. Gratitude is November's theme. "So it goes hand-in-hand with kindness, so they're learning about it in a lot of different ways," she said. "We've talked about gratitude and how it helps us see the positive, sometimes in the midst of chaos and when things that are not so great. And I said, it makes you feel good and then when you show that gratitude or thankfulness elsewhere, it also makes other people feel good, too." Ruhlen hopes the week will become an annual event at the school. She added that some teachers have already offered ideas for other ways to encourage students. "We have a great group of kids here, a great staff is here," she said. "They're already doing things that are bringing some awareness to it and being intentional with the acts that we do. And I think that's what we're really getting out of it this week."