Students are given an opportunity every day to look out for acts of kindness by the classmates and teachers. If anyone notices somebody going out of their way to show kindness and love to another person, they may "nominate" that individual by writing (or having a teacher write) the student's name and the kindness they shared on a small paper heart. All teachers collect these hearts until the end of the week, when they give it to me. I calculate which students were nominated the most in each grade, and take a picture of them to put on the bulletin board, where the kids are holding a white paper. With it being the middle of February, I am so joyful to see the nominations pouring in and the tree blooming beautifully. If you have a moment, come check it out before or after school!
K-2 classes are continuing as usual, with the focus being on Kindness. We have had lessons on showing love and kindness to family members, being thankful for the School Counselor (that's me!!) for National School Counseling Week, and "filling each others' buckets" (see the book, "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud for more information!). It's been wonderful to see students take these things seriously and practice what I teach.
Next month begins Career Month, where we get to learn about applications and interviews, jobs and careers, personality assessments, and much more. I'll get to teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes, too, so I'm really happy about that. :)