Encourage your kids to be helpers with these FUN and FREE Activities
Full lesson including examples, activities, and why helping others is so important + FREE resources to make teaching this important skill EASY!
Always being on the lookout for ways to help keeps you focused on others instead of yourself. This will allow you to find many opportunities to connect with people and develop into a kind person. A key to encouraging children to become a helper is to use the words “be a helper” rather than “helping”.
“A really important distinction is that being a helper is something about the kind of person who you are. It changes it from a behavior that you do or you don’t do into something that has implications for who you are or who you are not.” – Allison Master University of Washington
Example:
You: You see your teacher carrying supplies into the classroom. Her arms are very full and she is struggling to open the door and get everything inside.
Good Response:
You: You ask your teacher if she would like help carrying the supplies inside. She is very grateful for your help!
Bad Response:
You: You keep playing on the playground and think to yourself that she will get all the supplies in eventually.
Activity:
“How can I Help” Game
Instructions: Have children divide into pairs. One is designated as the “helper” and one is the “helpee”. Give the children a printed copy of the puzzle. The kids will work as a team to complete the puzzle but the helpee will be the one moving the pieces, and they can only move pieces when they ask to offer their help, for example “how can I help”, or “would you like me to move this piece here?”.
Takeaway: Children will learn ways to communicate offers of help. And, when we do offer to help we not only help the other person but find joy for ourselves, just like the joy the children will feel when they complete the puzzle together!
Discussion Questions:
- What are some things that make it difficult for you to help others?
- Why do you think helping others is important?
- Have you had an experience where others helped you? How did you feel?
- How can we be helpful this week?
Book Recommendation:
“I Can Help” – David Hyde Costello
Resources for this Week:
Receive these for FREE by clicking the button below + you will receive new resources each week for each week’s theme.
Plant Daily Seeds of Kindness Poster Log:
As your kids complete acts of kindness either from drawing ideas from the jar below, or coming up with ideas on their own, they can color in a seed. You can encourage them to do one a day, or more if you would like. Consider having a reward planned when all the seeds are colored in, but the habits of kindness they will develop are the ultimate reward! We have printable options for 24 x 18 in and 36 x 24 in.
Jar + Seeds
Place this week’s label on the jar and then cut out the seeds or create your own for kids to pull out each day. Each seed has an idea of how to be a good listener for the day, to practice the skill and develop a new habit of listening to serve.
- Practice Making Eye Contact while listening.
- Ask someone a question to get to know them.
- Set aside 5 min to listen to someone having a bad day.
- Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while.
- Visit a neighbor and listen.
- Ask someone a clarifying question as you listen to them.
How to Include Others Activity Page
Not just a coloring page. This activity page is a review of how we include others + tactile practice folding, coloring, and cutting. Discuss with kids ways to include others.
Kindness Journal Pages
A summary of the lesson included on this page + activities, riddles, games, writing prompts, and more! These pages are taken from our Kindness Journal which is available for purchase through Amazon. If you don’t want to print your own pages each week, click the button below!
- Weekly topic on kindness to work on individually or as a family/classroom.
- Lesson detailing why it is important to work on that area of kindness, how to do so, and an example.
- Activity page including games, activities, writing, and more!
- Weekly Journal Page to write about the week
- Collectable quote page to hang on the wall as a reminder of the week’s topic.
