World Kindness Day Activities for Kids
World Kindness Day (November 13th) is an opportunity to show your kids ways to weave acts of kindness into their everyday lives. Get your children involved in thinking, creating, and giving, with these kindness activities for kids.
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What is World Kindness Day?
World Kindness Day is a globally recognized day that promotes ideas of showing kindness to each other, ourselves, and the world. It is a time to learn about how kindness impacts us personally, and globally.
World Kindness Day is on Monday, November 13th, 2023 and there is no better time to focus on the meaning of kindness and incorporate kindness activities into your day with your children.
Being kind can feel just as good, if not better, than someone being kind to us. There are so many ways, big and small, to show compassion to ourselves, each other, animals, and the earth. Today is a great day to start!
An Opportunity to Teach Kids About Kindness
The best way to start teaching your kids about kindness is be their role model. Be kind to everyone you encounter in life – especially in front of your children.
You can also use encouraging phrases or sincere compliments when you interact with them. Smile and laugh with them, and then take a moment to talk about how that felt.
Smiling and laughter are contagious, and kindness can be too. Explain that laughter and smiling can make them feel happy, and it can make others around them feel happy too.
The simple definition of kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, or considerate. Kids can show kindness at home in a variety of easy ways that don’t take a ton of time or cost a lot of money.
World Kindness Day Activities for Kids
Try some of these World Kindness Day activities for kids of all ages! I think you’ll find that these are easy to make into habits that your kids will enjoy regularly.
1. Paint Kindness Rocks
Paint rocks with positive messages or bright pictures for younger kids. Leave them around a playground, or nature area, or take a walk and tuck them into easy spots for others to find.
As World Kindness Day approaches, make sure to take some walks and visit parks that have a few rocks that are good for painting. This is a good time to chat with your child about kindness, what it means, and how we can show it to others.
For kids who are old enough to read and write, I love finding small messages to write with paint along with decorations. Paint pens are a helpful tool for words, but aren’t necessary.
Here are a few ideas that can fit on a kindness rock:
- You rock!
- You are loved
- Peace
- You matter!
- You’re the best!
I recommend using acrylic paint for painting kindness rocks, and using parchment or wax paper for them to dry on before distributing them.
2. Make a Kindness Jar
I love a kindness jar and have had phases of implementing variations of it in my home year-round. World Kindness Day can be the beginning of new ways to have a positive outlook, which makes for beautiful rituals with your family.
- First, get a big jar. I’m personally a fan of mason jars because I use them for everything, but use what you have or thrift something that works for you. Anything goes!
- Place small papers and some pens near the jar, I usually cut up rectangles of copy paper.
- Whenever someone in your home witnesses or experiences acts of kindness, have them write it down on the paper and place it in the jar.
- On World Kindness Day, pull the papers out and read them to the family. This is a great activity to do at dinner to start conversations about kindness and how it impacts us and others.
3. Read Books or Meditate Together On Kindness
Reading books about kindness to your child leading up to Kindness Day can give younger kids a solid idea of what kindness is and how it feels to give and receive it.
Talk to your children about how you can implement any ideas from the books in real life. Are there any relatable lessons in the books, and how can we show kindness every day?
Local libraries are always a great resource for books and kindness! Here are a few book ideas about kindness to read to younger children:
- The Power of One: Every Act of Kindness Counts
- One Drop of Kindness
- What Does it Mean to be Kind?
- The Jelly Donut Difference: Sharing Kindness With the World
Instead of or in addition to reading books, try a guided meditation with your child. This can be a calming way to develop a stronger sense kindness and compassion. Here are some kid-friendly meditation scripts you can try before the day starts, during quiet time, or just before bed:
- Morning Meditation on Kindness and Helpfulness – read this together first thing in the morning on World Kindness Day to set the tone for the whole day!
- Bucket of Kindness Meditation for Kids – based on the book: Have you Filled a Bucket Today: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud.
- Super Hero of Kindness – this meditation is designed to encourage kids to help others.
4. Create Sidewalk Chalk Messages
If your mid-November weather allows, use sidewalk chalk to leave kind messages for passersby. I love seeing these when kids leave them on the sidewalk as I walk by!
This is wonderful for kids of all ages. The younger ones can draw pictures, and older children can write down messages or kindness quotes.
One method I like to use with sidewalk chalk is to put water on the pavement before adding chalk to make bright and more solid colors. Painter’s tape makes for good borders when using sidewalk chalk too.
Here are some kindness quotes to use as messages with sidewalk chalk:
- “When words are both true and kind, they can change the world.” – Buddha
- “Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner
- “It takes strength to be gentle and kind” – Morrissey
- “Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.” – Charles Glassman
- “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan
- “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ― Aesop
- “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” — Dalai Lama
- “It takes courage to be kind.” — Maya Angelou
- “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.” — Helen James
- “In the end, only kindness matters.” – Jewel
5. Show the Earth Kindness
World Kindness Day doesn’t have to only extend its principles to humans, it’s just as important to show kindness to the Earth too.
Raising earth conscious kids is more important than ever, and taking care of Mother Earth is a good way to be kind to everyone and everything that inhabits it as well.
Here are some kindness activities for the earth you can do with your kids:
- Plant a tree.
- Create a wildlife garden
- Pick up litter from a local park.
- Try kid-friendly garden projects.
- Walk or ride your bike.
- Eat from your garden or buy local produce.
- Make an energy conservation checklist to reduce your consumption.
6. Rake a Neighbor’s Leaves
World Kindness Day is the time of year when in most places gardens are being closed down for winter and leaves are falling from the trees.
If you have a neighbor who’s elderly, is busy with very small children, or otherwise finds it difficult to get yard work done, send your big kid over with a rake and a few garden tools to clean things up for them!
Most adults have busy lives, and keeping up with the leaves and dying plants as the weather gets cold can be difficult to find time to do. So if you see a few yards begging to be raked and weeded, head over with your kiddo and get the job done.
It will be a load off of your neighbor’s shoulders, I think we can all appreciate one less thing to do! And your child will be learning to care for others in the process. It’s a win-win.
7. Do Someone Else’s Chores
As you read and focus on kindness activities with your kids, consider suggesting they tackle someone else’s chore list for the day.
If you have a family chore chart, this is a super easy way for kids to see what to do to take a load off of their sibling’s day as an act of kindness. You can help your kids plan, or extend kindness day over a few days so they can each take turns doing each other’s chores.
8. Make Kindness Sticky Notes
Grab some sticky notes and fun pens the next time you’re at the store, so you can teach your kids to write little notes of positivity to make each other feel good around the house.
My kids each have a handmade (by me) sign on their bedroom doors that says “You are loved” because I wanted them to always remember that every day, they are loved in this home.
This is the same idea but can be altered to fit each day and location. Here are a few ideas of what to write on sticky notes and where to put them to get your kids started:
- “You are beautiful inside and out!” on a bathroom mirror.
- “I appreciate you.” on a bedroom door.
- “Have a great day!” on the front door.
- “Thank you for doing my chores for me!” on the chore chart.
- “You’re the best sister/brother!” on their door.
9. Take Care of Pets
Taking care of pets shows kindness to the animal, and it can also feed the giver’s soul. Having a connection with pets is a great way to foster empathy and compassion in your children.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry points out that taking care of an animal can help a child develop social skills, and also states that “A child who learns to care for an animal, and treat it kindly and patiently, may get invaluable training in learning to treat people the same way.”
On this World Kindness Day have your kids:
- Pet and brush the cat.
- Take the dog on a walk.
- Feed the pets.
- Read a story to your pet.
- Make a cozy bed of blankets for cats or dogs to lay on.
- Spend time socializing animals at your local shelter.
- Make a DIY bird feeder for wild birds.
10. Bake and Deliver Cookies
This is one of my favorite kindness activities since I am personally cookie-motivated. Getting your kids time in the kitchen to enjoy the lessons that come from baking. It helps them learn math and supports other sensory, visual, and planning skills.
It also makes for some wonderful connections and quality time together. With that being said, surprise cookies on a doorstep can brighten everyone’s day!
Make up a few batches of cookies, wrap them up on a plate or in tissue paper, and deliver them around to friends and neighbors. Have your kids plan who they’d like to take them to, and the intention of kindness will make any little baker in your kitchen happy.
Here are some of our favorite cookie recipes to make together! Be sure to list the ingredients on your delivery in case of any food allergies.
- These chocolate mint cookies are vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free.
- For an old-fashioned feel, these persimmon cookies use this winter fruit for a cake-like cookie.
- These mushroom cookies have natural ingredients, and use candy cap mushrooms in them!
- Chickpea chocolate chip cookies with Einkorn Flour are a healthier version of the classics.
How will your family observe World Kindness Day? Let us know in the comments!