Activities to Grow Kindness for Preschoolers at Home
One of the things our early childhood learning team hears most when we speak with preschool educators is that kindergarten readiness is far more than foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as critical as they are. Students who enter kindergarten ready to thrive are those who understand basic manners and thoughtfulness. They have developed an awareness of others’ feelings and what respect to self and others looks like in practice. They have learned how to care for their environments, including things like pushing in one’s chair, tidying up one’s space, and placing personal belongings in their assigned cubbies. And they have learned how to share, take turns, and include friends in their play.
In other words, they are learning what kindness means and its power to ripple to others and across classrooms and beyond.
We love learning that more and more preschool educators understand the importance of teaching kindness. Not only does kindness learning help children contribute to a positive and joyful classroom environment today, but it also helps little ones prepare to enter kindergarten ready to take on exciting new challenges with confidence and resilience.
Why Kindness Matters
Abundant research shows that strong social and emotional development in the early childhood years correlates with higher educational attainment, productive employment, and positive mental health well into adulthood.
For 80 years, we’ve had the privilege of exchanging letters and emails with kids. Time and again, they write in to tell us:
- What kindness means to them.
- How they understand it.
- How they feel when they show and receive kindness.
Their wisdom has allowed us to create kindness activities that meet little learners where they are and make practicing kindness fun and confidence-building.
Kindness Activities for Home
Make kindness a habit with little everyday moments. Here are some simple ways families can practice kindness together:
- Talk about feelings. Ask your kid how their day went and how different moments made them feel. Help them name emotions and think about how others might feel too.
- Model kindness out loud. Let your child see you holding the door, helping a neighbor, or thanking someone. Explain the reason behind each moment of kindness. Download our Kindness Bingo Printable to gamify it get everyone involved!
- Practice kindness as a family. Look for simple ways to help others together, whether it’s sharing, taking turns, or doing something kind for a friend or family member. Find random acts of kindness you can do as a family.
Kindness feels good and should be fun! Look for playful ways to model it every day—and know that you won’t just be helping your children learn the joy of kindness, but you will also be giving them a skillset and mindset that will serve them well their entire lives.
It’s important that families reinforce their children’s learning at home—especially true for kindergarten readiness. To help, here are two of our most popular kindness preschool lessons to download. These lessons will help you model different aspects of kindness learning at home.
Mood Cube Activity & Printable
Helping Hands Activity & Printable
Extend the Learning at School
The research is clear that families who reinforce learning at home help their children’s academic success. This can go both ways! Share these activities with your child’s teacher to keep the playful learning going.
