Happy international day of Education, as well as Compliment Day! Both of these days are incredibly important. Education is important, because it provides us with the knowledge to build our own viewpoints about the world, and our relationship with it. Education also gives us an understanding of many different life skills that can contribute to our well being. Compliments are important, because they contribute to how we interact and build our relationships with another person. They allow us the ability to look at the person and ourselves, and genuinely talk about what we like or admire within them. This influences not only other people's self esteem, but our own as well. Education and compliments are essential to children, because they can influence their development and well being as they go through life. In this post, we have made a list different tips that can help make learning fun, as well as encourage compliments and kindness within children. We have also included a number of books and activities all encouraging compliments.
5 tips for encouraging compliments and kindness
1. Education
One of the most helpful tips for encouraging compliments and kindness within children, is to first explain the subject to them. Kindness can be an abstract idea for children. To help put it into terms that they can easily understand, point out kindness when you see it. This can help develop an idea of the subject. Explain to the children why kindness and giving compliments are important to people, and how it affects them.
2. Demonstration
Another great tip for encouraging compliments and kindness, is to demonstrate it. Any opportunity you have to demonstrate the qualities you want your children to take part in should be used. This can show children the ways in which you can give compliments and demonstrate kindness. It also gives them an understanding of when it's best to demonstrate these qualities, and how they can help change or influence their interactions with others.
3. Encouragement
Encouragement can go a long way with teaching your children about any subject. When it comes to compliments and kindness, we suggest encouraging your children to find opportunities and situations to display these skills. You don't necessarily have to constantly point them out to children, but when you do witness them giving or receiving compliments or being kind, encourage them to keep up with the good character. This can give your children a sense of accomplishment, and they can take pride in being a kind person.
4. Questions
Asking questions is another great tip to help with teaching. Once your children have the concept of kindness and compliments down, you can ask them to help explain it to you. This can give you a good idea of their understanding, and how they can demonstrate it. You can also ask them about how they demonstrated kindness or gave compliments to other people. Ask them questions such as how they were kind, what compliments did they give, how did it make them feel, and how do they think it made the other person feel? This can contribute to your children building better self reflection, and empathy skills; by allowing them to place themselves in others shoes.
5. Make it a game or song
One of the best tips for teaching anything, is to make it a game or a song. Songs allow children to readily learn any subject in a decent amount of time. They also encourage the children to repeat and remember the concepts being taught. Games are a great way to get your children interested in a subject, by allowing them to play with the given concepts in a fun interactive way.
5 tips for making learning fun
1. Make it a game or song
One of the best tips for teaching anything to children, is to make the subject into a game or a song. Games give children an opportunity to get involved in discussions about a certain subject. It also offers children a chance to remember multiple concepts and rules that might surround the subject. Songs, introduce the subject in a fun way, that the children can participate in. Repeated verses or choruses, can help the children remember what they are being taught, without it having to be to complicated. Both ways, are fun and engaging, in a way that children won't view the material in a negative way.
2. Make it hands on
Another great tip for making learning fun, is to turn the subject into a hands-on activity. Some children might find that only listening to a subject, can be uninteresting. When you give children an opportunity to fully engage in the subject hands-on, they can have a better chance of remembering what they're being taught, as well as using the activity, as a way to demonstrate their understanding of the material.
3. Relate to their interest
One positive way to make learning fun, is to relate the subject to the children's interest. This is useful, because you have a chance to expand on knowledge the children might already have. Children also love to talk about the things that they like or are interested in. By relating the material to their interest, you have a better chance of getting them to enjoy and participate in what they are learning.
4. Get creative
When trying to make learning more fun, one tip you should remember, is to get creative. Whether you are teaching new concepts, or trying to expand on old ones, by getting creative, you have a chance to present the information in a fresh and new way. This can include combining our previous tips, and coming up with a personal new technique. Keep the children's interest in mind, as you include games, stories,puzzles, songs and other ways to teach your subject. One of the main things to take into consideration, is what works, and what doesn't work for your children.
5. Demonstrate
One of our last tips, is demonstration. When learning a subject, different concepts and ideas may be hard to grasp or understand. By utilizing any and every situation you have to teach and demonstrate what your children are learning, offers them a better chance of understanding the subject. Demonstrating, also gives children a chance to act out their abilities to show what they know.
5 educational activities about compliments
1. D.I.Y kindness calendar craft
In this activity, children will make their own kindness calendar!
Things You Will Need:
-poster board
-markers
-scissors
-tape
-crayons
-construction paper
Start off by drawing a large calendar on your poster board. Practice going over the days of the week, as well as counting out each day. In each space, use a small section of different colored construction paper. use two small rolled pieces of tape to attach the paper to each square on your board. Write out the number, and come up with a list of different compliments to give. Write each compliment on each square. Once you're finished, each day should be filled with a different compliment. Encourage your children to take and give their compliments to a different person each day!
2. Compliment flower
For this activity, children will think about ways in which they can compliment others and being kind, while practicing their numbers!
Things you Will Need:
-markers
-construction paper
-scissors
-glue
-tape
In this activity, children will think about all the ways in which they admire in other people. Help them come up with a list of ways in which they love and admire those around them. You can divide your list into parts, such as why they like some of their peers, why they like their family members, and why they like some of their friends. Ask them to count how many ways they can come up with. Once they have finished, ask them to draw and cut out a flower and its petals. Each petal should represent one way and quality of their loved ones. Ask them to compare their flowers to each other. How many qualities do they like about their friends? How many qualities do they have of their peers compared to their family? What's their favorite way? This is a great activity that let's your children reflect on how other people's actions can influence how they feel about each other. It also shows them how just many different ways a person can be kind. This activity also opens up a great opportunity for your children to come up with different ways to compliment those around them, and what they love most about them, while striving to be the best version of themselves.
3. Compliment rainbow
In this activity, children will make their own rainbow craft, out of compliments!
Things You Will Need:
-rainbow construction paper
-scissors
-tape
-cotton balls
-glue
-Cardboard sheet
This activity incorporates color recognition as well as vocabulary practice, as children build their rainbows. Start off with asking your children to name each color of the rainbow. Write down the list of colors, and focus on the first letter of each color. Have your children try to name a compliment that starts with the letter of each color. When they have finished, ask them to use the compliment in a sentence. This can include sentences such as "green: Green stars with the letter "G". Generous is a compliment that starts with "G". "I like my mother, because she is really generous". Once they have their sentences, ask them to write the sentence on the coinciding colored construction paper sheet. Using your cardboard sheet, glue multiple cotton balls in the middle for your "clouds". Cut your sentence sheets into strips, and glue them under your cotton balls. Now you have your compliment rainbow! This activity, gives your children an opportunity to recognize and practice new words, while finding a new positive way to describe and compliment others.
4. ABC Compliment vocab
For this activity, children will practice their vocabulary, while learning different ways to compliment people.
Things You Will Need:
-Markers
-Scissors
-tape
-construction paper
To start, help your children come up with a list from "A" to "Z". Next to each letter, have your children think of compliment adjectives to help describe people. Once you have your list, you can have the children draw out each letter on a different color sheet of construction paper. Cut out your letters, and with a different color sheet, write out your compliment words and arrange them on your letter sheet. Cut and tape your words arranged out on your letter. This activity helps children come up with different and fun compliment words, that they can use to describe people, while also practicing the alphabet, and building on their cutting, taping and small motor skills
5. Math compliment activity
In this last activity, children can practice their math skills, while describing their loved ones.
Things You Will Need:
-scissors
-construction paper
-tape
-markers
-clothespins
-twine or yarn
Start by asking the children to list a few people they like or admire. Next, have them list compliments that describe their people. With each person, come up with a certain number of compliments you can give. Once they are finished, have them draw and decorate their people out of construction paper, and other decorative pieces. Using colored paper that matches each person's hair, write out the numbered list of compliments, and cut and tape that the paper person's head. In the middle of the person, write the number of reasons the children love them. Use the clothespins to attach the people to twine, and now you can hang up your people!
Here is a list of books that can help you encourage kindness and compliments within children:
1. Baby Be Kind (Board Book) By Jane Cowen-Fletcher
2. The Kindness Book By Todd Parr
3. Be Kind By Pat Zietlow Miller
4. Kindness Starts with You - At School By Jacquelyn Stagg
5. Kindness Counts: A Story for Teaching Random Acts of Kindness (Without Limits) By Bryan Smith