RAK in Honor of Sandy Hook

December 14, 2012  is a date that sticks in a lot of teacher's minds. It is the day that a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 children and 6 staff members.    Like many people, I was in shock that something so horrific could happen in a school.  Children (and staff) should never be afraid to go to school. 

The victim's families of Sandy Hook have asked that December 14 be designated as a day to perform Random Acts of Kindness to honor those who lost their lives.  

(Tell Newtown Your Kindness Story)

A Random Act of Kindness are gestures done purely to be kind or generous to someone else.  It could be a teacher, or student, family member, or stranger.  The best part about a R.A.K. is that there really are no rules or limits to what you can do to help someone else.

I have begun a list of things that YOU (and I) can do to give back.....

1.   Write a card/letter to a soldier deployed.

2.   Send a hand made Christmas card to a nursing home.

3.   Bring a plant to a neighbor.

4.   Purchase a cup of coffee (cocoa, or tea) for someone you don't know.

5.   Send an anonymous donation to a charity.

6.   Bring dog/cat food to an animal shelter.

7.   Collect canned food and deliver it to a local food bank.

8.   Volunteer to read stories to kids at a library.

9.   Schedule to visit a nursing home to sing songs, play games, & visit with residents.

10. Ask to help carry groceries for someone at the grocery store.

11. Donate books to a library.

12. Donate to Donor's Choose to help fund a classroom project.

For other ideas,  check out the Blog post 31 Days of Giving by a friend of mine from High School, Jenny Mac.  She wrote about ways to GIVE during the holiday season.  The ideas are pretty insightful, and most don't cost anything to complete. 

I created this festive holiday card to be used to write thoughtful notes as a R.A.K. project!  Click the image to download the cards.

On Teachers Pay Teachers,  I found a couple free products that focus on Random Acts of Kindness.

 A Year of Many Firsts published this packet, "We are Kind Kids."  Click on the image to be taken to TPT to download it.

Susanna from Whimsy Workshop Teaching created this cute activity book.

Click on the image to visit TPT to download this wonderful packet.

I will be sharing more about how Crayonbox Learning gives back later this week.  Thank you for sharing your time with me.  Have a great week!