Fun fact: November 13th is World Kindness Day.  Kindness is an incredibly important, yet not altogether often acknowledged character quality that pretty much makes the world go ’round  😉  So in the spirit of spreading kindness, I thought I’d kindly share with you a few favorite thoughts and ideas to inspire kindness in your corner of the world!

– Harvard Psychologist shares five tips for raising kind kids

– Edutopia has a comprehensive list of great reasons to teach kindness including:

• developing altrusim – joyfulness is proven to be contagious and encourage more kind behavior
• better social connections – Kind, happy children enjoy greater peer acceptance because they are well liked.
• greater sense of belonging and self esteem – It’s reported that even small acts of kindness heighten our sense of wellbeing, increase energy, and give a wonderful feeling of optimism and self worth.
• improved health and less stress – Being kind can trigger a release of the hormone oxytocin, which has a number of physical and mental health benefits.
• increased feelings of gratitude – When children are part of projects that help others less fortunate than themselves, it provides them with a real sense of perspective. Helping someone else makes them appreciate the good things in their own lives.
• improved concentration – Having a positive outlook enables greater attention spans and more creative thinking to produce better results at school.
• reduced depression – Dr. Wayne Dyer, an internationally-renowned author and speaker, says that an act of kindness triggers an increase in serotonin, a natural chemical responsible for improving mood. This boost in happiness occurs not only in both the giver and receiver of kindness, but also in anyone who witnesses it.This makes kindness a powerful, natural antidepressant.

– The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has a huge list of fun ideas for spreading kindness.  You can even use filters or a search tool to find the perfect idea by category, relative cost or the time it takes to complete.

– The RAK Foundation also has Ten Simple Ideas to Celebrate World Kindness Day:

– Kindness Elves from The Educator’s Spin On It

– Five Ways to Teach Your Kids to Live Generously from Beauty Through Imperfection

– Kindness Countdown to Christmas from The Good Long Road

– 25 Ideas for Acts of Service for Toddlers from Allternative Learning

– Ideas for teaching kids to be kind, from Kids Activities Blog

What are your favorite ways to teach kids to be kind?  How do you shine your light in a dark world?