T’is the Season….
“The ‘Service’ you do for others is the rent your pay for your room here on Earth.” Muhammad Ali
2016 has been a tough year in many ways. The presidential election has shown an ugly side of America. Educators and parents have been given a jolt. If you want a kinder, more inclusive America, then set examples and offer opportunities for your family and community. This holiday season is a good time to start.
Teaching children to become givers of kindness helps curb bullying, enhance friendships and make the world a more peaceful place to live.
According to an article by Lisa Currie, research shows there are a number of physical and mental health benefits that can be achieved by being kind. Altruistic actions trigger a release of the hormone oxytocin, which can significantly increase a person's level of happiness and reduce stress levels. Oxytocin also protects the heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing free radicals and inflammation. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-kindness-essential-reduce-bullying-lisa-currie
In my own home, we sponsored a family who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union. We helped set up their apartment, my children gave them some of their toys and clothing, and my teenage daughter gave the children piano lessons. We included this family in birthday festivities and other holiday celebrations. My children, now grown, continue to have a close relationship with this family. A sense of empathy or “standing in someone else’s shoes,” is the foundation for kindness and respect.
Consider establishing a kindness project in your home.
You could:
· Schedule regular visits to an “international house” that provides services to new immigrants in your community, or a home for senior citizens
· Help at an animal shelter or pet store
· Help at a food assistance program
· Volunteer together at your local public library
· Make placemats, get well cards or other art projects to send to a hospital
· Spend time with grandparents or a neighbor
· Make a special effort to include those who may feel excluded for whatever reason. Invite a family for dinner or have a play date with the children from a marginalized family.
· Send someone with an illness a homemade happy card
Instead of buying the usual gifts for friends and loved ones, consider making a donation or gifting a membership in their honor to organizations that fight racism, discrimination and xenophobia:
· ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) membership is just $20.00.
· Anti-Defamation League
· Southern Poverty Law Center
· UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
In addition, I’m a big advocate of encouraging a love for reading. Plus, stories can inspire action. So head to the library and while you’re there check out some of these books that show kindness and respect in various ways:
Picture Books:
A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead
Dario and the Whale by Cheryl Lawton Malone
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Emmanuel’s Dream, The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson
Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson
Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Middle Grade and YA:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz (YA)
Booked by Kwame Alexander (MG/YA)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (MG)
El Deafo by Cece Bell (MG/YA)
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan (YA)
Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (MG)
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (MG)
The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz (YA)
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt (MG)
Happy Holidays. Let’s show 2017 that we care.