Greetings from the Elementary Counseling office. Character Counts is in full swing again this year. In November and December students were engaged in a variety of lessons that helped them to understand how to be respectful of themselves and others, how to handle situations where others are treating them disrespectfully, and how important it is to demonstrate tolerance and acceptance of everyone. The Golden Rule was at the forefront of those discussions. In the months of January and February, we are studying the pillar of caring. Our discussions about caring are primarily focused on what it means to “fill a bucket,” showing kindness and compassion to others, seeking out opportunities to help others, and building friendships.

This year we will be starting a new Character Counts initiative at the elementary level called Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week. From January 26^th-30^th, students will be challenged to carry out as many acts of kindness as they can in various ways. We will be having discussions all month about what you can do to “fill a bucket,” to help students begin thinking about things they can do to share kindness and caring with others.  The hope is that the spirit of RAK Week will inspire a caring heart in our students for the rest of the school year, and for life. You can help develop the pillar of caring in your student by encouraging them to perform Random Acts of Kindness (RAK’S) in their everyday lives.

Here are some RAK suggestions to try as a family:

·         Bake cookies for a neighbor and leave them on the front porch

·         Visit residents at an assisted living center

·         Make someone a Valentine (especially if you know you might be their only Valentine)

·         Write a letter (draw a picture) of appreciation for someone in your life

·         Let someone cut in front of you in line at the grocery store

·         Shovel a neighbors sidewalk or driveway

·         Sincerely compliment at least three people in your life every day

·         Make dinner for someone who is sick or in need

·         Buy a few extra groceries for the local food pantry

·         Anonymously send someone a bouquet of flowers

There are many more ideas out there! Invite your children to have a conversation with you at the dinner table or while riding somewhere in the car about the RAK’S they could do, or you could all do as a family. Adults have an incredible power to teach children through modeling. If we, as adults, partake in RAK’s in front of our children, and encourage and facilitate opportunities for our children to do so too, then we will be teaching our children a very valuable life lesson about the power of kindness.

““Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”  —Leo Buscaglia