I’ve noticed that many teachers are implementing more and more procedures and activities that  help promote an atmosphere of caring and kindness in their classrooms. Why?I think that the hustle and bustle of life is pretty stressful for all of us-but especially for kids. From getting up in the morning, going to day care-then being dropped off at school, back to day care and then home to a quick dinner and then bed time-or an evening of sports and other activities creates a sense of urgency
and business in their lives- and in ours.  Sometimes my head just spins at what some of my students are doing every day! I think we can all agree that the world is moving much faster than before and sometimes little feet, brains and hearts can’t keep
up! That’s why I decided to put out some ideas on how to make February a month of Kindness through music activities.

Why I think it’s important to bring kindness into the music room-

I’ve shared my feelings about
mindfulness and how to keep stress levels down MINDFUL MONDAY: WHY NOT TEACH STUDENTS TO BE CALM?

That’s Why-

I think that February is the perfect month to share some ideas on how to put a little “kindness” in your classroom because we’re in the sweet spot of the teaching year. We made it past the holidays and we’re just closing in on testing time. So now’s the time to reaffirm the importance for everyone to be KIND!

 How I reflected on how to be more kind-

LISTENING

I’ve changed the way I teach quite a bit over the last few years. I’m spending more time listening to my students and trying to understand what’s going on in their lives. Their world is pretty different from the one I grew up in-and so I find
that if I listen to what’s happening in their world I can relate to them better. This equals more learning time!

SHOWING

I like to think that I am a kind person. And I’m not sure if my students would describe me as such or not-but I’ve been focusing on one student in every class to try to make them feel extra special that day. It’d be great to make the whole class feel
special-and I use many of these tools all the time-but I’ve given myself a challenge to focus on one student every class time.

WAYS TO SHOW

• Try giving more personal attention by helping students with their work individually.
• Sometimes I use a very quiet voice and give a quiet compliment to a student as I monitor the room.
• It could be pulling a student aside and just talking and listening to them.
• Try using tickets, stickers or a reward system so that the quiet students are getting positive praise too!  It’s very rewarding and keeps the
  whole class calm and focused because they see me working with another student and then realize they need to be working too.

If you didn’t watch my TRANSITION IDEAS video, you’ll want to get those ideas because I demonstrate some effective “showing” ideas.  TRANSITION IDEAS HERE.

ONE STRATEGY I USE TO ENCOURAGE KINDNESS

So, here’s how and why I love to give out stickers! I give them out spontaneously when I see something happen that is GREAT! It could be a student following directions, being kind, doing good work, helping out, smiling, being quiet, lining up right. I just stop and say “wow! That is so awesome that you…… you need to go grab a sticker!” The kids love it and I have EVERYONE’S attention back on track.  There’s lot’s of ways to encourage kindness, but mainly, I think by acknowledging that it has just happened is a key element of bringing more kindness into the classroom.

3 MUSIC CLASS KINDNESS ACTIVITIES

In the music room there’s so many fun activities you can do in the month of February to encourage kindness-You can create whole lesson plans on kindness, or just add in a few activities here and there to help students along. IT’S EASY!You can add some of these fun activities into your regular lessons and you’ll be on your way to encouraging kindness.

SING KINDNESS SONGS

I’ve created a special VALENTINE’S DAY PLAYLIST to help you out with your February lessons. You’ll find a nice selection of songs for the week of Valentine’s Day.

DO A KINDNESS DANCE

“Love Somebody” a song from the southern mountains, shared on the Smithsonian Folkways website. Authentic music sung by Jean Ritchie.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SONG “Heel Toe on the Line” a favorite Valentine’s Day Music Class activity!

I’ve included the sheet music, directions and an Mp3 practice track in the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. SUBSCRIBE HERE!

Looking for the full resource?

Subscribe to the Free Resource Library and you’ll have access to this fun dance for your music classes.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!

More Music and Kindness ideas in this Blog post.

CLICK HERE FOR SIMPLE AND INTERACTIVE MUSIC CLASS ACTIVITIES.

Sing this Free Friendship Song

Want the full resource? FRIENDSHIP SONG “I Like You”

RESOURCE INCLUDES:
Games
Video
PDF files
Mp3 Files
Video sing along
Classroom posters
Writing activities
Ink Friendly posters

USE THIS RESOURCE:
Students can sing the song.
Read the Lyrics in Centers or Daily 5 Activities
Complete the writing activity in Centers
Pair and share their writing
Play the Game with the whole class or in small groups.

PLAY KINDNESS GAMES

1 – Use your current reward system to give out extra rewards when you hear a compliment! I give out stickers. Try points, privileges, free time, wrist bands, or treats. Or, print and copy this freebie reward ticket! Or, play this easy game!2- Bean Bag Game: Pass the bean bag around the circle to some fun “friendship” music. When you stop the music, whoever has the bean bag get’s to pay a compliment to someone in the classroom. Quick and Easy to play. 

So, if you are looking for more bean bag activities, you’ll want to read this post on FIVE WAYS TO USE BEAN BAGS in the Music Room.

And, you may want to check out these Bean Bag Resources in the Sing Play Create TpT store.

BEAN BAG ACTIVITY SONGS

You can also get Music Class Bean Bag games at the SING PLAY CREATE SHOP

MUSIC CLASS BEAN BAG GAMES

If you are looking for more bean bag activities, you’ll want to read this post on FIVE WAYS TO USE BEAN BAGS in the Music Room.

FREE KINDNESS MUSIC ACTIVITIES

You may want to use this FREEBIE  composition activity during the week of Valentine’s Day. It’s best for K-3rd grade.  You can find it at my TpT STORE.MUSIC CLASS COMPOSE A VALENTINE SONG USING A COMPLIMENT AS INSPIRATION:
FREE FEBRUARY GAME SONG TO ENCOURAGE KINDNESS

By the way, this POST has more music class Valentine’s Day activities!

FREE KINDNESS MUSIC CLASS IDEAS 

I believe-

Overall, kindness music activities can help you build classroom community and kindness in your students.

Thanks for reading this blog post!

Check out these Kindness Blog posts with Free resources and ideas to make February kindness month.

Hope you’ll share with your teacher friends-