Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Random Acts of Kindness Day or Week. For official information, resources, and to learn more about the movement, please visit the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website: www.randomactsofkindness.org.

Understanding Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week in EYFS & KS1

Let's sprinkle kindness everywhere we go! ✨💖 Random Acts of Kindness Day is an annual observance, celebrated globally on February 17th. This day is often part of a broader 'Random Acts of Kindness Week', typically taking place in mid-February, aiming to extend the focus on compassion. These initiatives are championed by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to making kindness a widespread norm. The core idea is simple: to encourage people to commit intentional or spontaneous acts of kindness throughout the day and week, demonstrating the powerful ripple effect that even small acts of compassion can have in spreading positivity.

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this theme provides an incredibly valuable and practical opportunity for exploring personal, social & emotional development (PSED), empathy, relationships, communication and language, and understanding the world. It's about nurturing children's natural capacity for empathy, teaching them the joy of giving, and actively demonstrating how their actions can positively impact others. This day and week offer fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about social responsibility and emotional intelligence both heartwarming and foundational.

Why Is Teaching About Kindness & Empathy Important for Young Children?

Integrating Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is great for building their social-emotional intelligence, fostering positive relationships, and creating a compassionate classroom or home environment.

• Emotional Intelligence: Helps children understand their own feelings and the feelings of others, leading to greater empathy.

• Positive Behaviour: Encourages prosocial behaviours like sharing, helping, and comforting, reducing conflicts.

• Strong Relationships: Builds a foundation for healthy friendships and respectful interactions.

• Sense of Community: Teaches children their role in creating a positive and supportive group environment.

• Self-Esteem: Children feel good about themselves when they perform acts of kindness and see the positive impact.

• Communication Skills: Promotes talking about feelings, expressing appreciation, and communicating kindly.

Engaging Kindness Activities for Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week (0-7 Year Olds)

Make Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week a truly joyful and impactful experience with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on doing good deeds, showing appreciation, and spreading happiness! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our extensive 'Kindness & Friendship' and 'Feelings & Emotions' resources.

Here's some inspiration for making kindness the norm in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• "Acts of Kindness" Challenge: Create a "Kindness Jar" or "Kindness Tree" where children can add notes or leaves whenever they perform an act of kindness. Use 'Acts Of Kindness’ Activity And Display' to track and celebrate these moments.

• Brainstorming Kindness: Discuss different ways we can show kindness at home, in school, and in our community. Use 'Acts Of Kindness’ Mark Making/Drawing/Writing A4 Sheet' for children to draw or write their ideas.

• Kindness Prompt Cards: Use 'Let’s Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let’s Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Cards' to inspire specific acts of kindness (e.g., "Help a friend," "Share a toy," "Give a compliment").

• Focus on Friendship:

  • Encourage children to think about what makes a good friend using 'Kindness And Friendship - ‘What Makes A Good Friend’ Mark Making'.

  • Have children draw or write about their friends with 'Kindness And Friendship - 'My Lovely Friend' Mark Making'.

  • Make special cards for friends using 'Friendship' Card Templates’ and ‘Thank-You For Being My Friend!' Cards'.

• Celebrating Kindness:

  • Recognise kind actions with 'Kindness And Friendship - Display Certificates/Notes' and 'Kind To Me' Display Certificates/Notes'.

  • You could even use 'Fairies - Friendship Fairy (award sheets)' to acknowledge exceptional acts of friendship.

• Understanding Emotions & Empathy:

  • Discuss feelings and how our actions impact others' emotions. Use 'Emotion Of The Day' - Display’, 'I Am Feeling...' - Emoji Cards', 'What Happens When You Feel...' - Prompt Cards' and ‘How Are You Feeling Today? Playdough Mats'.

  • Explore why Teddy might feel happy or sad with 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Sad?' Activity Pack' and 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Happy?' Activity Pack'.

  • Help children process difficult emotions with 'When I Feel Worried - Prompt Templates' and 'When I Feel Angry - Prompt Templates'.

• Connecting with Others:

  • Promote positive social interactions using 'Let’s Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let’s Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Cards'.

  • Encourage self-awareness and celebrating individuality, which helps children appreciate others. Use 'All About Me' resources like 'Make It' Challenge Cards', 'Feelings Station Display', 'Footprint Name Line-up', a themed 'Self-Portrait Display’ -’Decorate A 'Patchwork Person'', ''When...Was A Baby' Booklet', and ''When I Grow Up' Sheets'.

• Movement & Well-being: Link kindness to activities that make us feel good physically and mentally with 'Let’s - Get Moving - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let’s - Get Moving - Activity Prompt Cards'.

• Explore More: Please visit our ‘Kindness & Friendship’ page and our ‘Feelings & Emotions’ page for an extensive catalogue of related resources.

These activities offer great inspiration for making Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering empathy, social responsibility, positive relationships, and a truly kind community.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

A selection of Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week’

Resources to help foster ‘Kindness & Friendship’ amongst EYFS & KS1 children

Please visit our ‘Kindness & Friendship’ page to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme.

Resources to help foster ‘Empathy’ amongst EYFS & KS1 children

Please visit our ‘Feelings & Emotions’ page to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme.

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for February

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, which champions this initiative, other than providing their official website as a source of information about the movement. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information, resources, and to learn more about making kindness the norm, please visit their website at www.randomactsofkindness.org.