Can you imagine just for one moment, if instead of all those apocalyptic films of humanity trying to survive a zombie contagion, that instead the future held a worldwide kindness contagion? Kindness and love spreading over the Earth in a beautiful ripple effect.
Think back to a time when you were feeling low, down in the dumps and generally struggling to rise out of it. Then out of the blue, a complete stranger does something or says something so kind that it literally blows away your cobwebs. It takes you completely by surprise and snaps you out of the all consuming storm clouds that were revolving around your head. Suddenly you can feel your mood lifting as you walk away wondering how lovely and unexpected of that person to bestow this random act of kindness. That feeling, right then? Bottle it. Bottle it and then open that feeling up again and give it away to someone else. Imagine if everyone released that feeling to the next person. Think about a bottle of perfume. That beautiful scent was not made to simply sit in that glass container just to be looked at. That scent was meant to be worn and inhaled by other people as you walk past. That lingering scent left clinging to the air once you have left, leaving a trail in its wake. This bottled kindness contagion could spread like wildfire and soon everyone will have experienced an act of kindness from someone they don’t know.
The Kindness Rocks Project was created by Megan Murphy, a life coach from Massachusetts. The premise is simple, to spread kindness to others by painting rocks with encouraging words on them, words of affirmation, words of life and love and leaving them for people to find. Anyone can take part and getting your children involved is a wonderful way to teach about random acts of kindness. This movement has captured the hearts and minds of thousands not only in America but the whole world.
Children learn by watching and then repeating what they see themselves. Ever heard your child repeating something you’ve said or say regularly in their role playing? They are making sense of the world around them. So these Kindness Rocks are a great way to teach them to start to think beyond themselves. Children for the most part will naturally focus on their immediate loved ones, family and friends. This act begins to encourage them to think beyond themselves to those outside their circle and the impact it can have on others to be kind. These rocks illustrate the power of words and how they can affect those around us. So join with us and create your very own Kindness Rocks to give away. Who knows, you may even find that it becomes a monthly family activity!
Some examples of what to use to decorate your rocks:
- Paint
- Paint pens
- Permanent markers
- Glitter
- Nail varnish and water
- Black paint and metallic pens
All should be sealed with clear varnish spray of a Mod Podge glue to make sure they’ll last in all weathers.
Making Kindness Rocks like ours
What you will need:
- Smooth rocks big enough to write on
- Paint (or any other material you wish to decorate them with)
- Paintbrush
- Sharpie black pen (any other permanent marker will do)
- Mod Podge glue
- Positive words!
Have a discussion with your children before you start or while you are collecting your stones about kindness and ask some open ended questions such as:
- What does kindness mean?
- Can you give a few examples of being kind?
- How does it feel to receive kindness?
- Does that feeling make you want to be kind to someone else?
- Do you think if someone was feeling sad, saying something kind could make them feel a little better and make their day not so sad?
Instructions:
- Have a discussion about kindness with your children. Use the above questions to guide the conversation.
- Together think about some nice things to write on the stones.
- Go out and find some rocks together. They need to be big enough to write on them and with at least one smooth surface for the writing.
- Clean them and dry them.
- Paint them and let them dry.
- Write on them.
- Put them in a bag or basket and disperse them around your neighbourhood for people to find.
As always we want to see your creations, so tag us in your social media!
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