Valentine’s month is the perfect time to reset your kindness button and share some simple activities to promote kindness. These quick and easy preschool kindness activities are for your little one to implement each day in February. It’s just the right way to kick-start a friendship preschool theme.
And, bonus, there’s a free printable at the end of this post to help you stay accountable for those small acts of kindness.
The Ultimate List of Kindness Activities for Preschoolers
As an adult, I can vividly remember times I was told that I was not good enough, liked enough, or thin enough. Even sadder is I can equally remember times I was unkind as a result of feeling rejected.
However, I can also remember the feeling of being a helper. Seeing a surprise package on my doorstep from a friend. And circling back to a situation to ask for forgiveness.
Guess which feeling calms my soul and has me craving more?
You got it! Kindness.
Let’s do the same for our preschoolers.
How about guiding our children with simple ideas and activities about being kind to others?
We can be the role models and encourage kindness to become an instinct.
FAQ About Teaching Kindness and Friendship to Preschoolers
One of the best ways to teach preschoolers about how to make and keep friends is by being a model for them during your own interactions with preschoolers. Show your preschoolers appropriate interactions and what it feels like to have a good friend by first being a friend to them.
Show them how to be kind and caring. When you help your preschoolers swaddle their baby doll, or open a cheese stick, or listen to their stories and answer their questions, your preschoolers will notice your kindness and want to be like you.
Modeling friendship is the first and best way to teach preschoolers about friends. Preschoolers also need to learn how to recognize their feelings and to reach out to an adult if they are feeling lonely or hurt.
Including friendship activities in circle time is also helpful. Teach your preschoolers to be good listeners, to respond to things that are said, and to be helpful. Friendship activities for preschoolers should also include collaborative activities and games, and random acts of kindness.
The possibilities for friendship activities are endless. Try playing cooperative games, working together on a single shared art project, doing building activities at the block center, or doing a scavenger hunt together. There are countless picture books that teach preschoolers about friendship, too.
This post features six printable friendship activities; each one is designed specifically to be used with preschoolers and toddlers. They are an easy and effective addition to your friendship theme in preschool.
Around the age of 3, children are starting to play more with each other and are forming new friendships. We talk about what makes a good friend, we do friendship activities, we read friendship stories, and we sing friendship songs. All year long.
Related Reading
Related Reading
Kindness Activities For Kids That Will Last a Lifetime!
These ideas, such as greet your mail carrier, are simple and age-appropriate for preschoolers. They are easy to add to your friendship lesson plans for preschoolers, and can done in kindergarten, too!
Materials
- Blank dry erase calendar
- Red and pink construction paper
- Scissors – to cut the hearts
- Dry erase marker for the ideas on calendar
- Sharpie for the days of February written on the hearts
The Set Up – Create your 28 Acts of Kindness Calendar
The 28 days of kindness teaches children not only how to show kindness, but also how to be a good friend and a helper while teaching social emotional skills.
Consider this a kindness challenge. Print out the calendar at the end of this post, or create one of your own, and spread kindness by doing a random act of kindness everyday for the month of February. It is a perfect way to carry out a friendship theme in preschool.
First, begin choosing your kindness ideas.
Don’t worry, I have you covered here with tons of ideas to practice kindness to get you started.
- Give a hug.
- Leave a snack on your neighbor’s doorstep.
- Greet the mail carrier and say hello.
- Delivery Valentine’s to an elderly home.
- Mail a card to a friend.
- Paint rainbow rocks to hide for people to find at a public park.
- Write a letter/draw a picture for your local firefighters.
- Sweep or shovel your neighbor’s walkway.
- Tell someone close to you that you love them. Draw them a picture.
- Tell your preschooler thank you. They will follow your lead.
- Bake a treat for a friend.
- Allow your preschooler to listen to you tell the grocery attendant you appreciate their help.
- Invite a friend over for a popcorn party.
- Bring your teacher a hot coffee/tea.
- Teach a grandparent or friend this simple pom pom game.
- Pass along a Starbucks gift card.
- Open the door for the person behind you.
- Donate a toy to local GoodWill.
- Donate a pair of new pajamas to a shelter.
- Allow your preschooler to overhear you telling someone why and how you are proud of their efforts.
- Bring a bag of coffee for the school office staff.
- Have a pancake party!
- Bring a nut-free snack to a nut allergy friend. (Double check with the parent on brands.)
- Create a Valentine decoration using items you may already own. Bring to someone you know.
- Say hello to five different people today.
- Bring dirty dishes to the sink.
- Wipe down the table after a family meal.
- Visit pets at a local animal shelter and read to them.
- Compliment a friend or family member.
- Leave a thank you note or Valentine craft with the cashier after checking out.
- Make a kindness jar, or kindness bulletin board. Every time someone feels kindness, they add the name of their classmate to the jar or board.
- Make a bird feeder.
- Pick up litter.
- Draw a card for soldiers or veterans.
- Act out kindness and compassion in the dramatic play center.
- Do the Toothpaste Experiment.
- Play cooperative games.
- Create a kindness tree. When preschoolers witness kindness, they can add a hanging heart to the tree.
Next, write one act of kindness on each day in the month of February.
You’ll want to write these out on the calendar itself.
Finally, cut out 28 hearts and place them to cover the 28 preschool kindness activities (aka days of February). You may also want to write the acts of kindness on the back of each heart, or you can use the printable at the end of this post.
Just be sure to order the hearts and add the days of the month when you put them on the calendar. (If you want to skip the printable, you can also use a Cricut or Silhouette machine to cut out the hearts).
These 28 Acts of Kindness are So Simple!
Now you have your calendar set and ready. Begin to complete the acts of kindness each day.
Stay consistent and try to read ideas at the start of each day. That’s why it’s best to have the hearts on a calendar. You can easily integrate it into your morning routine.
As a result, you are now putting small ideas into your preschooler’s head for future acts of kindness.
Don’t forget you can also grab this as a free printable at the end of the post, too.
#winfortheirfuture
I can promise you, your preschooler will love these small acts of kindness. Remember, sometimes what our preschoolers can offer may seem small and insignificant to you, to an adult. But preschoolers have giant, generous and friendly hearts, so these acts of kindness are meaningful to them!
And be sure to acknowledge their kindness activity with a simple, “That was so kind of you to open the door for that lady at the store.” Or, “I love it when you give your little brother hugs. I can tell he really likes your hugs.” Or, “Don’t you think those kitties at the pet shop really love it when we come to visit them? I think they like it when you are gentle and pet them.”
Want the FREE Preschool Kindness Activities Printable?
Here it is! We will email it to you!
Want more printable Valentine’s Activities?
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I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
Such a lovely idea! I’m always looking for ways to instill kindness n the classroom.