Mr. Rogers and Restorative Justice Practices

So, apparently, I'm just a summer blogger! 😂😂😂😂

In thinking about this upcoming school year in first grade, I've been reading up on restorative justice practices. Restorative justice practices deal in large part with teaching kids how to empathize- especially those who have been trauma-affected. (See Better Than Carrots or Sticks: Restorative Practices for Positive Classroom Management or Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress for more reading and detailed best practices.)

The overarching takeaways are that discipline should be centered around de-escalation and repairing relationships, and that even in exhibiting behaviors, students exhibit strengths which we can use to give kids the ability to draw upon and reapply to many different areas of life.

Then came Won't You Be My Neighbor, the Mr. Rogers documentary! 

Suddenly, everything made sense. Through tear-stained eyes, I left the theater with a new resolve to be as much like Mr. Rogers as possible for my students, especially those who have experienced trauma! From all of those connections, the idea of a Kindness Cup came into being. My cups are all stored at school, so imagine an old dollar bin tin cup from the Target dollar spot. The cup will be situated with writing paper, sticky notes, and envelopes.

Sticks will be standing "hearts up" in the cup. Students take a stick and engage in an act of kindness for the day. After the act of kindness is chosen, the stick should be returned heart down. Depending on the stick, each child might use an envelope to write and place a letter inside, or a sticky note to place wherever the stick indicates. If students get a stick without a letter or sticky note icon, they will be expected to write a plan or reflection about their act of kindness for the day. As I write this, it occurs to me to add a pencil icon on the backs of these so kids remember their expectation is to write a plan or reflection about the kindness task. #workinprogress 😉 

Prompts are provided on the back of the sticks requiring writing to help students get started! Modeling the use of the Kindness Cup center will be key as I plan on having the Kindness Cup be a writing center during reading groups two to three times per week! I'm so excited to help kids see they can make a big difference and then watch the Butterfly Effect of their kindness spread!

What are YOU doing to spread kindness? Please share your ideas!