I’m so excited to announce that I’ve updated my book, 5K for Kindness, and it’s available on Amazon!

The 5K for Kindness is a fun walking program that can be done with young people in classrooms, after-school programs, and youth groups. The program could even be adapted for use with the children in your own family.

How it All Started

As a former educator and recreation professional, I’ve had a long career working with elementary students. I always encouraged my students to be kind to themselves and others. Kindness goes a long way, and it’s important for us, as adults, to model it for young people. I was blessed to be able to do that in my classroom for years, but there was one year in particular that it became more important than ever to encourage kindness.

During the 2020-2021 school year, I created the 5K for Kindness to address a need in my 5th grade classroom. This was the year all students returned to the school after it closed due to Covid the previous spring. After spending months at home, the kids were back in the classroom and wearing masks full-time. My students were struggling with anxiety and lack of motivation.

They needed a way to practice being social with each other again. They’d spent months online and lacked experience with talking with their peers in real life. Now that they were back in person, they needed time to practice being with other people.

Everyday for five weeks, we’d head out to recess a few minutes early and walk together. Students walked with a different partner each day. The partners were chosen at random to make sure that everyone had a chance to talk with different people. At first students were nervous about walking and talking with people that they didn’t normally hang out with. It didn’t take long for them to get used to it, and that gave them the important opportunity to practice social skills, gain confidence, and learn to include others. Of course, as the teacher, I circulated around the partners to encourage participation and help ease nerves when needed.

I found that it wasn’t long at all before the kids were excited about taking these walks because it gave them a chance to talk and laugh with new and old friends. They were also asked to create their own plans for kindness and inclusion of others. They put their plans into action that year, and it was a wonderful experience for us all.

The program is designed to be implemented in four 8-10 minute walks per week over a five-week period. Student discussions each week center around a variety of themes:

Week One- Let’s Talk

Week Two- Join Us!

Week Three- Fill Your Cup

Week Four- Lifting Others Up

Week Five- Ripple Effect

The easy-to-read 44-page paperback includes complete directions for implementation of the program, weekly summaries with suggestions for the teacher, reproducible student pages with daily discussion questions, and a student survey.

Continue the Ripple

Whether the 5K for Kindness is done with a class in school, a youth group in church or within a family, it will provide so many worthwhile benefits for the young people involved. The kids will learn to show kindness, compassion, and patience for others. They’ll also learn to communicate well and take care of themselves.

The plans your students make during their walks can really take a life of their own, and your students will be able to create and implement some pretty amazing ideas. All it takes is a little encouragement.

To keep the ripple of kindness going at your school, perhaps you could get other groups involved as well. Maybe you could do a school-wide 5K for Kindness and invite community members to join in.

However you choose to use the 5K, feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

Every small step we take with kindness makes a big impact. Order your copy of 5K for Kindness today, and continue the ripple.