Being Kind
Random Acts of Kindness Day is on 17th February 2025
by Brian Radcliffe
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the importance of small acts of kindness.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Being Kind) and the emasn to dispaly them.
- The relevant verses from the teaching of Saint Paul are found in 1 Corinthians 13:4, Galatians 6 :10, Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:12
Assembly
- Ask the children what the word ‘kindness’ means.
Listen to a range of suggestions. - Explain that the dictionary definition of kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.
- Kindness might not seem like an exciting word. Kindness doesn’t often make the news headlines or rouse a cheer from the crowds. Yet the Bible speaks a lot about being kind. In a well-known passage in 1 Corinthians 13, Saint Paul says ‘Love is patient and kind’. In the book of Colossians, Saint Paul says that we should ‘clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ Kindness is a way to do good to everyone. It is about being tender-hearted, patient and forgiving. Kindness is a way of acting that can be adopted right now, just like putting on a new item of clothing.
- Show Slide 1.
Monday February 17th, is Random Acts of Kindness Day. This is a day to encourage us to think about other people and to make an extra effort to carry out kind and thoughtful actions for other people. - Ask the children what they think a random act of kindness might look like.
Listen to a range of suggestions. - Explain that a kind act will bring pleasure to someone. It could make life easier for someone, so it might involve simple actions like offering to help with a task, playing with a younger sibling, or maybe doing a chore without complaining! Kindness is about awareness of others, putting their needs before our own. Kindness can come in words too. It doesn’t take much to give someone a compliment for what they do, or to say that we’re proud of them.
Time for reflection
It’s important to carry out acts of kindness, because we care for people. However, these acts can also be beneficial to us too.
When we do something kind for someone it can make us feel good and proud of ourselves. We feel better because someone else feels better. Also, when we are kind, people often want to carry on that kindness to other people, because they appreciated what was done for them so much.
Kindness is a way of acting that can be adopted right now, just like putting on a new item of clothing. It’s about making a choice to behave in a kind way. That choice is followed by actively looking for opportunities to be kind.
Encourage the children to think of ways that they are going to be kind today.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you love us and are kind to us.
Please help us to care for other people.
Please help us to look for ways in which we can be kind today.
Please help us to find joy in helping others.
Amen.
Song/music
‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ from Toy Story. This can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNZUKm0ApEM
