Complimenting With A Hop, A Skip, And A Jump!

I'm not sure why, but kids have the hardest time giving and receiving compliments.  Many refuse to believe that people really do think that they are kind, helpful, good at something, pretty. . . the list goes on.

So, guess what we worked on today?  Giving and Receiving Compliments! 

I have to admit, I give out a lot of compliments, but when it came time to put together this lesson, I was feeling at a loss of where to begin.  Even though I have been planning for over a month, I still needed a little inspiration to get covered what I wanted to happen.  Here's what I knew I wanted:

• to go outside (it's nice outside and I didn't want kids to have to choose between me and recess)
• to have fun
• to be sincere
• to have kids be able to say something nice about someone else
• to have kids listen to something nice about them

I looked online for some resources and I came across this blog, People Are Nice.  They have an entire page devoted to compliments.  I also used this facebook post from Lisa's Counselor Corner, where she posted some really great suggestions on giving girls compliments on things other than beauty.  Lastly, I looked for childhood favorite games and found  a hopscotch  game on the PSR Gathering site (here are the rules).

When the kids came to my room for Lunch Bunch, I told them to eat quickly so we could go outside.  While they ate we talked about how it felt to receive a compliment.  Everyone agreed that compliments should be sincere, and that they can really brighten up someone's day, help to solidify a bond, diffuse stress, and validate our efforts.  We also talked about how we should give a compliment like we would a gift, expecting nothing in return.  It is appropriate, however, that after we receive a compliment we should acknowledge its receipt with a "thank you."    After the LBers ate we headed outside to play.  Below you will see our hopscotch board and several of the kids playing.

Here is our Hopscotch board:

The squares read:

• Kind Words
• Cooperation (ie It was nice of you to help Mrs. S in class the other day)
• How they treat others (ie You were awesome when you stood up for X in the hallway)
• If someone helps you (ie homework)
• What they're good at
• Something they own
• An assignment
• Hair style

We played by having the students pay one person a compliment that their rock was on.  The person receiving the compliment also needed to respond with "thank you."

I even received a compliment.  "Mrs. Miller, you are always kind to us."

I love my job!