Spreading joy!
New year-more dedication! I started this blog back in August last year and my original goal was to post every other week….as you all know that definitely didn’t happen. I thoroughly enjoy writing posts though and with the start of the new year, I want to dedicate more time and effort to this blog in hopes of also getting more views and followers! With that said, my next post will hopefully be the last week in January!
On a different note, I wanted to share with you all something I did in December that not only brought joy to others, but it warmed my heart and brought me a lot of joy that I think had been missing this past holiday season. To give you a little back story-I decided to do a countdown to winter break with my students. It consisted of fun activities, themed days, and even a Thoughtful Thursday-featured in this post (my kids had SO much fun with the countdown and I’m just so glad I could bring a little joy to them each day this way). For Thoughtful Thursday, I had the students make cards for residents in a local nursing home that my grandmother currently resides at. Then, I emailed parents and gave them my address so they could mail me the cards their child made and I could deliver them to the nursing home. I had multiple students mail me cards, and they were well thought-out and so special! It blew me away that these fifth graders really took the time to write meaningful notes to residents, and were genuinely excited to do this.
I decided to take things one step further and thought-how fun would it be if some students were able to join me (socially distanced WITH masks of course) with signs to greet residents through windows and deliver the cards THEY made?? In my email to parents, I made this offer for the students to join me at the nursing home outside to deliver the cards. I knew that most families might not be comfortable with this (which was TOTALLY fine with me) but I also knew I would definitely regret not offering up that opportunity to allow them to deliver the cards they made and spread some holiday cheer to others that would not be able to have a normal holiday season with family.
I am beyond thankful I offered this opportunity, and I had two students join me! I think them joining me that day made me even happier than the residents receiving the cards! My students this year I have technically never met and taught in person, and the fact that I was able to talk with these two students and interact IN PERSON with them……I am still left speechless just thinking about this moment. I never realized how much I missed that real interaction with my students, and how much it truly means to me.
Enough about myself though……these two students went above and beyond what we did on our Thoughtful Thursday! These students truly are the epitome of selflessness and kindness. One student (with the help of her brother) made a giant sign to greet the residents through the window and multiple cards for residents, and the other made tons more cards, including one with pop-outs!! The fact that both of these students put so much effort and creativity into this, and were so happy to do this for the residents was amazing to see. Although because the nursing home was short staffed and couldn’t bring multiple residents to the windows, a nurse so kindly brought my grandmother down and we spoke to her over the phone while greeting her through the window. We told her about the cards and signs and introduced her to my students. I could tell it very much brightened her entire week, and it definitely was a moment I will never forget. We sent the cards up with the nurse, along with the signs we made. This way they could distribute the cards to the residents and display the signs so they knew we were thinking of them during the holidays.
Spreading joy anytime doesn’t have to be an elaborate plan with tons of bells and whistles. It can be in the form of letters or cards showing others you are thinking of them even though you can’t see them. It can be a phone call, or even a smile and a wave across a parking lot. I’ve always tried to stress to my fifth graders that kindness spreads like wildfire, and it starts with YOU. I am so glad, even though circumstances are different this year, I was still able to find the opportunity to show these kids that WE can spread joy and kindness, right here in our community. How have YOU spread joy and kindness lately? Comment and share below!
Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and Happy New Year!
(disclaimer-I got permission from the parents to post pictures with the two students)
