It’s back to school time again. It is a time that brings up feelings of excitement for some, dread for others and probably anxiety for all.  There are many ways that we can ease the anxiety and hopefully the dread, as parents and as educators. Lately, when I am anxious I try to remember to go back to my values. They help ground and calm me. Perhaps we can begin by remembering our core values. When our thoughts and actions are aligned with our values there is more likely to be a sense of calm and maybe even peace. So let’s go back to our values. What are the values you hold dear and strive to live by?

Empathy and kindness are core values of mine and of Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness. In the past few years there has been an explosion of research exploring empathy and kindness. The results of these studies, demonstrating the importance of kindness and empathy in most every aspect of our lives, even perhaps at the root of our very survival, are for me powerful, exciting and so very hopeful.

As we know, fostering empathy is a crucial piece of preventing and addressing bullying and violence.  Using the circle process is an effective way to increase empathy in part by building a sense of community.  The circle process is based on a Native American tradition in which everyone sits in a circle and a talking piece is passed around the circle so everyone has an opportunity to speak.

The Circle Process is also a significant component of Restorative Measures. Restorative Measures are practices used to build community and to repair harm and restore community when harm has been done. The Minnesota Department of Education has wonderful resources for using the Circle Process and Restorative Measures. Please go here  and here for more information.

Below are links to activities to build empathy and community, many of which could be used in a Circle or at least processed afterwards in the Circle.

Do you have a favorite activity to build empathy and community? If so, please share it with us.

All of us at Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness hope that your school year gets off to a great start. Remember to take care of and be kind to yourself.    ~Ann (Jeremiah’s mom)

 

Resources for fostering empathy- 

http://onnetwork.facinghistory.org/help-students-think-deeply-about-the-roles-they-play-and-the-choices-they-make

 

http://scout.org/sites/default/files/tutorial_files/empathy%20games.pdf – many ideas for games to increase empathy

 

http://www.freespirit.com/files/other/SafeCaring_Gr3-5_bully.pdf – contains several lesson plans/activities for increasing empathy and reducing bullying. This is for grades 3-5 but thought some could be adapted for middle school age students

 

http://www.originsonline.org/newsletters/winter-2008-dd/teaching-empathy-young-adolescents

 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rethinking-tolerance-blake-wiggs?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-rethinking-tolerance-link

 

http://www.peacefirst.org/digitalactivitycenter/resources/search?field_skills_value%5B%5D=Empathy&field_grade_value%5B%5D=Middle+School

 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/valentines-day-learning-resources-empathy-matt-davis – contains several links to games and activities for increasing empathy all year long (not just for Valentine’s Day 🙂

 

http://www.vcu.edu/partnership/C-SAL/downloadables/PDF/DisabilityAwarenessPacket.pdf

 

http://humanityquest.com/topic/art_activities/index.asp?theme1=empathy

 

http://charterforcompassion.org/node/4138 –

 

http://learningtogive.org/google_search.asp?search=empathy&x=0&y=0&ft=i&as_sitesearch=learningtogive.org&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&safe=active – lesson plans and games for increasing empathy

 

http://dalailamafoundation.org/dlf/en/documents/curriculum/TMPP.ORG-MS_Educator_Guide-016.pdf

 

https://dschool.stanford.edu/groups/k12/wiki/15f3a/Kid_Empathy_Activity_and_Tools.html

http://startempathy.org/

 

http://empathy.ashoka.org/6-insights-creating-school-culture-empathy-0