Cultivate Kindness in the Classroom
By Barbara Barnes - NSM Founder and Director
Kindness is a behavior driven by the feeling of compassion. When we act on this feeling in a helpful caring way, this behavior becomes an act of kindness. How do we cultivate kindness in young children? North Star Montessori Educators actively encourage children to put their kindness into actions through thoughts, words, and deeds.
Our classroom is a place where children can learn to become a part of a community. We emphasize how to be kind to yourself, others, and the environment. Children in a Montessori environment have the freedom to choose materials and activities during classroom work periods. Our teachers model handling the materials with care as they demonstrate how to use them. Children are shown how to take their materials to work rugs and how to respect each other’s work spaces by walking around each other’s rugs, and finally how to carefully return them to the shelf when they are finished. Our classrooms are peaceful places where kids can concentrate and learn. If the child wants the teacher’s attention, they are taught to walk over to them to initiate a conversation, rather than yelling across the room. The teacher models this process, as they do the same when they would like to talk to a student. Another way North Star teachers cultivate kindness in the classroom is by role playing prosocial behavior and phrases at circle time to help children navigate social interactions such as asking to play with another child, and using manners like please, thank you, and excuse me.
Teachers have an important presence in children's lives as they spend the day with children, serve as role models, and create learning environments that promote growth and learning. A keystone of effective classroom management is actively teaching prosocial skills so that children are more able to regulate their feelings and negotiate social situations. The idea of kindness, compassion, empathy, and cooperation are abstract to children. By role playing real life examples and using teacher made materials such as feelings books, children are able to name and identify their emotions. Stories, art, and discussions give children concrete examples of ways that we can show kindness.
At North Star Montessori we focus on the whole child by challenging children with academics, and at the same time creating an environment that values kindness and respect where everyone can feel welcome and have a sense of belonging. The emphasis of getting along builds each year as children attend North Star Montessori, as the curriculum spans over 3 years. Our multi-age classrooms serve children who are 3, 4, and 5 years old. Older students (second and third years) are eager to have the opportunity to help teach new students. They happily show a new friend how to take out a rug, and how to choose a work from the shelf to share. One of their favorite activities is to teach a new friend how to serve their own snack. If a friend feels sad, they can use encouraging words, a gentle hug, or picture to help their friend feel better. Children's Social Development will be a part of who they are for the rest of their life. Investing the time to understand and respect children nurtures their sense of well-being.