FAQ

Yes! The authors used both CASEL’s five core competencies and subskills that the Easel Project used to evaluate SEL programming and embedded them into the lessons.

a. Themes/Skillsets:

There are seven themes/skillsets for each age range. These themes were derived from children’s expressions of kindness, worldwide, not a curriculum writer sitting in a cubical somewhere! The authors did not manipulate these categories, so the very basis for each lesson comes from children.

b. Lesson Format:

Each age-range has four lessons for each theme/skillset. The lessons are broken down into the time segments which helps teaching in the moment to occur:

1. Mini Kindness Boost: 5-10 minutes,
2. Kindness Boost: 10-20 minutes,
3. Super Kindness Boost: 20-30 minutes,
4. Kindness Immersions: 15 minutes a day for 1-4 weeks or a large pocket of time like 90 minutes in length.

c. Multicultural/Diverse/International Learning Examples:

Children are naturally curious about other children so engagement in these lessons is very high because each lesson includes kindness ideas from children all over the world. Exposing students to other children who are similarly aged, but different than they are, is vital in helping students expand their GLOBAL thinking about HUMANITY.

d. Leveraging Student Voice:

Because all learners are heard and participate in deciding what kindness actions the class will take, the actions and the learning of the students is therefore reflective of the diverse thoughts and cultures represented that learning community. It is very hard to do with other available curricula. And, just in case the teacher does not have time or needs a mental picture for how each lesson could go, we also developed a complete lesson for the teacher to follow or alter as needed.

e. Completely Project Based:

Every lesson is completed as an action, in the moment. This element is unlike typical SEL curricula where concepts are often taught in isolation using role-play, a mock scenario, or a worksheet. Students are actively engaged in hands-on learning and “doing” in every lesson.

f. Critical Thinking:

Each lesson concludes with robust conversations using higher order thinking questions as prompts. This is where the real learning takes place because robust conversations create strong learning connections in the brain which reinforces the new skills. Young people tend to learn in silos, so overtly connecting the kindness actions with the positive feelings they experienced being kind, is critical.

g. Participation Rubrics:

Student learning is measured based on the teachers’ observation of the students’ level of engagement, via a participation rubric. When students are fully engaged, they are not only learning, but they are fully experiencing the emotional impact of the lesson. Measuring student growth in social and emotional learning is very hard to quantify, therefore, most SEL curricula do not have authentic ways to measure student success.

These curricula are supplementary because they do not explicitly teach all the possible SEL skills. Educators using these curricula have indicated that the curriculum does cover many of the SEL skills that other, mainstream curriculum does not teach, especially since it all hands-on, project-based learning, and, because of the way these curricula are written, other subject matter skills are honed. As the lessons unfold in these curricula, students and teachers are taken on a ‘kindness journey’, that when done with fidelity helps bullies and children who struggle with emotion management to change. However, the materials do not teach explicit skills, for example, coping strategies a student may need to calm down when they are angry.

The authors of these curricula wrote these lessons to help educators, worldwide, develop kindness skills in their students and school communities. This is a research-based curriculum that has been tested in twelve countries, including the United States. Based on feedback from the test, the curriculum was refined to better meet the needs of teachers and children. The process of creating and refining these curricula is a lot like a small batch food company where all the elements are coming from two consistent voices with deep experience and expertise in research as well as educational practices. The authors offer this curriculum free of charge because it helps teaching and learning, worldwide.

Yes! We offer customized online or in-person professional development for educational staff.                

1. "Connect with Kindness" Curricula Implementation
   We provide a two-hour professional development session for schools aiming to implement the "Connect with Kindness" curricula. This session covers effective implementation strategies, participation rubrics, worldwide learning examples, and an in-depth exploration of different types of curricula lessons. Topics also include gaining insights into kindness and empathy through the lens of modern psychology and neuroscience and foundational concepts from educational pioneers like Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Janusz Korczak.
2. Becoming a Kindness School
   For schools aspiring to become a Kindness School, we start with the same 2-hour introductory session described above, as adopting the "Connect with Kindness" curricula is the initial step. Once the curricula are launched, we will follow up with an additional 2-hour training session for all educational staff and provide in-depth consultations for school and team leaders. Becoming a Kindness School generally spans two school years, and we offer continuous support every step of the way. Please visit the Training and Materials tab for pricing information.

Start with reaching out to us using the email address on this website: [email protected]. Please introduce yourself, providing your name, school, and country you live. Please also indicate grade level you teach if you are a teacher, or your other position at the school, and reasons that make you feel interested in contacting us. Expect an enthusiastic response within the next 24-48 hours depending on the time of the day/year.

Becoming a Kindness Care Facility entails all care providers participating in a 90-minute training, implementing Mindfully Kind: A Pocket Guide for Care Providers, analyzing pre-and-post implementation survey data, and collaboratively developing a kindness blueprint for your care facility. Becoming a Kindness Care Facility takes about two years, and we are available to support this process at every step along the way. Please go to the contact form and tell us more about your care facility. We will contact you. Go to the Training and Materials tab for more pricing information.

Yes! We work with various translators and translation companies and can accommodate non-English speakers.

Yes, the International Kindness Reset has substantial evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of our materials and concepts. Over the past two years, we’ve piloted Connect with Kindness curricula twice in more than ten countries and five languages across various school types and for students of all ages—from 4 to 18 years old. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, showcasing clear benefits from our curricula. Key findings include transformative positive shifts in the overall school culture, making it a less stressful and more welcoming environment for students and staff. Extracurricular activities are enriched, teachers report lower stress levels, and academic performance improves. Students consistently show more care and compassion towards their peers and teachers and advocate for kindness as the accepted behavioral norm. Additionally, schools reveal stronger connections with students' families and the broader community, enhancing the overall support system for students and staff alike. You can check some testimonials from our pilot participants and find different curricula implementation reports on our FB page, YouTube channel, and Instagram.

As for the “Pocket Guide,” we have strong evidence from our pre-and-post implementation surveys and on-site observations/interactions that Mindfully Kind: A Pocket Guide for Care Providers effectively enhances both personal and collective emotional intelligence while reducing stress in care facilities while also reducing stress through mindful kindness practices. Specifically, participants who used the “Pocket Guide” and participated in the training indicated that they can now do kind things for themselves at work and that using the guide elevated their thoughts about care, compassion, empathy, or kindness at work. Notably, 100% of participants who work directly with residents observed a positive impact on the residents they care for as a result of using the “Pocket Guide.”