Learning About Kindness Through Safe and Healthy Play

At the school where I am a Playworks Coach, the students and I talked about how we can be respectful by being safe and kind while playing. We discussed the importance of showing respect by apologizing and checking in with others when accidents happen, such as when we bump into each other at tag.

Recently, I jumped into a game of Hungry Fox with the kindergarten and first grade students. While we were running away from the “fox”, one student, Leo, got really excited and ran into other kids while trying to get back to the line first.

When Leo noticed that one of them had fallen down, he ran back over and offered to help them up, saying, “I’m sorry, are you okay? Can I help you?”

I checked in with Leo after the game. I told him I had noticed how he had apologized and how he had been more careful in the next round of Hungry Fox. He told me, “I was being kind, That’s what I would want my friends to do for me!”

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