Kindness Activities for Kids

Teaching children kindness is more than just showing them how—it’s about building habits that start early and last a lifetime. Kindness activities don’t have to be complicated. In fact, simple everyday moments often provide the biggest opportunities. Whether at home, at school, or out in the community, these activities help kids practice kindness in enjoyable and practical ways. Here are some fun and meaningful kindness activities your kids will enjoy!

***Giveaway at the bottom of the post ***

Benefits of Kindness Activities

Kindness activities help children:

• Learn to notice how others feel and respond with care.
• Build emotional intelligence — It helps kids recognise their own feelings and regulate them.
• Learn teamwork, communication, and respect for others.
• Boosts confidence — Doing something good for someone else makes children feel proud and capable.
• Create positive habits — Regular practice turns kindness into a natural part of everyday life.

Random Acts of Kindness

Choose a month to do a “Random Acts of Kindness Month.” You could also try doing a “Random Acts of Kindness Week,’ as well.

Turn it into a friendly family challenge where each person tries to complete at least one kind action every day. Keep a checklist or use a whiteboard to track the acts of kindness that have been completed. At the end of the week or month, celebrate with a special treat such as a movie night, a picnic, or a “kindness awards ceremony.”

Some random acts of kindness ideas:

• Leave cards or thank-you notes for family, friends, neighbours, teachers and others you come in contact with during the day
• Hold the door for someone in public
• Help a neighbour water their plants, clean their yard or house
• Compliment a stranger
• Pay for someone’s drink or meal at a café or through the drive through
• Offer to help a teacher clean up the classroom, or pick up trash outside

These acts help your child see that kindness can be simple, quick, and part of everyday life.

Kindness Jar

Create a kindness jar as a fun and artistic craft activity.

Decorate a jar with stickers, colourful paper, glitter, or paint. Every time someone in the family does something kind, write the act of kindness on a slip of paper and drop it into the jar.

Watching the jar fill up helps your child visualise how small acts add up over time.

At the end of the week or month, empty the jar and read the notes together. Celebrate by doing a special family activity—ice cream, a game night, or a nature walk.

Read Books about Kindness

Reading books about kindness helps children understand and connect with the concept emotionally. Talk about the characters’ choices and ask questions like, “How do you think they felt?” or “What would you have done?” Reading time is a great time to encourage empathy and discussion.

Some great kindness-themed books are:

• Kindness is My Superpower
• The Invisible Boy
• Be Kind
• Have you Filled A Bucket Today?
• Strictly No Elephants
• Each Kindness
• The World Needs More Purple People
• Kindness Counts 123
• Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind
• I Walk with Vanessa

Volunteer

Do some volunteer work with your children so that they can see kindness in action. Let them help choose the activity, as kids are more likely to be engaged when the activity matches their interests. Supporting animals, helping families, or caring for the environment all provide meaningful learning moments.

More volunteer ideas include:

• Make dog toys from old T-shirts and donate them to an animal shelter
• Help stock shelves at a community pantry
• Participate in a neighbourhood cleanup
• Write cheerful cards for hospital patients
• Plant flowers in community gardens

Doing a new volunteer activity each month helps kids understand the value of giving back consistently.

Kindness Notes

Kind notes can brighten anyone’s day. Encourage your child to write notes to friends, teachers, coaches, siblings, or relatives. These notes can include drawings, stickers, or personal messages. This activity teaches kids that words have the power to uplift others.

You can expand this idea by:

• Leaving anonymous positive notes in library books
• Taping happy messages to your neighbour’s door
• Writing “thanks for all you do” cards for firefighters or nurses
• Making mini cards to tuck into lunch boxes

Toothpaste Experiment

This hands-on activity shows kids how important their words are.

Using a new tube of toothpaste, squeeze some out have children try to put it back in. Talk about how similar this is to unkind words—once spoken, they can’t be taken back.

Some ideas you could talk about are:

• “How did it feel when you couldn’t put the toothpaste back?”
• “Can you think of some ways we can use kind words instead?”

This experiment is memorable, a visual representation that makes a big impact.

Sidewalk or Driveway Messages

On a clear, sunny day, give your children some chalk and let them turn the sidewalk or driveway into a positivity zone.
Encourage them to write uplifting phrases such as “You matter!” or “Have a great day!” They can also draw rainbows, flowers, or animals to make passersby smile.
You can also turn it into a neighbourhood project by inviting friends to join or covering the whole block with encouraging art.

Donate Old Clothes and Toys

With your child, clean out their clothes and toy boxes together, making everything tidy while talking about how donating the clothes and toys they’ve outgrown can help another child feel warm, confident, and cared for. Having hands-on involvement in this activity helps kids understand how to be generous.

You can make this more meaningful by:

• Washing and folding the clothes together
• Writing a small kind note and placing it in the donation bag
• Choosing a charity and learning about the families it helps

Kindness Craft

Let your child choose someone special in their life—a teacher, neighbor, grandparent, or friend—and make a craft just for them.

Some cute craft ideas include:

• Handmade bookmarks
• Painted rocks with positive words
• Friendship bracelets
• Small canvas paintings
• Homemade candles or soap – with the help of an adult
• Homemade lip balm – again with the help of an adult
• No Sew Lavender Drawer Sachets
• Lavender Bubble Bath
• Bath Bombs or Bath Salts
• Planter

Delivering the craft in secret can make the experience even more exciting.

Lemonade Stand

Set up a lemonade stand with a twist: everything is free! Post a sign that says “Free Lemonade—Have a Great Day!”

Your child will experience the joy of giving without expecting anything in return.

You can also add optional donation jars for charity, letting customers contribute if they want.

Bake Cookies

Bake cookies or treats together and let your child decide who to surprise. Use the opportunity to teach measurement, teamwork, and patience.  

Make sugar cookies and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Then decorate the cookies with frosting, sprinkles, or edible kind-word messages like “You’re awesome!” or “Thank you!”

Delivering them warm adds an extra touch of love.

Self-Care Day

Teach your child that being kind to themselves matters just as much as being kind to others.

Self-care can include activities that help them feel peaceful, relaxed, and proud of who they are. It is also very beneficial for their mental health.

Choose a day and let them use it to take care of themselves.

Some kid-friendly self-care ideas:

• Taking a soothing bath
• Having a movie day
• Journaling or drawing about their feelings
• Taking a nature walk
• Doing exercise such as yoga or stretching
• Having a cozy reading time
• Making a list of things they love about themselves

Remind them that when their “kindness cup” is full, they have more kindness to share.

Kindness Games

Games make learning about kindness exciting and interactive.

This simple game helps kids practice giving and receiving compliments.

To play, have some friends over and grab a ball. Everyone stands in a circle and the person with the ball throws it to someone. The person who catches the ball then says something kind about the person who threw the ball to them. Make sure not to throw the ball to the same person more than once. Play as long as you want, making sure that everyone gets a turn to share and receive kind words.

You can also switch it up with themes such as “Something you admire about this person,” “A time they helped you,” or “One thing that makes them unique.”

Other versions include:

• Passing a stuffed animal instead of a ball
• Using “kindness cards” with prompts
• Recording the compliments on a poster board

Some other fun kindness game options include:

• Kindness Bingo — Complete squares by doing kind actions.
• Kindness Scavenger Hunt — Search for ways to help others.

These activities build teamwork build confidence, empathy and stronger friendships.  They also help kids practice expressing positive words.

Teaching your kids to be kind doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need big plans or elaborate activities—everyday moments offer plenty of chances to show kindness. These simple activities can help nurture your child’s natural love for being kind!

 

*** GIVEAWAY!***

The Christmas season is here! It’s a time for joy, generosity, and celebrating the blessings in our lives. And what better way to spread a little cheer than with a special giveaway just for you?

I’ve partnered with a wonderful group of bloggers to bring you the Christmas Blessings Giveaway. We know the holiday season can be full of both joy and stress, and our hope is to ease that burden just a bit for a few families. We are giving away FOUR $250 gift cards, and the best part is that each winner will get to choose where the gift card is from. Whether it helps with presents, groceries, or something special for you, we pray it brings encouragement and peace this Christmas.

The giveaway runs November 19 through November 28, so be sure to get your entries in before it ends!

To enter, simply use the entry form below. We know it’s a long one, but each blogger personally contributed to make this giveaway happen, and your support means so much. Plus, the more entries you complete, the better your chances of winning one of the $250 prizes!

Wishing you a season full of peace, joy, and blessings!

Giveaway ends November 28th at 11:59pm ET. Winners will be drawn and emailed the following day. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize. By entering this giveaway you will be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. You must live in the United States or Canada to be eligible to win.