Every morning the children in Natalie Miller’s kindergarten class recite a pledge, tie on their red headbands, and transform into kindness ninjas.
“I pledge to myself on this very day, to try and to be kind in every way,” the children proclaim in unison.
Their mission?
To perform acts of kindness in their school and within their community in Dowling, Ont. in the Greater Sudbury area.
“It’s been huge for their own self-esteem because every morning we are doing our pledge and it’s ‘First to love myself. First to think kindly of myself, and then to think kindly of others,’” Miller told CTV News Northern Ontario on Thursday.
“We just hope they have positive self-esteem and they pass on that positivity. Positivity leads to positivity.”
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The young children at Larchwood Public School have completed hundreds of acts of kindness this year, such as complimenting others, giving Smarties to the entire school, and a visit to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“I was giving treats to the dog and he gave me a kiss on my glasses,” one student recalled.
Miller said she came up with the idea of teaching the importance of kindness to her class after she saw a similar idea online.
“I’m hoping that they become lifelong kindness ninjas and people in the community, that they volunteer their time, that they give to those in need, and that every day they are thinking kindly about others, but also themselves,” she said.
The lesson appears to be having an effect on the students in Miller’s class.
“If you show kindness to them, they’ll show kindness back,” one girl explained.
“Some people are extra mean, which we don’t think is pretty nice, so we got to take the meanness out and make it into a kind way,” another student added.
The school has even received a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Education to help fund the students’ acts of kindness within the community.
“I think it’s wonderful,” local grocery store owner Roger Beaulieu said. “The concept is wonderful. To set that precedent in the kids’ hearts to be kind and not always expect something in return is just wonderful.”
One young student seemed to share a similar opinion about the benefits of showing kindness.
“Because then, no one has a bad place in their heart,” she said.
