Hello, friends! How are you today? Have you been reading lots of fun books? I hope so! Today, we have a special story called “Be Kind” by Pat Zietlow Miller. Do you know what being kind means? It can mean helping someone, sharing with your brother or sister, or being gentle and caring. Let’s find out more about being kind!
In our story, a girl named Tanisha spilled grape juice on her new dress. Oh no! Everyone laughed, but I remembered my mom always tells me to be kind, so I tried not to laugh. I thought about how much I love the color purple and hoped Tanisha would smile, but she ran away instead. When she came back, snack time was over, and she looked sad.
I wondered how I could be kind to Tanisha. Should I have given her my napkin? Or maybe let her borrow my sweatshirt? I thought about what being kind really means. What do you think it means to be kind?
Being kind can be giving, like making cookies for someone who lives alone or sharing shoes that don’t fit anymore. It can be helping, like cleaning up after yourself or helping with chores. It’s also about paying attention, like telling a friend you like their shoes or listening to stories, even if you’ve heard them before.
Being kind can be saying nice things, like telling your mom she looks pretty or picking flowers for her. It can be as simple as saying thank you or using someone’s name when you talk to them.
Sometimes, being kind is hard, like teaching someone something new or standing up for a friend. But even small acts of kindness can make a big difference!
Maybe I can’t fix Tanisha’s grape juice problem, but I can sit with her in art class and paint a picture because I know she likes purple too. Small kind acts can join together and become something big, spreading kindness all around the world!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone was kind? The whole world would be a big bubble of kindness! Let’s keep being kind, just like in the story of Tanisha and me. Remember, small things can make a big difference!
Thanks for joining our storytime! What does being kind mean to you? We hope you enjoyed the story. Come back and see us again soon. Bye-bye!
Kindness Jar: Create a “Kindness Jar” at home or in the classroom. Every time you do something kind, write it on a small piece of paper and put it in the jar. At the end of the week, read all the kind acts together and see how many you can count! This will help you see how small acts can add up to make a big difference.
Role-Playing Kindness: With a friend or family member, act out different situations where you can show kindness. For example, pretend someone dropped their books, and you help pick them up. Or imagine a friend is feeling sad, and you give them a hug. Talk about how it feels to be kind and how it makes others feel.
Kindness Scavenger Hunt: Go on a scavenger hunt to find opportunities to be kind in your community. Look for ways to help, like picking up litter in the park, holding the door open for someone, or drawing a happy picture to give to a neighbor. Share your experiences and how each act of kindness made you feel.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music]
Hi everyone! Welcome to the Storytime Family. How are you today? Have you been reading a lot? I hope you have!
Well, today we have a very special book called “Be Kind” by Pat Zietlow Miller. What does being kind mean to you? Does being kind mean helping someone out when they need it? Or can it be being generous to your brother or sister, sharing and caring for them, being gentle, and also being considerate?
[Music]
Let’s find out what being kind means in this book.
In the story, Tanisha spilled grape juice yesterday all over her new dress. Everyone laughed. I almost did too, but my mom always tells me to be kind, so I try. I thought purple was my favorite color and that Tanisha would smile, but she ran into the hall instead. When she came back, snack time was over. She put on her art smock and didn’t look at anyone.
[Applause]
I almost told Tanisha that art was my favorite class, but I didn’t want her to leave again, so I painted purple splotches and added some green until I had a bunch of beautiful violets. While I painted, I thought about Tanisha. Should I have handed her my napkin? Let her borrow my sweatshirt? Spilled my juice so everyone stared at me instead? What does it mean to be kind anyway?
What does it mean to you, or what does it mean for someone to be kind to you?
[Applause]
Maybe it’s giving, like making cookies for Mr. Rinaldi who lives alone, or letting someone with smaller feet have my too-tight shoes. He might run races in them too! Maybe it’s helping, like putting dirty dishes in the sink, helping out, cleaning up after yourself, picking up your laundry, making your bed, or cleaning up after Otis, our class guinea pig—he’s a messy eater.
It’s paying attention, like telling Desmond I like his blue boots, asking the new girl to be my partner, or listening to Aunt Franny’s stories, even the ones I’ve heard before. Being kind could also be saying nice things about someone, complimenting someone, telling your mom that she looks so pretty today, or picking her flowers.
Being kind should be easy, like throwing away a wrapper, recycling a bottle, or saying thank you. My mom says the quickest way to be kind is to use people’s names. “Hey Kayla, what’s new?” “Good afternoon, Rabbi Amanda.”
But being kind can be hard too, even when you know what to do. Teaching someone something I’m good at is tricky, even when I’m patient. Being kind could also mean sharing with your siblings and sticking up for someone when other kids aren’t kind. That can be really hard and really scary.
Maybe I can’t solve Tanisha’s grape juice problem, but maybe all I can do is sit by her in art class and paint this picture for her because I know she likes purple too. I can only do small things, but my small things might join with small things other people do, and together they could grow into something big.
Remember, kids, small things can make a big difference too!
[Applause]
Something really big—so big that our kindness could spill out of our school, spread throughout town, travel across the country, and go all the way around the world. Wouldn’t that be the best thing? If everyone is kind, the whole world would be a big bubble of kindness. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Now, back to Tanisha and me, so we can be kind again and again.
[Music]
Now I told you that was a very special story. What do you think? So, what does being kind mean to you? Leave us a comment and let us know! Hope you enjoyed the story. Come back and see us again, and click on the notification bell for the next video.
Thanks so much for dropping by! Take care now. Bye-bye!
[Music]
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