Online KINDNESS

The best parts about KM365 is that our programs

• Helps us all cope better with our challenges,
• Makes us stronger, more resilient
• Gives us tools and strategies to handle things – and
• LETs US BE HAPPIER, KINDER people.

In our previous program, we talked  “Optimistic Thinking” and how that includes acknowledging the challenges in life, and creating positive choices. This week, we are talking about “Responsible Decision Making.”

This week, we are talking about RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING. 

Responsible decision-making is involves really important things like

• Identifying Problems
• Analyzing Situations
• Solving Problems
• Evaluating and Reflecting
• Ethical Responsibility

RDM is about constructive choices, really thinking through all parts of a problem and understanding it in a deeper way. I really also got how Important it is to engage in this process with our kids and adults so everyone make their own RDMs.

Now it’s time we are CALLED TO ACTION!  So far today, we’ve learned and been inspired…now it’s time to put what we’ve learned into action! We hope you will try at least one of these projects, either alone or with your family (or virtually with your friends!), or come up with your own!

Check out this Family Project sheet around pros and cons and service project. Download Pros and Cons sheet here

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

Now it’s time for us to leave the rest of the world behind us, and just focus on our time together, right here, right now. Just like if we are getting ready to take a test, are feeling a little down, or we are really excited about something….it’s good to have tools (like breathing or movement) to help put everything out of our minds and clear our head so we can focus on what is right in front of us. Today, we are joined the amazing Leslie Glickman. Leslie is an incredibly knowledgeable practitioner, and today she is going to just share one of many tools to help us shift our energy.

.To view the Leslie’s video, visit https://youtu.be/Z9eeEGCAINQ

KINDNESS CAPTURED

Each week we will share a quick inspirational story with you. There are so many beautiful stories out there…how people are each other and doing amazing things. We want to highlight some of these things each week we are together.

Right now, there is so much going on in the world and We could all use some positive news to make us smile! Seeing the kindness others are doing, inspires us and we want to celebrate them! Today, we will hear from Andrew Gellen, a rising freshman at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. This young man has certainly made some responsible decisions….let’s hear more!

To view Andrew’s story, visit https://youtu.be/mWQBI2zMH4k

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What did you learn today that you will implement into your own RDM process? Think about or list 2-3 things that you will commit to. Share them with your family, write them down…make them part of your process whenever you have a big decision!

The best parts about KM365 is that our programs

• Help us cope better with our challenges today and in the future, and they help us
• Become stronger, more resilient, happier people
• They give us a chance to feel really good about ourselves and helping others.
• Tools to Empower you Mentally and Emotionally

In our previous program, we talked “SELF REGULATION” or self control. To sum it up, last time, we learned some amazing strategies and tools such as reframing, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, AND we discovered that kids and adults who self-regulate learn how to be aware, in control and create better lives for themselves.

Oh – and that self-regulation can be learned and exercised like a muscle!  YES!! You can CHOOSE to BECOME a SELF REGULATION PRO!!!

This week, we are talking about OPTIMISTIC THINKING. 

So far today, we’ve learned and been inspired…now it’s time to put what we’ve learned into action! We hope you will try at least one of these projects, either alone or with your family (or virtually with your friends!), or come up with your own!

1. Gratitude game…. How many things can you find to be grateful for…
2. Make a few signs and place them everywhere…tape them, put them as a screen saver, etc. Even If ____________, I can still _____________ . and practice this until our next meeting. Think about things inside your home, within your neighborhood, in your school, with your friends.  Let us know how this works for you
3. ONE Service project to encourage optimistic thinking (can have something to do with expressing gratitude, hope or encourage the same in others)

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

Whatever we are thinking about from our day, the week, the month…we want to take a few minutes to let anything we are holding on to go, so we can simply be here, together, and really create some time where we can just be “here”.

Just like if we are getting ready to take a test, are feeling a little down, or we are really excited about something….it’s good to have tools (like breathing or movement) to help put everything out of our minds and clear our head so we can focus on what is right in front of us. Today, we are joined by middle schooler Alan Hasselman and his narrator dad, Dary,  who will share one way we can get rid of stress and clear our minds.

.To view the Hasselman’s video, visit https://youtu.be/qZW55mEht_g

KINDNESS CAPTURED

Each week we will share a quick inspirational story with you. There are so many beautiful stories out there…how people are each other and doing amazing things. We want to highlight some of these things each week we are together.

Well, right now, there is so much going on in the world and it is amazing to see how the kids in our world are master OPTIMISTIC THINKERS who do the most amazing things! So, Grandview prep is one of our Kindness in Schools…which means they implement KM365 programming in every classroom of their school! A couple weeks ago, one of our Grandview viewers told us about one of their classmates,  amazing 17 year old Blake Rand, and some of the awesomeness he created. Let’s check him out in this week’s “kindness captured”

To view Blake’s story, visit https://youtu.be/rzjMGcJj9xs

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Is there something that inspired you or that you learned today that you will share with others? What is it?
2. How can YOUR personal optimistic thinking benefit OTHERS?

ou are able to self regulate?

We usually run our programming in schools as after-school clubs and in the classrooms for Pre-K-12. Like all of YOU, we are finding ways to continue things ONLINE, and from our homes to yours! Because we don’t know who is in your home right now, ages and stages for all of you, we ask that you take all of our valuable information and shape it for your situation.

The best parts about KM365 is that our programs

✔  Help us cope better with our challenges today and in the future, and they help us

✔  Become stronger, more resilient, happier people

They give us a chance to feel really good about ourselves and helping others.

In our previous program, we talked about self awareness. Self awareness is our ability to tap into what’s going on inside of us….what’s going on with our bodies, minds and emotions. We talked about different was to be self aware, and how important a skill that is.

Today, we are going to build on that conversation, by talking about “SELF REGULATION”.

1.  For kids of all ages…..Red Light Green Light and Freeze Dance,

In Red Light, Green Light, create a start and finish line.  Everyone lines at the start. When they hear you say Green Light, they run (or walk) towards the finish line until they hear you say Red Light.  Anyone caught moving before Green Light is said again goes back to start.  Make the game more complicated by changing the prompts:  Red Light means Go, etc.

Freeze Dance:  put some music on, and have everyone dance until you stop the music.  Dance to the tempo of the music. To make the game more challenging, have everyone dance fast to slow music and slowly to fast music.

Both games involve self regulation. These games help us learn to pay attention to cues and no matter what we might want to do at the time, we get to practice matching our actions to those cues.

2.  For older kids and adults, this is a great project / strategy to improve self-regulation abilities. It’s called “ cognitive reframing”. This strategy involves changing your thought patterns ( reinterpreting a situation in order to change your emotional response to it.) imagine a friend did not return your calls or texts for several days. Rather than thinking that this reflected something about yourself, such as “my friend doesn’t like me,” you might instead think, “my friend must be really busy.”

3.  Service to others is a way we can engage in self-regulation…because during a time when we could be selfish with OUR needs, we can choose to think of others and take care of someone else’s needs. The project idea here is to do something for someone on the front line: Doctors, nurses, paramedics, police, firefighters. Really think about this and talk with everyone in the house to see what each person can contribute. You could make something, you could arrange for meals to be sent. You could Send notes or raise awareness for the front line on social media.  Remember, when we do for others, we are not only engaging in self-regulation, we are also filling our own cup with positives that will be beneficial not only to us, but will also overflow to others.

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

Whatever we are thinking about from our day, the week, the month…we want to take a few minutes to let anything we are holding on to go, so we can simply be here, together, and really create some time where we can just be “here”. Just like if we are getting ready to take a test, are feeling a little down, or are really excited about something….it’s good to have tools (like breathing or movement) to help put everything out of our minds and clear our head so we can focus on what is right in front of us. Today, we are joined by Pediatrician Dr. Andrew Reiss, who will share how he clears his mind.

.To view Dr. Andrew Reiss’s video, visit https://youtu.be/qZW55mEht_g

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What is the challenge to self regulating? BE HONEST: what are the challenges to having self control?

2.  Think of a situation where it’s normally tough for you to have self control.

OK…got it? Thinking about that situation where it’s normally tough for you to have self control, Now, come up with the way you would LIKE to act in that situation, using self regulation.

What does that look like? What do you say? How do you act? How do you feel?

This is called SITUATION SIMULATION and you can use this as a strategy for self regulation. Your project is, for the next week, to work on this one situation…. How can you plan your reaction, practice for this situation, role play etc. so that when the real thing happens, you are able to self regulate?

We usually run our programming in an after-school club for Pre-K-12 AND we have more programming for teachers and administrators to teach this content to their students AND we have adult programming as well. Because we don’t know who is in your home right now, ages and stages for all of you, we ask that you take all of our valuable information and shape it for situation.

These online programs are an opportunity for all of us, around the world to connect. Every time we get together our goal is to give you another tool (like breathing, movement, mindfulness & meditation) to ground, center or help you focus. So many benefits but the two I will highlight, relevant to today are:

• Help all of us to cope better with our challenges today and in the future
• Become stronger, more resilient, happier people

Last time we met, we talked about the importance being kind to ourselves. Shout outs to everyone who commented during the live broadcast… you guys shared that some of the ways you took care of yourselves including exercise, dance, cooking, paying attention to your breath, and even listening to ONLINE KINDNESS on the treadmill!

Today, we are going to build on that conversation, by talking about “SELF AWARENESS”.

PROJECT IDEAS

1. Start a journal (write, draw or video) Ask yourself things like “how am I feeling right now”, “how did XYZ make me feel? What’s important to me? What am I good at? What do I like to do”, and then express the answers in your journal. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers – this is a safe place for YOU, and so you can be self aware whenever you need to, or want to.
2. Think about an issue that is really important to you…become aware of your values, what “lights you up”, what your strengths are. Then do something about it! You can share the issue with others on social media, you could contact an organization that could use support, you can figure out some way to start to help. Every deed is an important one.

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

Jill Rapperport Reiss with a quick exercise to focus, connect and get present. Please give it a try. We will share different exercises each week, and we hope you will find a few that will work for you!

How do you feel after the exercise?

Maybe you became more aware of our breath, your heartbeat, what it felt like to quiet everything outside. So, this not only helps us to get ready to learn together today…but it also helped us become a little more tuned in to what’s going on inside of us. That’s SELF AWARENESS. It’s another tool to put in your toolbox when you need it.

.To view Jill’s full Awareness of Breath video, visit https://youtu.be/60n3Knx0ojI

KINDNESS CAPTURED

Each week we will share a quick inspirational story with you. There are so many beautiful stories out there…how people are each other and doing amazing things. We want to highlight some of these things each week we are together.

This week we have John Brewer from Delray Beach Socially Distancing Supper Club.

To view John’s story, visit https://youtu.be/-mgkCINx_VM

Thank you John for doing what you do! We would LOVE to hear from everyone out there…what’s going on near you? Please share with us – We would love to feature stories of you or someone you’ve been inspired by in your community…so let us know what’s going on in your community!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What is self awareness?
2. What are the benefits to us, to be self-aware?
3. What are the benefits to OTHERS, when we are self-aware?
4. Think of an example of where you find the need to use self awareness in your daily life…explain how you might approach things differently now that we learned about it.

We get to spend time together in a conversation about creating our own ways to connect, learn, grow and do our best…all from from the safety of our homes! These meetings join all of us throughout the world together…different ages, religions, beliefs…in a conversation about taking care of ourselves, our communities, and our world.

Last time we met, we talked about the importance of the KM365 program and KINDNESS…why it is important in general, as well as why it’s important to each of us individually.

Today, we are going to build on that conversation, by talking about the importance of taking care of ourselves. We call that “kindness to ourselves”.

PROJECT IDEAS

1. Peace Sign on Door to let family know you need some Kindness to Self Time
2. Create a routine that includes self care / kindness to yourself. – you can draw it, put it on a spreadsheet, write it out…come up with one or brainstorm with your family and create it, put it where you can see it, and practice it every day! Include things like getting other important things done (like school work, family time, practice

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

Here’s Georgie Boynton with a breathing and movement exercise. As always, we are going to begin with a quick exercise to focus, connect and get present. By the way…these types of exercises might feel natural to some of us; for others of us, they might be new – or maybe seem a little odd! Please give them a try…everyone needs to find their own ways to focus or de-stress – we will share different exercises, and we hope everyone will find a few that will work for them!  We ask that you give them all a try, or investigate others online…the important thing is you find tools that work for you, and you keep them in your tool bag so you can use them when you need to!

As we focus on being kind to ourselves this week, remember that an exercise like this is something we can do to take care of ourselves throughout the day… any day…to use when we are feeling stressed, frustrated, or just need to focus.

To view Georgie’s full video, visit https://youtu.be/RjhaNmO7KoY

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Why is self-care important? 
2. In 6 months to a year from now, what would be the impact if you do NOT take care of yourself? 
3. What did you learn today that you can share with others and HOW can you share it? 

Goal 1:  Empower adults and kids to bring “Kindness in Our Homes” into their lives by actively participating and incorporating what they learned during our Online Kindness Mini Series to their lives.

Goal 2: Inspire adults and older children to become involved and supporters (logging in to future sessions, engaging in projects, becoming an Ambassador, supporting our programming)

This weekly meeting joins all of us throughout the world…different ages, religions, beliefs… this conversation includes everyone and WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!!

PROJECT IDEAS

.

MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX

A quick breathing exercise to slow down, focus, be present. by Marianne Altschul.

Visit this link to view the whole video. https://youtu.be/FwOB_1cNFV4

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What are the benefits to our world for you to be kind to others?
2. How does it make you feel help others?
3. What did you learn today that you would like to share with others?