Help kids put kindness first with these kindness activities for kids.

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It’s easy for summer vacation to turn a little bit me-centric. It’s also the perfect time to work on a family focus on making the world a better place. Conveniently, helping others goes a long ways towards canceling out me-centric approaches to life. Here are two ways our family is focusing on kindness this summer.

See Also: 5 Simple Ways Children Can Make a Difference

Kindness Activities for Kids

Putting kindness first can be as simple as making it a conscientious part of your daily lives. But if you are looking for something more structured, I have two great resources for you.

Kindness Elves

My blog friend Anna created her Kindness Elves as an alternative to the Elf on the Shelf, but they aren’t just for Christmas! In fact, just this month, Anna released eight new Kindness Elves. She kindly sent us four of these elves to review.

Pink Elves

Anna’s differently colored elves play different roles. The pink elves (we received Rose and Wish) are “Wish Maker” elves. They decorate places beautifully, wrap gifts and set up amazing treasure hunts for little ones to enjoy. They love to make wishes come true, and they celebrate everyday moments too.

Green Elves

Green elves are “Nature Lover” elves. They love to be outside, and they care for the environment and all animals. We received Flora and Sage.

Kindness Elves Review

My kids loved these elves! Check out their first reactions:

They loved the little house the elves came with, and they each claimed an elf as “their” elf.

How We Are Using Our Elves

My eleven-year-old daughter has taken the lead with our elves. I helped her make some tiny elf paper, and she wrote up a series of challenges.

Every morning, the kids find a new challenge from our elves.

Some of the challenges she comes up with are a little random to me (babysit and care for a sibling’s dolls). Others are wonderful! The kids really have been hard at work cleaning and organizing the house since receiving that last challenge.

Our kindness elves also delivered some elf paper for the kids to use to write to them! They are collecting the kids’ notes into their own little book.

Elf Paper

Anna sells a wonderful Elves Accessories Pack that is full of delightful elf treasures. But if you just want some elf paper, you can download ours below.

What kindness challenge should our elves issue next? I’m thinking we need to work on some outside kindness challenges…

Kindness Summer Camp

If elves aren’t your style, you might like Sheila’s Summer Camp. Sheila’s camp focuses on whole-family involvement. Sheila also has a toolkit and other resources for families.

Finding Your Kindness Solution

Both of these resources are fun and helpful, but kindness is as simple as being mindful about people and the world around us. Being kind can be as simple as smiling. Sometimes it involves money, like donating to a charity, but so many activities are free! Help a stranger, help a family member, be patient, and leave the world a little bit better than you found it.

What are your favorite ways to put kindness first as a family? Please share in the comments below, on my Facebook page, or tag me on Twitter or Instagram. 

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.