How We Celebrated

#sol19- Mach 20, 2019

Today was International Day of Happiness and thanks to the grade 2 students forwarning us in the assembly last week I was prepared.

Yesterday I gave the students 15 minutes to start planning their happiness project, whatever that meant to them. I read a few ideas from 50 Ways to Feel Happy  to get them started, but then they were off on their own.

Today we had two sessions of “compliment scoot”. They wrote their name in the middle of a piece of paper to start. Next, they left their paper on their table while I played music and they roamed. When the music paused they wrote a compliment for that person on their paper. I spread this over two sessions and the energy was high, to say the least. At the end of the second session when everyone had had a chance to write one everyone else’s paper each child hand-delivered a compliment and the competed pare to a classmate. It was so sweet to watch them read their paper and share it with friends. Some students opted to keep this ray of happiness at school so they could look back at it whenever they wanted, while others wanted to take it home.

“I’m going to put it in a frame,” B said.

“I want to take it home to show my family, but then bring it back in because it will help me write better characters,” L said.

Just after lunch, the students had about 25 minutes to work on their individual happiness projects. The range was impressive.

This student was working on a cup of positive messages that she placed in front of the classroom for people to take from whenever they want.

Some students made cards for others.

This student had a whole checklist and went outside to check off some of her items. She ended up adding on even more ideas. 

There was lots more pictured here. Students were asking others what they could draw for them, how they could help them, and more. They were truly trying to think about how to spread happiness.

It is safe to say we all left school feeling a little happier!