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JFK First Graders Lift Each Other Up with Kindness “Jars”
Cara Johannessen’s first graders at John F. Kennedy Elementary School gathered excitedly on the rug for a very special treat. Johannessen called out names one by one, handing each student a laminated jar-shaped paper filled with post-it note hearts. Each heart contained a positive adjective one of their classmates wrote to describe them.
Students took a moment to sit and look at their jars, yelling out the adjectives their friends had chosen for them with enthusiasm.
Matthew said that his favorites were “cool,” “happy” and “silly.” He thought the words described him well.
“I like lovable because my mom loves me too,” said Esther.
Michaela had a hard time choosing her favorite. “Maybe kind,” she said. “I like that my friends think I’m kind.”
The project, which left the room in an exuberant buzz, was a carryover from remote learning.
“Last year, my remote team implemented a digital version of this as our way of celebrating Valentine's Day,” Johannessen said. “I loved the idea so much that I knew I wanted to do a paper version once we were back in person.”
The class started the project with a lesson on positive adjectives. They made a jar together as a class so that they would have something to refer to before they started thinking about each of their classmates individually.
“Every day four or five students were highlighted and the class wrote adjectives for those students,” Johannessen said.
The day they received their jars, students still had an extra bounce in their steps as they rolled up their projects and tucked them away in their backpacks.
“I hoped that each child would leave feeling good about themselves, knowing all the positive things their classmates think of them,” Johannessen said. “It sparked so many positive and kind conversations and sharing of good thoughts!”