Our FREE Printable Kindness Calendar will have you and your kids practicing random acts of kindness, and spreading warmth and happiness to friends, neighbours and your community all month long. These acts of kindness are easy to do together as a family, and help teach children the importance of doing for others, and experience the joy that comes from giving without receiving.
February is a great month to focus on love and kindness with your children. Not only do these qualities tie in nicely with any Valentine’s theme you may be focusing on at home or in the classroom, February tends to be a dull, dreary, and depressing months for some, so spreading kindness to those who may not expect it can be particularly appreciated and rewarding at this time of year.
Our printable kindness calendar is designed to help you and your kids spread a little kindness and sunshine in your home, neighbourhood and community. Even the smallest kind and giving gestures can go along way to picking up someone’s spirits and making a positive difference in the world around you.
Update: This calendar was created several years ago so the dates and days of the week may not line up with the current year’s.
If one of the suggestions won’t work for you.
Some of the ideas may not work for your family, so if that happens:
- Brainstorm together and modify the suggestion or come up with a completely new one that does.
- Scroll to the bottom of this post for extra/alternative ideas that you can substitute with.
A few weeks ago, I polled my Facebook followers and asked them to share an act of kindness that they’d either extended or received recently.
I found their responses so heart-warming and inspiring that I decided to compile them and put together a Printable Kindness Calendar. It is my hope that you and your children will hop on board with this project and spread kindness to those around you this month.
In addition to the downloadable, printable calendar, I’ve listed the suggested activities separately in this post as well.
The list is a little more detailed, while the shortened version is printed on the calendar that you can stick on the fridge or bulletin board To refer to on a daily basis.
You may find that some of the suggestions on the calendar won’t work for you or your family. For example, the hot lunch program might not be available in your school, or you may want to skip the ideas that require spending money. Scroll to the bottom of this post, and you’ll find some ideas that you can swap them out with. You can also use this opportunity to brainstorm as a family to come up with a few unique ideas of your own.
Whatever you do, have fun this month with your Kindness Calendar, and know that “no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
DOWN LOAD YOUR FREE, PRINTABLE CALENDAR HERE –>> February Kindness Calendar
*Scroll to the bottom of this post for extra/alternative ideas that you can substitute with.
February’s Random Acts of Kindness Calendar
- Pick up a few McDonald’s or Subway gift cards and keep them in your wallet to hand out to people in need when you see them.
- Leave a batch of fresh-baked cookies on a neighbour’s doorstep. Ring the bell and run away!
- Have the kids help you bundle up clothing and toys, games and craft supplies and drop it off at a local charity.
- Pick up trash! Plan a walk around your neighbourhood, or the park, forest or beach. Arm yourselves with some plastic bags and gloves, and pick up any garbage you find.
- Have the kids go through their books. Donate some to doctor’s or dentist’s office. They’ll be grateful to have a few new ones for their waiting room.
- Leave change in (or sitting on) a vending machine as a nice surprise for the next person who comes along.
- Make “blessing bags”: Fill small bags with drinks, snacks, gloves, personal hygiene items etc. and keep them in your car, to hand out those less fortunate than yourself.
- When you’re at the coffee shop, pay for an extra coffee or two to treat a the customers who come in after you.
- Let someone go ahead of you in line at the check-out at the grocery store, Walmart, the pharmacy etc.
- Round up unworn, hats, scarves and mittens (or purchase some at a thrift shop), and leave them at a park for those who need them most.
- Round up old sheets, towels and blankets and drop them off at your local animal shelter. Check out this Animal Shelter Wish List for more ideas.
- Adopt a soldier. “Adopt a US Soldier” is a non-profit organization active in over 170 countries, territories and states. It connects individuals at home deployed troops, and provides a wonderful opportunity for a family or class to send encouragement and gratitude to those serving abroad.
- Let your kids drop some spare change into a few parking meters in a busy area of town. This can be as little as a quarter but it will be a welcome treat for the next person who pulls up to the meter. You also might save others from receiving a ticket if their time has almost run out.
- Be kind to your neighbourhood birds! Make one of these simple feeders and hang it in the park or in your neighbour’s yard.
- Purchase several pairs of warm, thick socks, and hand them out to the homeless.
- At the drive-through, purchase a frosty or a milkshake for the car behind you.
- Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. It sounds so simple, but it will mean a lot to a friend, an old landlord or a relative. For the record, my landlord from 20 years ago called me this Christmas to catch up, and it was like a gift. Best phone call I’ve had in months.
- Pay off someone’s library fine.
- Leave positive, encouraging notes on the bathroom mirror at home, school or the office like this amazing teen did at her school. You can find loads of inspiring messages here.
- Help someone load their groceries into their car. Push their cart back to the cart-park too. If you pay to use your grocery cart, don’t worry about collecting your change when you’re finished. Hand your cart off to someone else, and ask them to do the same when they’re finished with it.
- Leave an envelope of microwave popcorn and a Red Box movie rental code in a neighbour’s mailbox.
- If you can afford to, have your child’s school transfer your family’s hot lunch account to another family for the month.
- On a cold day, give a hot chocolate to the crossing guard in your neighbourhood.
- If you can afford to, when paying for your gas, have the attendant apply an extra 10 dollars for the customer that follows.
- Bake muffins or cupcakes and drop them off at your local police or fire station as a way of thanking those who serve your community and keep you safe.
- Round up a box of books and magazines and board games, and deliver them to a retirement home.
- When cooking your dinner tonight, make an extra portion and deliver it to a family member or neighbour. I have a close neighbour who’s on her own, so I often take her a jar of soup or spaghetti sauce when I’ve made a big batch. Sometimes I’ll just make up a plate of whatever meat, potato and veg we’re having. A little gravy and a dinner roll on the side… She’s always so thankful for a hot meal that she didn’t have to prepare herself.
- Send a gratitude email (or an old fashioned letter that you put in the mail) to someone, letting them know how much they mean to you. I once did this for my Nan. I jotted down many of my childhood memories of our times together, and let her know how instrumental she was in shaping me as a human being. She said it was the most meaningful letter she’d ever received. Such a simple act can mean so much.
Extra, alternative acts of kindness:
If you’re looking for additional ideas or alternative ways to extend kindness in your community this month, here are a few more ideas for you:
- Go through your pantry cupboards, round up enough to drop off a donation at your local food bank.
- Leave an uplifting message on a sticky note, hidden in the pages of a library book.
- Help a neighbour by washing their car, cutting their grass or shovelling their driveway.
- Smile at 15 strangers.
- Bring a box of donuts into work with you.
- Drop quarters on the ground for others to find.
- Make amends with someone.
- Pay someone’s toll.
- Pick up the tab for someone at a restaurant or grocery store.
- Mail a REAL letter to someone. A real letter is so much more exciting than an email.
- If you have coupons that you’re not going to use, pass them on to the customer behind you. It won’t cost you a thing, but it will save them some money.
- Offer an hour or two of free babysitting to a friend. It will mean the world to them!
- Deliver your neighbour’s trashcan or newspaper from the driveway to their door.
- Write a letter to your favourite teacher (from your childhood, or have your child choose one from his/hers). Let your teacher know the difference they made, and how they helped shape you.
Now that you’re armed with your calendar, get on out there and spread some kindness. And be sure to share the link to our calendar so others can do the same!
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE, PRINTABLE CALENDAR HERE–>> February Kindness Calendar
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
