Spread the Love: Encouraging Empathy and Inclusivity Through Classroom Crafts

6 projects that celebrate and encourage all the members in your classroom community

Creating a classroom community that inspires children to feel safe and thrive in their learning space takes a lot of work. We have to find ways as educators to truly make each of our scholars feel included and celebrated in the classroom. These activities are great ways to get kids reflecting on why they are unique and special while also having the chance to share with others. They will also have the ability to practice empathy while learning about their peers.    

1. So Many Reasons to Love our Class

One way to get kids celebrating themselves and others is to have them sit and reflect on something they value about themselves. Have your group of students make a list of things that are special about themselves. Then have them select which of those things they are most proud of. To make the hearts for this chain that you can hang up in your classroom, on your door, or in the main hallway of your school you will need to get out your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut our hearts using the Seals-Heart (Pinnovation) Die Cut. You will need one heart for each of your scholars. Once your students have selected their word that represents them and they are proud of, have them use their best handwriting to add it to their heart. This is a great time for you to have the children in your classroom share their word with one another. This can lead to a discussion of what they value in each other as well. After this conversation, hang them together using a string or tape them where you want to display them.

2. “What I Value About You” Boxes

In the month of February we often see hearts and signs of love everywhere we go. This is a great time to capitalize on the theme of love and care in your classroom. Kids love having opportunities to share with others why they care about them. These boxes can be made and placed on desks for the whole month and scholars can add notes of appreciation and celebration of others in their classroom. When someone sees a peer being kind, they can drop a note in their box to share that they noticed. When a scholar is showing growth and confidence then another scholar can highlight how proud they are by adding a note to their friends box. The possibilities are endless with this project. At the end of the month the children can open their box and read all their notes and this will build their self-esteem and help to strengthen their classroom community as well. To make these boxes use your to cut out the Box w/Handle Die Cut and the Hearts #2 Die Cut. Create the box and glue hearts to the sides of the box. Have each student write their name and decorate their box to make it more uniquely their own.  

3. All About Me Heart Collage 

One of the greatest gifts we can give our scholars is encouragement and time to explore and discover what they value in themselves. Humans are complex and children are no different than adults in their complexity but finding ways to learn about how special they each are is something that takes time and learning. Leading the class through some self-reflection and exploration will help them create their own heart collage. They can add things about themselves such as their name, where they are from, what language they speak, and examples of their favorite things. This is something scholars can chat about with one another to find similarities and differences. To make these hearts you will need to use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and then cut hearts using the Heart #11 Die Cut. You can use white and pink construction paper such as you see in the example or you can select any other color you would like. Next you can direct the students to draw their name in the heart and a picture of themselves in the center and then around it all the things they love. 

4. Hands Up for Empathy

This lesson in empathy is one that centers around helping students consider other perspectives, experiences and backgrounds. Bring your scholars together in a circle and spend time talking about the cultures and experiences that are represented in your learning space. Share stories about traditions and celebrations they might participate in with their families. Guide the conversation and find how these experiences are unique but there are often things we can connect to because we are all living the human experience. Once this conversation has taken place you can have each child outline their arm and hand using construction paper of their favorite color. Then you can pass out hearts that you cut out using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and the Hearts #3 Die Cut. Students can then add things they appreciate about their peers in their community. They will then glue their hearts to the arm/hand.  They can share about anything they heard in the class discussion that they remember and found exciting or cool. They can then share their final product with one another.   

5. I am Complex Craft

As you continue to work with your students to build their self-awareness and as they practice utilizing empathy they will also begin to discover that we are complex beings. We are not simply one thing, we don’t fit under a single label and our identity is beautifully complicated. This craft will allow your students to list out some of the different traits they see in themselves that help make up who they are. To create these adorable I am Complex Cards you will use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and the Selfie Die Cut, the Hearts and Stars Die Cut, and the Geolocation Symbol #1 Die Cut. First, fold construction paper in half and place the fold on the Selfie die leaving the blade exposed on the left side. Next, cut two white construction paper selfies and trim around the perforation using scissors. Adhere it onto the card on the front and the inside right. Then cut out a small Geolocation symbol from yellow and a heart from red construction paper and adhere to the front of the card. Have the students write the word "Me" at the bottom of the symbol. Then have scholars write the list of traits in their heart on the card. They can display these, share them with their peers or take them home to share with their families. They can even ask their families if they would add some additional traits to their card. 

6. We Grow in Love

This would be a great final project to round out your work around inclusion and empathy. Your scholars have spent time exploring differences among themselves, they have worked to use some self-discovery and they have worked hard to celebrate their similarities and differences. Use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out the Turkey #4 Die Cut as well as the Hearts #3 Die Cut. Each student will need a turkey and enough hearts for each student to pass a heart to each of their classmates. The job for your students is to write something they appreciate and celebrate in each of their peers. They will use their best handwriting to write their idea at the top of the heart and they will then pass that heart to that peer. Once all peers have written a heart for each of their classmates they will then take their own and glue them in a way that displays all of their wonderful hearts that were given to them by their peers. Post these in your classroom or allow them to tape them to the front of their desks as a way to come back to the amazing effort and work they put into this community building work.

  All of these projects are sure to help develop a classroom community that is strong, supportive and kind. Students will not only learn to value and respect themselves more but they will also gain perspective on how to celebrate others in all that makes one another unique. 

Written by Amy Pinegar.