A Lesson In Kindness

Kindness is spreading throughout the community thanks to the efforts of a group of first and third grader students. The Andersen Elementary first graders, along with a group of third grade online learners from Andersen, Afton-Lakeland and Lake Elmo, were tasked with developing a marketing plan for “kindness.” 

They called themselves the Kindness Kids and began by researching community helpers who are experts in kindness, including local police officers and firefighters, the school principal, staff at Croixwood senior living, and a librarian at Bayport Library. They also interviewed other students in the school as their target audience, so they could create a kindness campaign that would resonate with them.

They even drafted a mission statement: “We believe kindness should be marketed in any way possible to help people feel better, happy and make the world a better place.”

In teams, the students created advertisements to promote kindness based on all they learned from the community helpers. From artwork to songs, the students depicted ways that people can show kindness to one another - from helping turtles safely cross the road to respecting police officers. They then presented their advertising campaigns to a panel of marketing professionals via Zoom for feedback.

“The highest form of learning is when it is shared from the heart,” said first grade teacher Jill Kostynick. “Our students surpassed our expectations when they advertised the kindness within our community with incredible thoughtfulness and creativity.”

The project was funded through a classroom grant from The Partnership Plan.