Bob the Kindness Tree

One of our themes this month is giving & kindness. I read on some website, an idea to promote kind behavior in preschoolers. I got a large sheet of brown butcher paper, then drew an outline of a tree on it. I had told the kids what I was making, and they were all excited about it!

They watched me draw the tree, then I cut it out and we had a big to-do of me taping the tree on the door leading to the bathroom. This is the best location, as parents can see the tree when they walk in the door! Every time I catch a kid being kind, such as sharing a toy or helping someone, I write their name on a leaf, and we put it on the tree! So far, it has done well at helping the kids remember to be kind to our friends! They even will go so far as to apologize to and hug the tree if they aren't being kind. I have no idea where they came up with that idea, I certainly didn't tell them to do that! They also get very upset if I say that their behavior is making the tree sad. Apparently it is very bad to make the tree sad.

Since everything has to have a name, we decided to name the tree Bob. Bob the Kindness Tree. I even made up a song for it that goes to the tune of "Deep & Wide." It goes like this:

Bob the Tree
Bob the Tree
It's Bob the Kindness Tree!

Bob the Tree
Bob the Tree
Let's Put Some Leaves on Bob the Tree!

I admit, it's not the best song in the world, but the kids seem to like it! They will start singing it at random! Hooray for Bob the Kindness Tree!