Second-graders spread a message of kindness

With the current state of unrest in our country, and around the world, Holly Criniti, second-grade teacher at Reid Elementary, wanted to take the opportunity to instill in her students the importance of kindness. During a unit on citizenship, the class discussed qualities of a good citizen such as being loyal, honest, and fair. Criniti’s goal was to teach her students to be responsible citizens in their community and to spread kindness to others. So she designed a project that gave her students the opportunity to challenge the Middletown community to spread kindness. The students painted wooden signs that simply said, “BE KIND” and they wrote letters to area businesses asking them to consider placing their signs outside their buildings. Soon Middletown was inundated with blue and gold signs that became the topic of conversation around town. Facebook chatter confirmed that their message was getting through as residents took notice of the encouraging signs around town. The signs were only intended to be posted for a month, but several months later the signs remain, reminding residents that a little kindness can have a tremendous impact.