Family and Neighborhood 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge for Toddlers on Up

I love that my family has been participating in the 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge since it began in 2011. The January/February 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge (hosted by Toddler Approved and Coffee Cups and Crayons) is a great time for an extra focus on kindness. This year, we decided it would be perfect to focus on family and neighborhood acts of kindness with my 6-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, and toddler grandkids Sophia (26 months) and Caleb (23 months).

We’ve had fun with the 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge with a toddler before. When Zoey was 14 months old, we had simple acts of kindness with a toddler. When Zoey was 2 years old, we focused on toddler manners.

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100 Acts of Kindness Resources

You can get a free 100 Acts of Kindness Chart (with or without numbers) from Toddler Approved. We’ve used this printable before and decided to use it again this year. It’s especially perfect with ½” heart stickers or hearts you glue onto the chart. (Note: We don’t use the chart as a reward system. It’s a way for us to keep track of the kindness acts and focus on math skills at the same time.)

Kindness Calendar for Families from Toddler Approved

We got a number of ideas for our 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge from the free Kindness Calendar for Families from Toddler Approved.

Kindness Cards by Kelley Dolling – Teacher Idea Factory at Teachers Pay Teachers

There are 100 kindness cards in the 100 Acts of Kindness Freebie by Kelley Dolling (Teacher Idea Factory) at Teachers Pay Teachers). We used some of these, and I sent some home with Zoey for ideas to use during her days away from my house. These are especially helpful for children who attend school. There are many ideas children can use in their schools.

Kindness Elf Family with Kindness Cards, Chart, and Hearts

We included our Kindness Elves along with our 100 Acts of Kindness Chart and Kindness Cards. I have three grandkids, so we’re using the whole kindness elf family with three baby elves! For this activity, they just sat on our counter as a reminder to be kind. ⁠You can see all my kindness elf posts and resources in “The Ultimate Guide to Kindness Elves.” ⠀

Books for the First Day of Our 100 Acts of Kindness

Since the 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge always begins on Martin Luther King Day, we introduced the Martin Luther King, Jr., section of the National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book of Who and Baby Be Kind. These are both Montessori-friendly books. ⁠⠀
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I adapted the section on Martin Luther King, Jr., to be appropriate for my 6 year old and two toddler grandkids. My toddler grandkids LOVE Baby Be Kind. It’s a book about two toddlers showing kindness in a variety of ways. It does encourage sharing. Even though we don’t require young children to share (encouraging them to take turns instead), I don’t mind them being introduced to the concept of sharing in a book. And it does talk about taking turns as well.⁠⠀

100 Acts of Kindness Activities

Picking up Litter on Family Litter Scavenger Hunt

Picking up Trash on Family Litter Scavenger Hunt

Our neighborhood litter scavenger hunt included Zoey, Sophia, Caleb, Caleb’s mom, and Caleb’s dad.

Grandma and Grandson Picking up Litter for 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge

Along with the family neighborhood litter scavenger hunt on the first day of our 100 Acts of Kindness, we read the books and had a Martin Luther King Day party with healthy muffins, tofu, popcorn, and apple slices! Lots of family fun … and kindness!⁠

All 3 of my grandkids have been doing so many kind things from kindnesses toward family members to making cards to picking up litter in the neighborhood and showing extra kindness to the garbage collector.⁠⠀⁠⠀

Placing Heart Stickers on the 100 Acts of Kindness Chart

Starting to Add Kindness Hearts to Our Family 100 Acts of Kindness Chart

Toddler Cousins Putting Their Heart Stickers on Our Family 100 Acts of Kindness Chart

100 Acts of Kindness Completed and on to More Acts of Kindness!

Completed 100 Acts of Kindness Chart with 100 Hearts Calming Bottle and Heart Mindful Breathing Board

Caleb, his mother (my daughter), Christina, and I prepared a 100 hearts sensory bottle (100 hearts calming bottle) after the final heart was placed on the chart. We displayed the completed chart, 100 hearts calming bottle, and a Montessori Mindful Breathing Board from Montessori ReStore on Etsy. We have both heart- and star- mindful breathing boards. I love that the phrase for the heart mindful breathing board is “I am loving. I am loved.” Perfect for a kindness project … and a mindfulness/peace area on our shelf!

See my post at LivingMontessoriNowl.com telling how we made our 100 hearts sensory bottle (100 hearts calming bottle).

My Hundred Acts of Kindness Posts

Wishing you lots of love and kindness,

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