Get ready for World Kindness Day 2026 with kindness activities, printable worksheets, and more lesson plans for elementary school teachers! Created by teachers, every teaching resource in this World Kindness Day collection has been rigorously reviewed by the Teach Starter teaching team to ensure it's ready for your classroom!

Maybe this is the first time you’re hearing about World Kindness Day? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!

What Is World Kindness Day?

Started in Singapore in 2000, World Kindness Day is all about highlighting and encouraging good deeds in your home, classroom, and community. The people at the World Kindness Movement — the organization behind World Kindness Day — say “it serves as a reminder to all that simple acts of kindness have power and that together, we can all work to create a kinder world.” Currently, people (including kids) celebrate World Kindness Day in 28 countries, including the US, and there are plenty of random acts of kindness ideas your students can do on this day … or any other day of the year!

When Is World Kindness Day 2026?

World Kindness Day is always November 13, regardless of what year it is, putting it right between Election Day and Thanksgiving here in the United States. The holiday kicks off World Kindness Week, which will run from November 9-15, 2026. World Kindness Day will be on a Friday in 2026, so chances are good that school will be in session in most of the US!

How to Celebrate World Kindness Day

Looking to bring this holiday into your social and emotional learning? Here are just a few ideas from our teacher team!

Have a kindness brainstorming session: Use your morning meeting to encourage students to share ideas on how they can be kind to others and make a list of their suggestions.
Set up a kindness scavenger hunt: Use our list of kindness tasks for students to complete, such as holding the door open for someone or leaving a kind note for a friend.
Kindness crafts: Have students create kindness cards or posters that can be displayed in the classroom or school.
Random acts of kindness: Encourage students to perform random acts of kindness throughout the day, such as giving a compliment to a classmate or helping someone carry their books.
Plan a kindness assembly: Organize an assembly where students can share their acts of kindness and inspire others to do the same.
Create a kindness wall: Have a wall or a bulletin board in the classroom where students can post kind messages to one another or their classmates.
Run a kindness circle: Have students sit in a circle and take turns sharing something kind they have done or something kind someone has done for them.
Share a kindness story: Read a story related to kindness or watch a video related to kindness and discuss it with students.

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Sprinkle Kindness Activity Book Template

Kindness Word Scramble