Using the boomerang...
Promotes acts of kindness
Reinforces "Pay it Forward"
Engages classes as community
Offers opportunity to reflect
Overview
The Kindness Boomerang is an activity designed to create an understanding of how Kindness always comes back to you just like a boomerang.
The teacher or instructor introduces how a boomerang works and what a boomerang is.
The teacher asks how the boomerang may relate or connect to kindness.
The class watches the Kindness Boomerang Video and discusses the connection.
The class designs a boomerang and creates a plan on who to send the boomerang to next.
The boomerang travels from classroom to classroom with a QR code to the video and discussion.
A picture is requested of the next participating group holding the boomerang.
The boomerang is then signed by the class and sent to the next group.
Core Components
Directions explicitly given
Learning on the science of kindness provided
Transferred to a new setting within a time period after receiving
Proactive Implementation
Introducing and proactively implementing the kindness boomerang starts with explicitly teaching about random acts of kindness and the benefits of teaching kindness.
Responsive Implementation
Responsively introducing the kindness boomerang typically stems from a sense of apathy or poor interpersonal interactions among a student, group, or class. Students should first be taught about the benefits of kindness then random acts of kindness prior to starting the boomerang.
Connection
If the need is connection then students should take a picture as a group after receiving the boomerang.
Skills Training
If the need is skill building then the science of kindness should be taught explicitly to improve interpersonal skills.
Awareness
If the need is awareness then the combination of the boomerang with a journal logging how an act of kindness felt for both receiving and providing can be documented.
Emotional Regulation
If the need is regulation then the boomerang picture may be a reminder for a coping tool for a mind shifter. The student may also generate ideas of where the boomerang could go next or start a mini boomerang.
Consider Factors Prior to Start
Student factors-
Gender, race, function, topography, family dynamics, interpersonal relationships
Contextual factors -
Resource availability, classroom instruction, physical space, time, technology
Intensifying or Fading During
Duration
Frequency
Feedback
Reinforcement
Goals
REMINDER
Make a note to document when you're starting this intervention.
After 10 consecutive school days of implementation, use collected data to determine the intervention's effectiveness.