I Can Help the Grinch’s Heart Grow 3 Sizes By…

In December, our Kinder and 1st grade students learned about kindness through a fun and familiar character, the Grinch!

We started by looking at a picture of the Grinch and asking students what they remembered about him.

Students shared ideas such as:

• “He was mean at first.”

• “He didn’t like Christmas.”

• “He was grouchy.”
  
  

We talked about how, by the end of the story, the Grinch’s heart grew bigger because he learned about kindness, caring, and helping others.

How Do We Help Hearts Grow?

Students brainstormed ways we can make someone’s heart feel happy.

We guided them with examples such as:

• Saying kind words

• Helping a friend

• Sharing

• Including others

These small actions help others feel cared for, and help OUR hearts grow stronger, too!

Heart-Growing Activity

Students received a worksheet with three hearts.
Their task was to show three ways they can help the Grinch’s heart grow by spreading kindness.

Students could:

• Draw their ideas (for younger grades)

• Write their ideas (for emerging writers)
  
  

Examples students came up with included:

• Helping clean up

• Saying “thank you”

• Playing with someone who is alone

• Giving a compliment

A few students shared their drawings with the class, and we celebrated each one!

What We Learned

We closed the lesson with this message:

“Just like the Grinch, our hearts can grow bigger when we show kindness.
Every time you do something kind, you’re helping your heart, and someone else’s, grow too!”

This lesson helps students recognize the power they have to create a caring classroom and community.