Kindness spreads through Leopold via the Kind Kids Club

Children from Leopold Primary School’s years 3 – 6 cohort are regular visitors to Meli’s Leopold Kindergarten and Allanvale Preschool as part of Kind Kids Club (KKC), a program which has run since 2019.

 

Skye Cook, Leopold Primary’s KKC co-ordinator developed the program so that her students could model different aspects of kindness in the wider community.

 

“One of our school values is ‘kindness’ and in so many areas of our school, family and community life we can show kindness and it is free,” she shared with local news source Bellarine Times.

 

Each session of KKC is unique, with children often talking about what being kind and unkind looks like, and then put these skills into practice by doing activities that encourage sharing and helping one another.

 

This is a complement to Meli Kindergarten’s Anti Bias approach, which sees educators working with every child, every day to promote kindness, equity and inclusion.

 

Leschelle Keast, who leads Leopold Kindergarten, said KKC was a wonderful match for the service’s commitment to the Anti Bias approach, supporting children to see that even a small gesture of kindness or a smile can make someone’s day.

 

“We enjoy watching the kindergarten children learn from the primary school children about being kind and what it means to be kind to people and the environment,” she shared with the paper. 

 

Interacting with older children has also boosted the confidence of the preschoolers, and created a great connection for when they too join the world of school. 

 

“This assists them when they go to school, learning that the ‘big’ kids are not scary, but are friendly and there to help them,” Ms Keast said. 

 

Access the original coverage of this story here. For more information about Meli’s early childhood programs see here.