I am Emma B. and my act of kindness was for Mrs. VanDyken, a Pinewood first-grade teacher, and 2 little boys, Nathan and Donovan. I go down to her room twice every week and read with the boys so she doesn’t have to. ( Mrs VanDyken can’t read with them because she needs to help the other kids.) I volunteered a month or so ago and have been helping ever since.
I decided to have this as my kindness and planned to give the coin to Mrs. VanDyken. But every time I came to give her the coin, she seemed too busy. Mrs. Weaver and I worked out a plan to go down next ACT time.
Mrs. VanDyken and Emma
As we set off to her room I practiced what I was going to say over and over, being that I was nervous. We finally reached her door, and we knocked, came in and realized….. She wasn’t even there! It was a sub! (all my practice for nothing!) We decided to come back later.
So we set off again, me of course practicing my lines again, hoping she would actually be there for me to recite. She was, and I passed it on!! She was so happy and said how thankful she was for me. 
She promised to pass on the coin!
This truly made me happy , and I think it made her happy too.
‘Bet she appreciates your help!
☺☻
Way to go, Emma! I know Mrs. VanDyken appreciates all of your help! You are doing such a great job!
So cool great job that helped those boys a lot!!!!!
You just gave me a great idea! For my second kindness, I should tutor some kids at my school!
Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Emma! You really are the one who deserves the Kindness coin, not me. Not only are you helping me every time you come, but you are helping the two kiddos you read with and they LOVE that you come every day with a smile!!! Plus, I’m certain I won’t be able to express here, in words, how it made me feel to receive a Kindness coin from you. It was definitely a highlight of my teaching career so far!! You are an amazing young lady and I am lucky to be getting to know you (even if it’s just a little bit)!!!
So you know…I passed the Kindness coin on to a paraprofessional who works at my daughter’s school. My sweet little 6 year old is often sad to have to say good-bye to her mom and start her school day so early. This particular paraprofessional, however, ALWAYS, without fail, greets her with a smile (and often a hug), making her feel less fearful and sad. Mrs. “T”, as the kids at school call her, is a one-of-a-kind person who has touched our lives in the most positive way consistently in the year and a half that we’ve known her. While I always say “thank you” and often give her treats on the various holidays, receiving the Kindness coin was just what she needed and made a special impact on her, as it did on me. It literally brought tears to her eyes!!!!
I try to teach my children how important kindness is. I often tell them that if a day goes by and they cannot remember doing one kind thing for someone else, it is a day wasted. By giving me the coin, you gave me a very specific way of modeling for my children how important kindness is and how special it can make people feel.
So, like I said before, it’s you who deserve the Kindness coin!!!!
Emma, That was Very Kind To help out Those First Graders.