A personalized Kindness Catcher for someone special gives a creative twist to a traditional game. Plus it’s a playful way to encourage acts of kindness.
The element of surprise with each turn of the catcher, not knowing what fortune will be unveiled, is always so fun and intriguing. I introduced this popular activity to my girls and they loved it just as much as I did.
Recently while we were making Kindness Catchers, my older daughter made a request: could she could make a special catcher for her friend, whose birthday party she was attending later that day? She wanted each selection to be personalized for the birthday girl.
For the first layer of flaps, my daughter drew colored hearts. For the second layer of flaps, she drew balloons, cupcakes, ice cream and even a picture of the birthday girl. Finally, she customized the kindness fortunes for the birthday girl, including messages like ‘give the birthday girl a hug’ or ‘tell her a joke.’
Materials
- Square paper big enough to fold several times
- Colored pens or pencil
Instructions
- Fold the paper to make a catcher
- Draw four different symbols on the outer layer of flaps. For example, you can draw four hearts of different colors or draw a hear, a star, a flower and a peace sign
- On the next layer of flaps, draw or write 8 different symbols or pictures. If you’re personalizing your Kindness Catcher, you can draw pictures connected to the person you’re giving it to
- Under each of the 8 flaps, write a kindness message. For example, you can write ‘help set the table’ or ‘write a letter to grandma’. Make them more specific if you’re personalizing your catcher.
I thought my daughter’s idea to personalize the Kindness Cootie Catcher was a nice touch and a really thoughtful way to make someone feel a little extra special. However you decide to use it, personalized or not, making and playing with a Kindness Catcher is a super simple kindness activity to do with your littles.