Warm+Fuzzies

(Nearly all of the research cited in the References page indicate the importance of building relationships between students and teachers, teachers parents, and among students.)

Warm fuzzies is something that I came across at a youth camp as a teenager. When you first hear about it, it sounds like something that the students might think is "lame" or that they are too old for. I had the same thoughts when I was asked to participate in warm fuzzies when I was 15. I could not have been more wrong. Even as a teenager (who thought she was too for most everything), I really got into warm fuzzies and so did the other teens at the camp. When we first arrived at the camp, the cliques were already formed. Warm fuzzies helped break the ice and help people get out of their comfort zones to make friends with other people. After experiencing warm fuzzies as a participant when I was a teenager I have successfully implemented warm fuzzies in several of the classrooms I have worked in and the students love them. It is similar is some ways to the "fill a bucket" concept but this way, students seem to feel more comfortable. Words can be very powerful. Encouraging and thoughtful words can go a long way toward building students confidence and self-esteem, especially if they come from a home where they don't often hear good things about themselves.

What is a warm fuzzy?
A warm fuzzy is a feeling of comfort and reassurance that you get, sort of like the feeling you get when you touch a warm, soft blanket. They make you feel happy and good inside. When you give someone a compliment or do something nice for someone, it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling.

** Warm fuzzies and Our Classroom Community **
We know the impact that words can have. We have all been the victim of unkind words and we all remember how those words made us feel. Some people think that tearing people down by saying unkind things to them is the only way to build themselves up. We are all important members of this classroom family. This year, we are going to use warm fuzzies to help us understand how using our words to build other people up makes us feel better about ourselves as well. Think about this...


 * Think about a time that you have said something to someone with the intention of hurting their feelings. It could be a time that you were fighting with a friend and you said something mean to them out of anger. (After students think of a situation, we will talk about how they felt afterwards. We will talk about how saying something mean or making fun of someone else doesn't really make us feel any better about ourselves. If anything, after we are unkind to someone, we probably have feelings of guilt and we feel worse about ourselves


 * Think about a time that you did something nice for someone just because. It could be a time that you gave someone a compliment or a time that you helped someone pick up their things when they dropped them. (After students think of a situation, they will share about how they felt afterward. The point being that doing kind things for other people doesn't make us feel bad about ourselves. If anything, doing something kind for another person actually makes us feel better about ourselves.)


 * Think about a time when you've had a really rough day. (After students have thought about a time that they had a really rough day, we will talk about the impact that a small act of genuine kindness can have when you are having a bad day.

Guidelines for warm fuzzies
Warm fuzzies are for build each other up, not tearing each other down. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
 * 1) Warm fuzzies can be anonymous. When you give someone a warm fuzzy, you don't need to put your name on it. If you want to put your name on it, that's fine, if you don't that's[[image:images (2).jpg align="right"]] fine too.
 * 2) Warm fuzzies are for everyone. Don't just send them to your friends. Get out of your comfort zone and give a warm fuzzy to someone you've never given one to before or give a warm fuzzy to someone who looks like they are just having a rough day, even if you don't hang out or talk that much.
 * 1) As you get to know each other, try to dig deeper with your warm fuzzies. For example, instead of complimenting someone on their new shoes, congratulate them on a success they have had at school, or let them know that you see them working hard to improve on something.
 * 2) We don't give warm fuzzies for recognition. We give them because they make us feel good and they make other people feel good.

How do we do it?
It's easy! Grab a piece of paper from the warm fuzzies basket, a post-it or any scrap sheet of paper, write your warm fuzzy and the name of the person you are sending it to on it and put it in the warm fuzzies envelope. I will deliver warm fuzzies at the beginning of the day, during Special Area and at the end of the day. Remember to try and dig beneath the surface for meaningful things to say to one another in your warm fuzzies.