Heart Treasures: An SEL Lesson on Kindness & Helpful Words for Kids

Engage young children with this hands-on social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson. Through a fun treasure hunt, kids learn the difference between material wealth and 'Heart Treasures' like kindness and honesty. Includes a simple game to teach the '30-Second Rule' for helpful vs. hurtful comments. Perfect for parents and early childhood educators.

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Lesson Plan: Heart Treasures and Helpful Hints

Materials Needed:

  • Two small boxes or containers (shoeboxes work well)
  • Markers or crayons
  • Paper (or index cards)
  • Scissors
  • Play money and/or real coins
  • A piece of green paper and a piece of red paper (or a printed thumbs-up and thumbs-down)
  • A small piece of a dark green vegetable, like spinach or kale

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, Arturo will be able to:

  • Differentiate between things money can buy ("Pocket Treasure") and character traits that are priceless ("Heart Treasures").
  • Identify examples of kindness, honesty, and integrity in simple scenarios.
  • Apply the "30-Second Rule" to determine if a comment is helpful or hurtful.

Alignment with Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards:

This lesson supports core SEL competencies, including Social Awareness (understanding the perspectives of and empathizing with others) and Responsible Decision-Making (making caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions).

Part 1: The Treasure Hunt (20 minutes)

Preparation (5 minutes):

  1. Label one box with a big heart (♥) and call it the "Heart Treasure Chest."
  2. Label the other box with a dollar sign ($) and call it the "Pocket Treasure Chest."
  3. On several small pieces of paper, draw simple pictures representing "Heart Treasures":
    • Two people sharing a toy (Kindness)
    • Someone helping another person who fell down (Caring)
    • A person telling the truth, even if they made a mistake (Honesty/Integrity)
    • Someone giving a hug (Love)
    • A smiling face (Happiness)
  4. Gather your "Pocket Treasures": the play money and coins.
  5. Hide all the picture cards and the play money around the room for Arturo to find.

Activity: The Hunt for True Wealth

  1. Introduction: "Arturo, today we're going on a special treasure hunt! There are two kinds of treasure in the world. The first is Pocket Treasure, like money, that we use to buy things like toys and snacks. The second, and most important, is Heart Treasure. You can't buy Heart Treasure—it's the good stuff you keep inside you, like being kind and honest. Let's go find some of both!"
  2. The Hunt: Let Arturo search the room for the hidden items. As he finds each one, discuss it with him.
    • If he finds money/coins: "Great! You found Pocket Treasure. We can use that to buy an apple at the store. Which chest does it go in?" (Guide him to the $ box).
    • If he finds a picture card: "Wow, you found a picture of someone being kind! Kindness is a Heart Treasure. It doesn't cost any money, but it makes both you and your friends feel rich inside. Which chest does this go in?" (Guide him to the ♥ box).
  3. Conclusion: When all the treasures are found, sit down and look inside the two chests. Say, "Look at all this Pocket Treasure! It's nice, but it can get spent and go away. Now look at the Heart Treasure. Kindness, honesty, and love... these are treasures you can give away every single day, and you will never, ever run out. That's true wealth."

Part 2: The "Kindness Quick-Check" Game (15 minutes)

Preparation (2 minutes):

  1. Create your two signs: The green paper is the "Helpful Hint" sign. The red paper is the "Keep it in Your Heart" sign.
  2. Secretly (and a bit comically) stick the small piece of spinach to your own tooth so it's visible when you smile.

Activity: Is It Helpful or Hurtful?

  1. Introduction: "Arturo, now we're going to learn a super important secret about being a kind friend. It's called the 30-Second Rule. Sometimes we see things about people and we want to say something. Before we speak, we should ask ourselves: 'Can the person fix this in 30 seconds?' If they can, it's a Helpful Hint. If they can't, we Keep it in Our Heart so we don't hurt their feelings."
  2. Demonstration: Give Arturo the two signs. Then, give him a big, goofy smile so he can see the spinach in your teeth. Ask, "Arturo, do you notice anything on me?" He will likely point to your tooth. "Oh my goodness! Thank you for telling me! Is that something I can fix in 30 seconds?" (He will say yes). "Exactly! So you gave me a Helpful Hint. That was very kind." Then, quickly remove it.
  3. The Game: Now, give Arturo a few more scenarios. For each one, he should hold up the correct sign ("Helpful Hint" or "Keep it in Your Heart").
    • "Your friend has marker on his cheek." (Helpful Hint - he can wash it off).
    • "You see someone who has very big ears." (Keep it in Your Heart - they can't change that, and it would make them sad to hear).
    • "My shirt is on backwards." (Helpful Hint - I can fix that quickly!).
    • "A girl at the park is much shorter than the other kids." (Keep it in Your Heart - that's just how she is, and she knows it already).
    • "Your friend's shoe is untied." (Helpful Hint - you are helping them be safe!).

Wrap-Up and Assessment (5 minutes)

Sit with Arturo and review the main ideas in a simple chat.

  • "What was the difference between Pocket Treasure and Heart Treasure?" (He should be able to explain that one is money and the other is being good/kind).
  • "If you see your friend has a little chocolate on their face after eating a cookie, is that a Helpful Hint or something you Keep in Your Heart?" (He should identify it as a Helpful Hint).
  • "Why is Heart Treasure the 'true wealth'?" (Guide him to understand it's because it helps you be a good person and a good friend, which is more important than having toys).

Assessment: Your assessment is informal observation. Did Arturo correctly sort the treasures? Could he correctly identify which scenarios were "Helpful Hints" during the game? His participation and answers during the wrap-up chat will show his level of understanding.

Extension Activity:

Create a "Heart Treasure" jar. Whenever you see Arturo demonstrating kindness, honesty, or integrity, help him write it down (or draw a picture) on a slip of paper and add it to the jar. When the jar is full, celebrate with a special activity together. This reinforces that "true wealth" is built through consistent, kind actions.