For homeschool families · ages 3–8
A One-Week Kindness Unit
Every parent wants to raise a kind kid. The hard part is knowing where to start. So I put together a simple five-day plan built around The Grumble-Gator’s Greatest Raft. Each day takes about 20 to 30 minutes, works for more than one age at the table, and uses free printables you can download right here. No sign-up needed.
Before Monday
What you’ll need
Nothing fancy. Most of it is already in your house.
The book
A copy of The Grumble-Gator’s Greatest Raft in paperback, hardcover, or eBook. Where to get it →
A printer
Five free printables, one for most days. Links are in each day below.
Craft supplies
Craft sticks or straws, tape or string, paper, crayons, and a bowl or sink of water for Day 4.
The plan
Your week, day by day
Follow it in order, or stretch it over two weeks. Go at your family’s pace.
Day 1 · Read & talk
Meet Barnaby and Toby
Start with the cover and ask, “Who do you think the Grumble-Gator is?” Then read the book aloud. Stop two or three times using the pause-and-talk questions from the Family Reading Guide. Finish by pointing to faces on the Feelings Mat and asking how Toby felt, and how Barnaby felt.
Feelings & Kindness Mat (PDF) →Day 2 · Retell & understand
Why was Barnaby so grumpy?
Read it again; kids love the second time. Then have your child retell the story in their own words using the Read & Retell sheet. Older kids can write it; little ones can draw it. Ask the big question: why might someone act tough when they feel small inside?
Read & Retell (PDF) →Day 3 · Kind words
“A kind word can plant a forest”
Read Toby’s father’s words out loud and talk about what they mean. Then write or color Kind Words cards for people in your family and hide them where they’ll be found. Start a kindness forest too: every kind act this week earns a paper tree taped to the fridge.
Kind Words Cards (PDF) →Day 4 · Build & test
Build a raft together
Just like Toby and Barnaby, work as a team. Build a small raft from craft sticks or straws with tape or string. Before you test it, ask your child to guess: will it float? How many pennies or pebbles can it hold before it sinks? Try it in the sink or bath, then make it better and try again.
Day 5 · Kindness in action
Be a Toby
Play Kindness BINGO as a family, then fill in the Acts of Kindness chart with one kind thing to do for a neighbor, a grandparent, or a friend. Count the trees in your kindness forest. End the week by giving each child a Kindness Certificate. They earned it.
Teaching more than one age?
Tips by age
Same book, same table. Just change the questions.
Name the feeling
Point at the pictures and make the faces together. “Toby looks sad. Barnaby looks mad.” At this age, naming feelings is the whole lesson.
Talk about choices
Ask “What else could he do?” a lot. Act it out; you be Barnaby and they be Toby, then switch.
Dig into the why
Talk about why people bully. Have them write a short letter from Barnaby to Toby saying sorry, in Barnaby’s own voice.
For your records
What this week covers
- Reading & listening: read-aloud, comprehension questions, story retelling (Days 1–2)
- Writing: retelling, kind-words cards, an apology letter for older kids (Days 2–3)
- Science & engineering: predicting, building, and testing a raft that floats (Day 4)
- Art: drawing, coloring, and the kindness forest (Days 2–3)
- Character & social-emotional learning: naming feelings, empathy, choosing kindness, service (all week)
“A fist can break a branch, but a kind word can plant a forest.”— Toby’s father, from The Grumble-Gator’s Greatest Raft
Want everything in one download?
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Thank you for making kindness part of your school day. I hope your family has a wonderful week at Sunny-Stream Pond.
Cory