A class of Grade 1 students from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. were treated to a special, two-day magical Christmas adventure, courtesy of Shell, to spread kindness throughout the Capital Region.
Shell calls the program “Fuelling Kindness” and included all 22 children in Nadine Silveira’s class at Win Ferguson Elementary.
“I was so excited because my class, on their own, without any prompting, was already so kind,” Silveira said.
“So many kids help each other with little things in the classroom. Like if a zipper was stuck, someone would be there right away to help another student unzip their coat.”
The teacher says Shell employees first came to brainstorm with her class about different ways of being kind to others.
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“What could they do to help other people? And their ideas were small and big all at the same time. Some of them said: ‘I can draw a picture for a friend,’ ‘I can give a friend a teddy bear.’ From there, it just kind of snowballed and they were saying they wanted to help people who don’t have warm clothes or blankets. It even went to buying people houses and cars,” she laughed.
Then, the kids went on field trips two days in a row in late November.
First, they went to the Sherwood Park Library for a tour and performed some random acts of kindness there.
“Then, when we came back, that was when our classroom was all transformed.”
She said it looked like a winter wonderland and Santa even came to visit. He dropped off a pet banana for Silveira, something one of her students had requested.
“Unfortunately, the pet banana is no longer with us. I couldn’t bring myself to eat him, of course. But I took a picture so I’ll have him in my heart forever.”
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The next day, they went to the Edmonton Humane Society, walked through downtown, and visited a fire station in Fort Saskatchewan — all the while spreading kindness to the strangers they met.
“Their joy and excitement and just willingness to do all of the things that were thrown at them, it was incredible. It was great,” she said.
Since their Fuelling Kindness adventure, Silveira said her students often ask to see the video: “They’re proud!”
Shell covered the costs of the entire project.
“It was really a learning experience for everybody,” she said. “The kids remember it, they reference everything that we did.”
Silveira posted the video to Facebook late Tuesday night and less than 24 hours later, it had been shared more than 11,000 times.
“Whoever is sharing the video is just making my students so incredibly happy.”
The teacher said the entire event helped get her and her students into the Christmas spirit and they hope it inspires others too.
“If these little guys can come up with all these grand gestures — but also just the little things, like giving someone a high-five or giving someone a free hot chocolate — I would hope that other people can remember that it’s not always a big giant thing you have to do to show your kindness,” she said.
“If these little guys can come up with these ideas, anyone can do something kind this Christmas.”
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