Ages 4-12 · Book 5, Empathy · 4,299 places
Raising a Kind Child
Past the poster version: a child who notices one specific person, and who knows what helping is going to cost before they do it.
Built on Ellis Abel and the Helping Hand — “What matters more than earning a Gold Star?” A character series, not a curriculum with a worldview attached.
The five sessions
- Session 1
Read the story and stop at the moment Maya's work is ruined
- Session 2
Ask what Ellis Abel stood to lose by helping
- Session 3
Name the harder thing: telling the truth about a mistake
- Session 4
Each child names one person they will notice this week
- Session 5
Follow up by name and ask what they noticed
Questions leaders ask
Is raising a kind child in your area a religious program?
No. Ellis Abel is a character series. Each volume carries one named core value — this one is empathy — and the story does the teaching. There is no doctrine in it, nothing to opt out of, and it is used in public schools, libraries and secular programs as readily as anywhere else.
What ages does this work for?
Ages 4-12. The story is read aloud, so a child who cannot read yet is fully in it, and the discussion prompts are written in two bands so one adult can hold a mixed-age room.
We have tried things like this in your area before and stopped. Why is this different?
Because it is ten minutes and it survives a missed night. There is no streak to break and nothing to catch up on — you pick up at the next chapter.
What if my child will not talk about it?
Then read it anyway and say nothing. Children answer days later, in the car, about something else entirely. The prompts are there when they are ready, not a toll you have to pay to finish the book.
The rules that make it work
Helping has to cost something
Kindness that is free teaches nothing, and children over about eight already know it. The cost is named out loud in every session.
Notice first — it is an attention skill
Empathy gets taught as a feeling children are supposed to summon. It starts as noticing one specific person, which is trainable and testable.
Owning a mistake is the harder lesson
Helping a friend is easier than admitting you were the one who caused the problem. The book teaches both, and this is the one adults skip.
Do not announce it
The moment helping becomes a thing you are seen doing, it becomes a performance. The follow-up asks what changed for the other person, never how the helper felt.
Success is bigger than the award
The gold star is in the title for a reason. A room that only celebrates outcomes has already taught the lesson this book is arguing with.
Adults go first, with a real mistake
An adult naming something they got wrong, at a cost, changes a room faster than any activity in it.
Raising a Kind Child by metro area
Northeast
- Raising a Kind Child — New York, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Philadelphia, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Boston, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Pittsburgh, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Providence, RI
- Raising a Kind Child — Hartford, CT
- Raising a Kind Child — Buffalo, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Rochester, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Bridgeport, CT
- Raising a Kind Child — Albany, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Worcester, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Allentown, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Poughkeepsie metro area, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Syracuse, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Harrisburg, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — New Haven, CT
- Raising a Kind Child — Portland, ME
- Raising a Kind Child — Scranton, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Lancaster, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — York, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Springfield, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Waterbury, CT
- Raising a Kind Child — Reading, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Manchester, NH
- Raising a Kind Child — Trenton, NJ
- Raising a Kind Child — Atlantic City, NJ
- Raising a Kind Child — Utica, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Norwich, CT
- Raising a Kind Child — Erie, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Binghamton, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Barnstable, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Burlington, VT
- Raising a Kind Child — Kingston, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Amherst, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Chambersburg, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Bangor, ME
- Raising a Kind Child — State College, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Vineland, NJ
- Raising a Kind Child — Lebanon, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Johnstown, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Pittsfield, MA
- Raising a Kind Child — Glens Falls, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Altoona, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Lewiston, ME
- Raising a Kind Child — Williamsport, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Watertown, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Gettysburg, PA
- Raising a Kind Child — Ithaca, NY
- Raising a Kind Child — Elmira, NY
Midwest
- Raising a Kind Child — Chicago, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Detroit, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Minneapolis, MN
- Raising a Kind Child — St. Louis, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Cincinnati, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Kansas City, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Columbus, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Indianapolis, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Cleveland, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Milwaukee, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Grand Rapids, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Omaha, NE
- Raising a Kind Child — Dayton, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Des Moines, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Madison, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Akron, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Wichita, KS
- Raising a Kind Child — Toledo, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Springfield, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Lansing, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Fort Wayne, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Youngstown, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Flint, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Canton, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Davenport, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Ann Arbor, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Peoria, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Lincoln, NE
- Raising a Kind Child — Rockford, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Green Bay, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — South Bend, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Sioux Falls, SD
- Raising a Kind Child — Duluth, MN
- Raising a Kind Child — Cedar Rapids, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Evansville, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Fargo, ND
- Raising a Kind Child — Kalamazoo, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Appleton, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Champaign, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Topeka, KS
- Raising a Kind Child — Rochester, MN
- Raising a Kind Child — Lafayette, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Columbia, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Joplin, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Elkhart, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Springfield, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — St. Cloud, MN
- Raising a Kind Child — Racine, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Saginaw, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Iowa City, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Muskegon, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Eau Claire, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Oshkosh, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Bloomington, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — La Crosse, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Terre Haute, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Waterloo, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Kenosha, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Janesville, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Bloomington, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Jackson, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Traverse City, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Rapid City, SD
- Raising a Kind Child — Monroe, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Jefferson City, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Niles, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Sioux City, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Bismarck, ND
- Raising a Kind Child — Wausau, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Manhattan, KS
- Raising a Kind Child — Springfield, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Battle Creek, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Ames, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Mansfield, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Lawrence, KS
- Raising a Kind Child — St. Joseph, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Sheboygan, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Muncie, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Sandusky, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Michigan City, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Kankakee, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Grand Forks, ND
- Raising a Kind Child — Mankato, MN
- Raising a Kind Child — Fond du Lac, WI
- Raising a Kind Child — Bay City, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Lima, OH
- Raising a Kind Child — Dubuque, IA
- Raising a Kind Child — Decatur, IL
- Raising a Kind Child — Cape Girardeau, MO
- Raising a Kind Child — Columbus, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Kokomo, IN
- Raising a Kind Child — Midland, MI
- Raising a Kind Child — Grand Island, NE
- Raising a Kind Child — Minot, ND
South
- Raising a Kind Child — Dallas, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Houston, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Atlanta, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Washington, DC
- Raising a Kind Child — Miami, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Tampa, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Orlando, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Charlotte, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Baltimore, MD
- Raising a Kind Child — San Antonio, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Austin, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Nashville, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Virginia Beach, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Jacksonville, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Raleigh, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Oklahoma City, OK
- Raising a Kind Child — Louisville, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Richmond, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Memphis, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Birmingham, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Tulsa, OK
- Raising a Kind Child — Greenville, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — New Orleans, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Knoxville, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Sarasota metro area, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — McAllen, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Charleston, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Baton Rouge, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — El Paso, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Columbia, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Cape Coral, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Lakeland, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Greensboro, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Little Rock, AR
- Raising a Kind Child — Deltona, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Winston-Salem, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Palm Bay, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Augusta, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Durham, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Fayetteville, AR
- Raising a Kind Child — Jackson, MS
- Raising a Kind Child — Chattanooga, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Port St. Lucie, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Huntsville, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Pensacola, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Lexington, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Killeen, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Wilmington, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Corpus Christi, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Ocala, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Savannah, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Brownsville, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Gulfport, MS
- Raising a Kind Child — Myrtle Beach, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Lafayette, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Asheville, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Naples, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Mobile, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Spartanburg, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Beaumont, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Tallahassee, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Fayetteville, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Montgomery, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Shreveport, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Hickory, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Lubbock, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Huntington, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Gainesville, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Clarksville, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Columbus, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Roanoke, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Hagerstown, MD
- Raising a Kind Child — Fort Walton Beach metro area, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Kingsport, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Waco, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Longview, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — College Station, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Tuscaloosa, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Laredo, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Slidell, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Amarillo, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Lynchburg, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Daphne, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Tyler, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Lake Charles, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Hilton Head Island, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Macon, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Fort Smith, AR
- Raising a Kind Child — Panama City, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Charlottesville, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Gainesville, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Athens, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Monroe, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Punta Gorda, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Jacksonville, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Johnson City, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Lexington Park, MD
- Raising a Kind Child — Warner Robins, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Auburn, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Florence, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Charleston, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Houma, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Bowling Green, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Dover, DE
- Raising a Kind Child — Midland, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Burlington, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Abilene, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Jackson, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Greenville, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Blacksburg, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Odessa, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Vero Beach metro area, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Homosassa Springs, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Decatur, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Hattiesburg, MS
- Raising a Kind Child — The Villages metro area, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Florence, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Dothan, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Sherman, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Valdosta, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Winchester, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Wichita Falls, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Rocky Mount, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Alexandria, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Dalton, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Texarkana, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Albany, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Morgantown, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Hammond, LA
- Raising a Kind Child — Harrisonburg, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Jonesboro, AR
- Raising a Kind Child — Wheeling, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Cleveland, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Salisbury, MD
- Raising a Kind Child — Staunton, VA
- Raising a Kind Child — Morristown, TN
- Raising a Kind Child — Elizabethtown, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Lawton, OK
- Raising a Kind Child — Goldsboro, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — San Angelo, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Brunswick, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Anniston, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Owensboro, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Steubenville, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Sebring, FL
- Raising a Kind Child — Pinehurst, NC
- Raising a Kind Child — Beckley, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Sumter, SC
- Raising a Kind Child — Gadsden, AL
- Raising a Kind Child — Paducah, KY
- Raising a Kind Child — Rome, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Victoria, TX
- Raising a Kind Child — Hot Springs, AR
- Raising a Kind Child — Hinesville, GA
- Raising a Kind Child — Parkersburg, WV
- Raising a Kind Child — Enid, OK
- Raising a Kind Child — Eagle Pass, TX
West
- Raising a Kind Child — Los Angeles, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Phoenix, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Riverside, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — San Francisco, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Seattle, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — San Diego, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Denver, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Portland, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Sacramento, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Las Vegas, NV
- Raising a Kind Child — San Jose, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Salt Lake City, UT
- Raising a Kind Child — Fresno, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Tucson, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Honolulu, HI
- Raising a Kind Child — Bakersfield, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Albuquerque, NM
- Raising a Kind Child — Boise, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Oxnard, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Stockton, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Colorado Springs, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Provo, UT
- Raising a Kind Child — Ogden, UT
- Raising a Kind Child — Spokane, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Reno, NV
- Raising a Kind Child — Modesto, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Santa Rosa, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Visalia, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Vallejo, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Salem, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Santa Maria, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Salinas, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Anchorage, AK
- Raising a Kind Child — Eugene, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Greeley, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Fort Collins, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Boulder, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Kennewick, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Olympia, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Merced, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Bremerton, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — San Luis Obispo, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Bend, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Yakima, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Santa Cruz, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Prescott metro area, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Bellingham, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Las Cruces, NM
- Raising a Kind Child — Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Yuma, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Medford, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — St. George, UT
- Raising a Kind Child — Chico, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Billings, MT
- Raising a Kind Child — Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Yuba City, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Redding, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — El Centro, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Idaho Falls, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Pueblo, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Grand Junction, CO
- Raising a Kind Child — Logan, UT
- Raising a Kind Child — Maui, HI
- Raising a Kind Child — Santa Fe, NM
- Raising a Kind Child — Hanford, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Flagstaff, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Mount Vernon, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Napa, CA
- Raising a Kind Child — Albany, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Bozeman, MT
- Raising a Kind Child — Missoula, MT
- Raising a Kind Child — Wenatchee, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Sierra Vista, AZ
- Raising a Kind Child — Twin Falls, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Farmington, NM
- Raising a Kind Child — Longview, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Cheyenne, WY
- Raising a Kind Child — Corvallis, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Helena, MT
- Raising a Kind Child — Fairbanks, AK
- Raising a Kind Child — Pocatello, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Grants Pass, OR
- Raising a Kind Child — Great Falls, MT
- Raising a Kind Child — Casper, WY
- Raising a Kind Child — Lewiston, ID
- Raising a Kind Child — Walla Walla, WA
- Raising a Kind Child — Carson City, NV
Cities and all 3,143 US counties are covered too — every place page is live. The campaign sitemap lists every one.
