Little acts of kindness

Students in a couple of Birch Lane Elementary School classes have been practicing little acts of kindness this year and having a lot of fun in the process.

Recently, students in Brian Bennett’s third-grade class baked zucchini bread in class. Unfortunately, it came out of the oven right about 2:30 p.m., when students in the primary grades leave for the day. The bread being too hot to cut up and eat, Bennett suggested the class give it to students in Sue Long’s class. Her students are fourth- and fifth-graders, who wouldn’t be dismissed until 3:05 p.m. and thus would be able to enjoy the bread after it cooled off.

The following week, Long’s students returned the favor, baking zucchini bread for Bennett’s class.

“It was a win-win and a lesson in altruism,” said parent Carrie Ziser, a former Birch Lane teacher who has children in both classes.

More recently, both classes combined for some tie-dying fun. After spending a few weeks collecting T-shirts to ensure that every child in the two classes would have one — some students brought two, one for themselves, another for a classmate who couldn’t afford one — students gathered on a Friday morning to learn from Ziser how to tie-dye.

The results were colorful and stunning and the ongoing benefit to students meaningful, Ziser said.

“With increasing pressure on children to achieve and so many cuts to various programs, these special activities mean so much to kids,” she said.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at aternus@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8051. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy