Blanket Project Covers Animals with Kindness

At Upton Elementary, bullying won’t be tolerated. 

Instead, students are learning to start a chain reaction of compassion, kindness and respect with other people — and animals, too.

On Tuesday, second-graders were demonstrating their generosity by making fleece animal blankets that will be donated to the Humane Society. After all, dogs and cats should be treated nicely, too.

"It's really fun making the blankets," said second-grader Hannah Johnson. "I think the animals will like them."

Research shows that students who learn in a positive classroom environment have a better school experience, said Eileen Terman, the founder of the Kids Spreading Kindness program.

"Instead of talking about bullying, we talk about each child doing one act of kindness," Terman said. "If everyday, everyone does one act of kindness, hopefully their kindness will spread through the school, through their family and through the whole community of Royal Oak."

Terman, who lives in Beverly Hills, is a big believer of volunteering and she is hoping her program will encourage students to catch the volunteer bug, too.