Students build classroom culture by getting to know one another and answering the question, “How can we work together to make our classroom a welcoming place for everyone?” They begin with a Name Art Studio Start, then use art, movement, and role-play to share identity, recognize feelings, and practice kind ways to include others. With support from the school counselor, students learn welcoming phrases and create a Kindness Corner that shows who they are, how they care for others, and what routines help everyone belong. The project leads to an open house for another first-grade class, giving students a real audience for presenting their work and practicing empathy, communication, and collaboration.

Students will create and present name art, feel-good messages, and simple belonging displays that show who they are and explain how art can help people feel welcome in and out of school. Students will use role-play, movement, and gestures to identify and communicate emotions, practice welcoming phrases with the school counselor, and connect characters’ feelings to their own classroom experiences. Students will collaborate to design class routines and a Kindness Corner exhibit, asking and answering where, when, why, and how their work should be prepared and displayed for visitors. Students will build listening, sharing, reflection, and problem-solving skills as they work together to make the classroom a welcoming place for everyone.

Students will create colorful name art with personal symbols, a shared Kindness Corner display, and simple feeling cards or puppets to use during counselor-led role-play about welcoming others. Throughout the project, they will also co-create class routine posters, feel-good message cards, and short movement or gesture scenes that show kind actions and emotions. By the end, the class will produce a welcoming exhibit for the open house that includes preserved and prepared artwork, labeled displays, and student-made guides to help visiting first graders tour the space.

Open with a Name Art Studio Start where each child designs colorful name art using drawings, colors, and symbols that show who they are, then adds it to a new Kindness Corner wall. Gather students for a gallery walk and ask, “How can we work together to make our classroom a welcoming place for everyone?” to spark ideas about belonging and classroom culture. Invite the school counselor to join the launch for a short feelings game and role-play, helping students practice welcoming phrases, kind gestures, and noticing character emotions through movement and facial expressions. Close by having the class co-create 3–4 simple routines for making everyone feel included, which will later be shared at the Kindness Corner Open House with another first-grade class.

Host “Our Kindness Corner Open House” and invite another first-grade class to visit a classroom exhibit featuring students’ name art, feel-good messages, and co-created routines that help everyone feel welcome. Students act as greeters and guides, using welcoming phrases, simple movement, and facial expressions to show kindness and communicate emotions during short role-play moments. Add a small reflection station where visitors can leave kind notes or drawings, and have students explain how their artwork should be displayed and cared for. If possible, include the school counselor as a guest participant to help celebrate students’ learning about feelings, belonging, and working together.