Welcome to the Superhero Inside Initiative!

In partnership with KIPP SoCal Public Schools

Everyday kindness. Real life superheroes.

Over the next four weeks, your class will discover the superheroes in themselves and each other by noticing kind actions and celebrating them together. A book, a song and a few quick check ins are all you need to get started!

Three children outdoors holding yellow Superpower Sighting thunderbolt cards

Listen, watch and sing along

Read Inside Me Lives a Superhero together, then bring the story to life with the song. Play it throughout the initiative as a reminder to keep noticing kindness!

As easy as 1, 2, 3

Launch your squad

Read the book, listen to the song and explain your four week kindness challenge. Hand out the armbands and put up the heart centerpiece to start your kindness wall.
Notice and nominate

Each Monday and/or Friday, spend 5 to 10 minutes sharing kind actions students have noticed. Once a week, each student completes one Thunderbolt, naming someone and describing their kind action, then sticks it around the heart using an adhesive dot. Play the song regularly as a reminder to keep noticing!
Step back and celebrate

After four weeks, gather around your kindness wall. Ask: “What surprised you? How did these actions make a difference?” Celebrate the kindness your class discovered, and encourage them to keep noticing!

The goal: Every student notices and records at least four acts of kindness over four weeks.

A little help getting started

Kindness doesn’t have to be big to matter. Inviting someone to join a game, holding the door open for someone, helping with a tricky task or checking on a friend can all make a difference.

Try asking:

“Who did you notice doing something kind?”
“What did they do?”
“How might that have made them feel?”

A child reading Inside Me Lives a Superhero, the page with all the superhero characters and the word Sooo

Everything you need

Frequently asked questions

How do I play the song?

Scan this QR code or visit mymamasays.com/superhero to play the lyric video. Use a screen and speakers so your class can watch, listen, and sing along!

You’re welcome to share the YouTube link with families so they can enjoy the song at home, too!

Where should we put our heart centerpiece?

Choose a classroom wall or bulletin board students can easily see and reach. Place the heart in the center, leaving plenty of space for four weeks of Thunderbolts! (Ideally 5 ft x 5 ft of space)

How much time does it take?

Allow about 15 minutes for the launch (to read the book, define kindness and explain the plan for the next 4 weeks and answer questions), and up to 10 minutes for each Monday/Friday check in.

What counts as a kind action?

We define kindness as noticing another person’s needs and choosing to act with care. Small, everyday moments count! Inviting someone to join in, offering help, listening, sharing, or encouraging a classmate are all great examples. Ask students to describe exactly what they noticed.

How many Thunderbolts should each student complete?

Aim for one per student each week (four over the initiative). Students can nominate during either check in.

What if a student needs help thinking of something or writing it down?

Start by asking: “What kinds of things do you think are kind?” Then ask: “Have you seen anyone at school do any of those things, or something similar?” Students can share aloud while an adult or classmate helps write if needed.

How do we claim our pizza party?

After four weeks, if your class achieved 100% participation (meaning every student contributes at least 4 nominations), you’ve earned a free pizza party! Please claim within 15 business days of the initiative closing.

Simply email nadine@mymamasays.com, and we’ll send you a short completion form to arrange your celebration. We’ll ask for your school’s name, the number of students who participated, a photo of your kindness wall, and some brief feedback on your experience.

The pizza party celebrates your class’s shared effort. Our deeper hope is that children feel seen, connected, and perhaps awed by the kindness around them.

What if some students aren’t being nominated?

It’s natural for kids to notice their close friends first, so some classmates may get several Thunderbolts while others get none. Help widen the circle with a gentle prompt like “This week, try noticing someone you don’t usually play or sit with.” Adults can also add their own Thunderbolts to make sure every child sees themselves on the wall by the end of the four weeks. Being noticed is a big part of feeling like you belong.

Should we reward students who get the most Thunderbolts?

We recommend not doing so. Research shows that rewarding kids for helping can make kindness feel like a transaction rather than something they choose. The Superhero Squad is about noticing good together, so the celebration at the end is shared by the whole class.

The science behind the initiative

Kindness helps children connect. In a classroom study, 9 to 11 year olds who performed three kind acts each week for four weeks showed greater gains in acceptance by classmates than a comparison group. Small actions can make a difference to peer relationships. Layous et al., 2012

Noticing is a superpower. Kindness can feel good even when it isn’t directed at us. In a study of children aged 6½ to 8½, watching acts of kindness prompted greater feelings of happiness, warmth, and care than watching impressive talents. Our Thunderbolts give students a regular opportunity to notice and share the good around them. Gibhardt et al., 2024

Seeing kindness can inspire more kindness. Witnessing goodness can create a warm, uplifting feeling called “moral elevation.” Experiments with adults found that this feeling increased helping behavior. Our classroom share outs give students opportunities to encounter inspiring examples from their own school community. Schnall et al., 2010

Peers help shape what feels normal. Research in middle schools shows that students can influence one another’s understanding of acceptable behavior. Our wall puts that idea into practice by making kindness visible and communicating a shared value: this matters here. Paluck et al., 2016

Recognizing peers can support classroom behavior. Studies of “tootling” (a structured approach combining positive peer reporting with shared rewards) have found reductions in disruptive behavior and improvements in classroom engagement. Our initiative similarly invites students to notice and name one another’s helpful actions. Chaffee et al., 2020

We celebrate together. There is no prize for the most nominations. The whole class works toward a shared celebration, with the focus on participating, noticing others, and appreciating the kindness they discover together.

Belonging grows through everyday moments. By week four, the wall holds a collection of real moments when someone helped, included, or encouraged another person. Our hope is that students look at it and think: “There is kindness here, and I’m part of it.”