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Pink Wave

Monday

April 28, 2025

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Crumpled Heart Activity (directions in notes)

Instructions for The Crumpled Heart Activity

1

Download and print the heart template onto red paper. You'll need one for each student. If you don't want to cut them all out yourself, have your students help by cutting their own.

2

Ask children to look at how beautiful and perfect their heart is. Ask them to imagine this is their own, real heart. They're going to give it to the student standing to their right. Ask them to love and care for their heart as if it was their own.

3

Instruct students to say mean things to the heart they were given. Crumple it up into a tight little ball, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it. (There should be a lot of laughter about now).

This Anxiety Fortune Teller is a Fun Way for Student to Learn Coping Strategies

4

Have students pick up the little crumpled ball, look at the student who owns the heart, and say they're sorry. Turn their attention back to the crumpled ball and apologize. Say they didn't mean to be so thoughtless; they didn't know what came over them and could they please forgive them? While apologizing, carefully uncrumple the paper heart. Place it on a table and try to smooth it out.

5

Students now return the hearts to their owners. Have each person hold up their crumpled heart and ask them how it looks. Does it still look as beautiful as it was before they gave it away? Did the person they gave it to care for it? How do they feel about the person who didn't take care of their heart?

6

Explain that every time a person hurls abuse, belittles, talks behind someone's back, bullies, writes unkind things on social media, etc., they are responsible for adding a crinkle to that person's heart.

7

Even though they may apologize later, that crinkle cannot be smoothed out. Sure, it may fade over time, but that person's heart will never really be the same and the scars can remain for a lifetime.

8

Take the opportunity to talk about the responsibility we all have to care for other people and their feelings.

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Where the idea for Pink Shirt Day come from?

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Here in SFUSD we’re making a

PINK WAVE!

Together we can wash away bigotry and show that everyone belongs in our community.

Go big and go PINK!!!

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What can you do?

Wear pink!

Make it a classroom competition!

Put together a flash mob!

Decorate your doors - here’s a

template!

Put up bulletin boards!

Put on presentations!