STONINGTON — There is a common phrase in the West Vine Street Elementary School that “kindness blooms.” For students in the fourth-grade classrooms of Shauna Major and Sheila Adams, a project to learn about states has bloomed countrywide in a way that the school community never expected. Lining the walls of the social studies and language arts wing are hundreds upon hundreds of postcards, each sent to the fourth-grade classes as part of “Kindness Across America,” an interactive mailbox-based challenge that encouraged students to learn about states directly from those who lived or visited there.
Over the past couple months, students have received postcards with motivational quotes, fun facts and words of kindness from every one of the 50 U.S. states — as well as a few unexpected surprises.
“There was one student, Bruno, who got letters that said they were from U.S. senators,” explained fourth-grader Benjamin Geroulo, something staff said was part of a game between a student and a relative that developed during the project.
“It is kind of cool to think about who may be sending some of these.” The wall of postcards was a concept that Major and Adams’ developed after a conversation with Benjamin’s mother, Alicia Geruolo, who had seen the concept on social media and brought it to Major’s attention at the start of the “Kindness Across America” lesson plan. Major and Adams each said that with the aid of a dedicated team of mothers that included Geruolo,.
