🤝 Live in Community
Being part of a community is a skill.
Learn how to understand other people, communicate what you need, solve disagreements, respect differences, and help without taking over.
❤️ What Is Empathy?
You don't have to feel exactly what someone else feels to care about what they're experiencing.
Empathy starts with noticing, listening, and trying to understand another person's perspective.
🎥 Sesame Workshop — Caring & Sharing
https://sesameworkshop.org/topics/caring-sharing/
🌱 TRY IT: When someone has a strong feeling, try asking:
What happened?
How might they feel?
What might they need?
💭 THINK: Can two people experience the same situation differently?
👀 See It From Another Side
There can be more than one perspective.
Two people can experience the exact same event and understand it differently.
🎥 PBS KIDS — Social & Emotional Learning
https://pbskids.org/learn/social-emotional/
🌱 TRY IT: The next time two characters disagree in a show, pause.
Ask:
What does each person want?
What does each person know?
What might each person not know?
💭 THINK: Understanding someone doesn't always mean agreeing with them.
⚖️ Equal Isn't Always Fair
Sometimes people need different things to participate.
Giving everyone exactly the same thing is equality.
Making sure people have what they need to participate is equity.
👀 Explore Disability & Accessibility
Smithsonian — Accessibility for Kids & Families
🌱 TRY IT: Look around your school, playground, library, or neighborhood.
Could someone participate if they:
♿ Used a wheelchair?
🦯 Couldn't see?
🎧 Were sensitive to loud sounds?
🗣️ Communicated without speech?
💭 THINK: What could make the space work better for more people?
🧠 Different Brains Work Differently
There isn't one correct way for a brain to experience the world.
People can communicate, learn, move, focus, play, socialize, and experience sensory information differently.
🧠 Sesame Workshop — Autism Resources
https://sesameworkshop.org/topics/autism/
🌱 TRY IT: Think about something that helps you concentrate.
Quiet?
Music?
Moving?
Drawing?
Talking?
Being alone?
Someone else may need something completely different.
💭 THINK: Different doesn't automatically mean wrong.
🛑 Boundaries Matter
You can say no. Other people can too.
Healthy communities require people to communicate and respect boundaries.
🎥 Sesame Workshop — Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
https://sesameworkshop.org/topics/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds/
Practice saying:
🛑 Stop, please.
🙅 I don't want to.
↔️ I need some space.
🧸 I'm still using this.
❓ Can I have a turn?
And practice hearing:
“No.”
without trying to pressure someone into changing their answer.
🗣️ Communication Doesn't Always Mean Talking
People communicate in lots of ways.
People may use:
🗣️ Speech
🤟 Sign language
📱 AAC devices
🖼️ Pictures
👉 Gestures
✍️ Writing
🙂 Facial expressions
🧍 Body language
🤟 American Society for Deaf Children — ASL Resources
https://deafchildren.org/knowledge-center/asl-resources/
🌱 TRY IT: Learn a few useful signs.
HELP
MORE
STOP
THANK YOU
💭 THINK: If someone doesn't speak, does that mean they have nothing to say?
No.
🤝 How Do We Solve a Disagreement?
A conflict doesn't always need a winner and a loser.
Instead of asking:
“Who's right?”
Try asking:
1. What happened?
2. What do I need?
3. What does the other person need?
4. Is there a solution that respects both?
🎥 PBS KIDS — Social & Emotional Learning
https://pbskids.org/learn/social-emotional/
🌱 TRY IT: The next time characters disagree in a movie or show, invent a solution neither character suggested.
🧩 Cooperation Is Different From Competition
Sometimes the goal isn't to beat everyone else.
People can solve problems by combining different abilities and ideas.
🎮 TRY IT: Build Together
Give everyone paper, blocks, recycled materials, LEGO, or cardboard.
Create one thing together.
The rule:
Nobody owns the project.
Everyone contributes something.
💭 THINK: Did someone notice something you didn't?
That's one reason groups can sometimes solve problems better than individuals.
🌍 People Live Differently
Your normal isn't everyone's normal.
Families around the world can have different:
🍲 Foods
👕 Clothing
🏠 Homes
🗣️ Languages
🎉 Celebrations
🎵 Music
👨👩👧👦 Family structures
🌎 Traditions
🌍 National Geographic Kids — Countries
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries
🌱 TRY IT: Pick a country you know very little about.
Learn:
What do kids eat?
What languages might they speak?
What does school look like?
What games do children play?
💭 THINK: Different ways of living aren't automatically better or worse than yours.
🫶 Helping Without Taking Over
Helping starts with listening.
Sometimes we see someone having difficulty and immediately decide what they need.
Instead:
👀 NOTICE
👂 LISTEN
❓ ASK
🤝 HELP TOGETHER
Try:
“Would you like help?”
instead of automatically taking over.
💭 THINK: How would you feel if someone kept “helping” you without asking?
🏘️ What Does a Community Need?
A community is much more than houses and roads.
Communities depend on people doing thousands of different things.
🚌 Transportation workers
📚 Librarians
🧑🏫 Teachers
🌾 Farmers
🧹 Sanitation workers
🔧 Repair workers
👩⚕️ Healthcare workers
🌳 Park workers
🍳 Food workers
🧑🍼 Caregivers
🏪 Local businesses
🤝 Volunteers
🏠 Neighbors
🌱 TRY IT: Pick one person whose work you saw today.
Ask:
What would happen if nobody did their job?
🤝 The Community Challenge
This week, do one thing that makes your community a little stronger.
You could:
📚 Put a book in a Little Free Library.
🗑️ Pick up litter with an adult.
🌱 Help in a garden.
👋 Learn a neighbor's name.
🧸 Share something.
💌 Thank someone whose work is usually overlooked.
❤️ Invite someone into a game.
🛠️ Help repair something instead of replacing it.
👂 Listen to someone whose experience is different from yours.
Then ask:
Did I solve something for someone—or did I work with them?
⭐ One Big Idea
You don't have to agree with everyone.
You don't have to be exactly like everyone.
And you don't have to solve everyone's problems.
A strong community makes room for different people while helping them live, learn, solve problems, and care for one another.
🤝 Keep Exploring
PBS KIDS
Sesame Workshop
National Geographic Kids
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
American Society for Deaf Children