LITTLE ROCK, Ark – The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission hosted a special day at a Little Rock school focusing on the true meaning of kindness and its importance.

The commission hosted its Day of Kindness at three different schools in Little Rock on Friday, one being Baseline Bilingual School.

Students started off learning a chant that teachers say they use as a daily affirmation.

“Hate and unforgiveness in our world has to stop,” the students chanted as they repeated after their teacher.

School leaders say they’re using Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a blueprint, saying that kindness and compassion start from within. 

“Kindness is taught to children at an early age then it follows them through their educational journey, and this is something they’re able to carry on into their life,” Baseline Bilingual School Principal Ida Wells said.

 Wells has been teaching students about different acts of kindness daily, and on Friday students learned about having compassion for those who come from different walks of life. 

“How would you show kindness to a homeless person?” Wells asked as she taught her students. 

“We did an art lesson, and we did a journal lesson on if you were an ant how you would respond to the grasshopper that’s homeless now,” Wells said.

It’s a lesson that Giuliana Gallo said made her closer to her classmates. 

“First we start playing more often I ask them if they want to be friends and they all say yes,” Gallo said.

Students received Kindle Fires followed by a pizza party concluding their day of kindness.