Building Belonging Through Empathy

This month at DGS, our mindfulness focus is expanding from belonging to ourselves toward belonging within our community. Our anchor for this work is empathy.

Exploring What Empathy Means

This month, we will explore what empathy looks and feels like. Empathy is the ability to feel with someone else, whether it’s sadness, joy, or anything in between. It’s different from sympathy, which is feeling for someone from a distance.

We’ve noticed that many of our students are natural empaths; they feel deeply and often pick up on the emotions of others around them. For these children, the practice is learning how to notice feelings without being swept away by them. For others, it’s about gently stretching into the practice of “walking in someone else’s shoes” to build stronger connections. Both are equally important steps in growing empathy.

What We Practiced Together

This week, students had the chance to begin practicing empathy in simple, playful ways:

• The Mirror Game: In pairs, students took turns being the “mirror” and the “person reflected.” This practice helps children slow down, notice subtle details, and truly see one another. It’s a playful way of building attunement and connection.

  
  

• Trust Walks: With eyes closed, one child guided another carefully and safely. This requires awareness, responsibility, and care for oneself and for another. The conversations that followed were rich and insightful.

  
  
  
  

These activities laid the groundwork for the deeper community belonging we’ll be exploring all month long.

Why This Matters

By practicing empathy, children learn not only how to understand others more deeply, but also how to build stronger, kinder communities. These are the seeds of compassion and connection that help them, and those around them, feel a true sense of belonging.

Together, we’re nurturing a culture where every child knows: I belong here, and I can help others feel they belong too.