Kids do the kindest things. Today’s evidence: a class of Tennessee Kindergarteners at Hickerson Elementary School in the town of Tullahoma are the apple of the internet’s eye after a video of the children singing “Happy Birthday” in sign language to their school’s custodian began circulating online.
The custodian, James Anthony, is deaf, local news reports. But the children wanted to celebrate with him anyway — so teachers Amy Hershman and Allyssa Hartsfield showed them the words to “Happy Birthday” in sign language, and the whole group surprised him with a performance of the song when he entered the classroom, as you can see in the sweet video one of the teachers filmed.
“He was overwhelmed with it. It just was a spur of the moment thing and they just did it,” school secretary Bonnie Scott told reporters. “He had his hands over his face, at the end he was tearing up. It just touched him.” Apparently Anthony is known for teaching some of the kids to sign, and for handing out high fives in the hallways of the school, where he’s worked for 15 years.
The video went viral on Facebook after the school shared it on Monday. “He was so surprised!” they noted in the caption — a fact corroborated by his expression from the footage. So far so good, Generation Z.
