A promise for the Year 3 and Year 4 family
Year 3 and Year 4 sit in a developmental sweet spot, old enough to hold real friendships, young enough that those friendships still need scaffolding. This program is designed for exactly that moment: 39 weeks of play-based learning dual-mapped against the Victorian Curriculum and the national Respectful Relationships (RR) program.
This guide is for you. It tells you what to expect, how to talk to your child about it, and what you can do at home.
The five lessons your child does each week
Every week has the same five lessons, same shape, different content:
- Overview, a short video watched with the class on Monday.
- Play, an active group game.
- Written, a reflective lesson, often blended with literacy.
- Exercise, a movement game that lifts focus.
- Gratitude, a Friday closing ritual.
The friendship-dynamic year (and what to listen for)
Year 3 and Year 4 is when friendship maps redraw fast. The program has a recurring "tiny repair" thread that gives children a vocabulary for resolving friendship pain. You will hear words at home like "repair", "I felt", "what I needed was". That is the program working. The single best thing you can do is not solve it for them, ask "what would a tiny repair look like?" and listen.
Five questions for the car ride home
Skip "how was school?". Try:
- "What was the play game this week?", children remember games.
- "Was anyone really good at it?", surfaces friendships without the pressure of "your best friend".
- "What was the gratitude this week?", opens a friendly door.
- "If you taught it to me, what would I need to know?", invites them to teach you.
- "What did anyone do that was kind today?", celebrates other people.
Three five-minute rituals you can run at home
Small habits that pair beautifully with the classroom work:
- Three-things gratitude at dinner. One per family member.
- A "tiny repair" night. Once a week, name one thing in the family that needs a small repair, and do it.
- A weekly screen-free play night. Cards, board games, kicking a ball outside.
Working with your child’s teacher
Year 3 and Year 4 is also the year of "my friend doesn’t like me anymore" being a real and painful experience for kids. Your child’s teacher is the right person for any conversation about how things are going in the room, they know the class, they have the program’s repair language, and they can adjust the lesson order or pairings if it helps. Open with what your child mentioned at home; that is usually the most useful starting point.
The free app for home
Search "The School of Play" on the App Store or Google Play. One free daily play prompt, dinner-table friendly.
