The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Foundation - Grade Two
Week Thirty-Three invites students to explore their emotions with creativity, courage, and gentleness. Through activities like Feelings Puppet Show and My Feelings Face, students learn to name and express their emotions in playful, imaginative ways that build confidence and emotional literacy. These tasks create a safe environment where students can practise vulnerability, recognising that feelings are normal, important, and worthy of expression. The week mirrors the lessons learned on Venus in the Playful Astronaut story, showing students that being open about how they feel brings deeper understanding, warmth, and connection with others.
Complementing these expressive tasks are activities that support mindfulness, gratitude, and emotional grounding. Soft Stretch Circle teaches students how calming movement and self-affirmation can strengthen emotional resilience, while Thank You Cards for Helpers encourages them to reflect on moments of support and acknowledge the people who helped them feel safe and cared for. Together, these experiences nurture empathy, self-awareness, and trust, helping students understand that emotional openness is a powerful tool for connection and personal growth. Week Thirty-Three provides students with meaningful ways to celebrate their feelings, listen to their bodies, and cultivate gratitude, essential skills that strengthen both personal well-being and classroom community.
Weekly Lessons
Feelings Puppet Show
Feelings Puppet Show is a gentle and imaginative activity that helps students explore, express, and understand emotions through the safe distance of puppet play. By acting out feelings with puppets, happy, sad, nervous, excited, proud, or worried, students learn that all emotions are normal and that sharing them is an act of bravery. This mirrors the lesson from Venus in The Playful Astronauts, where showing your feelings can feel scary, but vulnerability is what brings people closer together.
As students bring their puppets to life, they practise naming emotions, explaining why the puppet feels that way, and offering kind words or strategies that might help. Performing simple scenes and watching others builds empathy, confidence, and emotional awareness. The activity also encourages students to listen, support their peers, and recognise that we all experience similar feelings. Feelings Puppet Show creates a warm, safe space where emotional expression is celebrated, and students learn that being open makes friendships and classroom connections stronger.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Understanding Feelings
This activity supports students to:
- Identify and name a wide range of emotions in a developmentally appropriate way.
- Understand that feelings have causes and can change over time.
- Recognise that all emotions are valid, even the tricky or uncomfortable ones.
Vulnerability, Courage & Emotional Expression
Feelings Puppet Show encourages students to:
- Practise expressing feelings safely through a character rather than directly.
- Understand that sharing emotions can feel scary, but it is a brave and healthy choice.
- Build confidence in talking about feelings without fear of judgment.
Empathy & Perspective-Taking
Through puppet play, students learn to:
- Consider how others might feel in different situations.
- Recognise shared emotional experiences (“I’ve felt that too”).
- Respond with kindness and care when someone else expresses vulnerability.
Respectful Communication (Verbal & Non-Verbal)
This activity develops communication skills by helping students to:
- Use words, tone, and body language to express emotions clearly.
- Listen attentively to others without interrupting or dismissing feelings.
- Respond with respectful language and supportive gestures.
Emotional Safety & Psychological Well-being
Feelings Puppet Show creates a safe environment where students:
- Feel protected expressing emotions indirectly through puppets.
- Learn that emotional expression is welcomed and supported.
- Experience reassurance that feelings can be shared without negative consequences.
Self-Awareness & Emotional Regulation
Students are supported to:
- Reflect on their own feelings by projecting them onto a character.
- Recognise what helps when emotions feel overwhelming.
- Begin developing language and strategies to manage emotions constructively.
Positive Relationships & Connection
This activity strengthens relationships by:
- Normalising emotional openness within the group.
- Encouraging peer understanding and emotional bonding.
- Building trust through shared stories and feelings.
Belonging, Inclusion & Respect for Differences
Students experience inclusion by:
- Seeing that everyone experiences emotions differently.
- Learning that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to feel.
- Feeling valued and accepted for who they are and how they feel.
Building a Supportive Classroom Culture
Feelings Puppet Show contributes to a positive environment by:
- Creating shared language around emotions.
- Encouraging kindness, patience, and understanding.
- Reducing stigma around expressing feelings.
My Feelings Face
My Feelings Face is a gentle, expressive activity that encourages students to look inward and represent how they feel through drawing. By creating a large face with features and colours that match their emotions, students develop deeper self-awareness and emotional literacy. Whether their feelings are calm, excited, worried, joyful, or tired, the drawing becomes a safe space where they can express what’s happening inside. This creative process reinforces the Venus lesson that being open, especially about our feelings, helps us understand ourselves better and builds emotional confidence.
After drawing, students are invited to share their artwork with a partner or the group, strengthening communication skills and vulnerability in a supported environment. Listening to one another’s emotions builds empathy and connection within the class, helping everyone feel seen and valued. My Feelings Face provides a nurturing way for students to practise emotional expression and recognise that feelings change, grow, and are meant to be shared, just like the warmth and openness celebrated on planet Venus.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Self-Awareness
This activity supports students to:
- Identify and recognise their own emotions in the present moment.
- Build vocabulary for feelings such as happy, sad, excited, worried, calm, or tired.
- Develop awareness that emotions can be shown through facial expressions and body cues.
Vulnerability & Emotional Expression
My Feelings Face encourages students to:
- Safely express how they are feeling inside using art rather than words alone.
- Understand that sharing emotions can feel vulnerable, but it is a healthy and brave choice.
- Experience that emotions can be expressed without judgment or pressure.
Creative Expression as Communication
Through drawing, students learn to:
- Use colours, shapes, and facial features as symbols for emotions.
- Communicate feelings non-verbally when words feel difficult.
- Explore personal meaning in how emotions are represented.
Empathy & Understanding Others
When students share their drawings, they begin to:
- Recognise that classmates may feel differently, even in the same environment.
- Develop empathy by listening to others describe their emotions.
- Understand that everyone carries unseen feelings.
Respectful Listening & Communication
This activity builds respectful interaction by helping students to:
- Take turns sharing if they choose to speak.
- Listen attentively and kindly to others’ emotional expressions.
- Respond with curiosity, care, and acceptance rather than judgment.
Emotional Safety & Psychological Well-being
My Feelings Face creates a safe emotional space where students:
- Feel permission to express any feeling, not just “positive” ones.
- Learn that emotions are normal and welcomed in the classroom.
- Experience reassurance that they are accepted as they are.
Self-Regulation & Emotional Reflection
By pausing to reflect on how they feel, students are supported to:
- Notice their internal emotional state.
- Begin recognising that feelings can change throughout the day.
- Develop early skills in emotional check-ins and self-reflection.
Positive Relationships & Classroom Connection
This activity strengthens relationships by:
- Normalising emotional conversations in a gentle, age-appropriate way.
- Helping students feel seen and understood.
- Building trust and openness within the group.
Belonging, Inclusion & Respect for Differences
Students learn that:
- There is no “right” way to feel.
- Everyone experiences emotions differently.
- Differences in feelings are respected and valued.
Building a Supportive Classroom Culture
My Feelings Face contributes to a caring environment by:
- Encouraging emotional honesty.
- Reducing stigma around expressing feelings.
- Creating shared language and understanding around emotions.
Soft Stretch Circle
Soft Stretch Circle is a peaceful, movement-based activity that helps students connect with their bodies and emotions in a gentle, nurturing way. Through simple stretches, slow breathing, and calming affirmations, students learn that vulnerability can feel soft, quiet, and safe. The activity encourages them to tune into how they feel, move slowly with intention, and use kind self-talk to build confidence. Just like Venus in The Playful Astronauts, this experience teaches students that expressing emotions, whether big or small, is easier when we feel grounded and supported.
As students stretch together in a circle, they practise calmness, self-awareness, and positivity. Listening to or repeating affirmations such as “I am safe” or “It’s okay to feel” encourages emotional openness and helps each child feel valued. Sharing this gentle moment as a group strengthens connection and trust, reminding students that softness is a powerful form of strength. Soft Stretch Circle creates a warm, safe space where movement, mindfulness, and vulnerability come together to help students feel steady, seen, and supported.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Self-Awareness
This activity supports students to:
- Notice how their body feels during gentle movement and stillness.
- Recognise emotions that arise during calm, quiet moments.
- Understand that emotions can be experienced physically as well as mentally.
Vulnerability & Emotional Safety
Soft Stretch Circle encourages students to:
- Experience vulnerability in a non-verbal, low-pressure way.
- Feel safe being quiet, gentle, or unsure without needing to perform.
- Learn that it’s okay to slow down and listen inwardly.
Positive Self-Talk & Self-Esteem
Through affirmations, students practise:
- Speaking kindly to themselves using supportive language.
- Replacing self-doubt with reassurance (e.g. “I am safe,” “I am loved”).
- Building confidence through calm, affirming inner dialogue.
Self-Regulation & Emotional Control
This activity helps students to:
- Use breath and movement to calm their nervous system.
- Practise slowing their body after high-energy moments.
- Develop early strategies for emotional regulation and grounding.
Mindfulness & Body Awareness
Students are supported to:
- Tune into their breathing, posture, and physical sensations.
- Move with intention, care, and control.
- Understand that mindfulness can happen through movement, not just stillness.
Respect for Personal Space & Boundaries
Soft Stretch Circle reinforces respectful behaviour by helping students to:
- Move safely without touching others.
- Be aware of their own space and the space of peers.
- Respect different comfort levels with movement and participation.
Empathy & Understanding Differences
Through shared calm movement, students learn that:
- Everyone experiences emotions differently.
- Some students may choose to move, others may choose to observe.
- All forms of participation are valid and respected.
Belonging & Inclusive Participation
This activity builds inclusion by:
- Allowing students to engage at their own pace.
- Removing competition, comparison, or pressure.
- Creating a shared sense of calm and connection within the group.
Positive Relationships & Group Connection
Soft Stretch Circle strengthens relationships by:
- Creating a collective moment of calm and trust.
- Encouraging shared breathing and movement without words.
- Helping students feel connected through presence rather than performance.
Psychological Safety & Well-being
Students experience that:
- Quiet spaces are safe spaces.
- Feelings do not need to be explained or justified.
- Their inner experience is respected and valued.
Thank You Cards for Helpers
Thank You Cards for Helpers is a gentle, heartfelt activity that encourages students to reflect on moments when they felt shy, sad, nervous, or unsure, and someone stepped in to support them. By thinking about these vulnerable moments, students build emotional awareness and begin to recognise how meaningful it is when others offer kindness. Connected to Venus’ message in The Playful Astronauts, this activity helps children see that remembering and appreciating these caring moments strengthens their sense of safety, trust, and connection.
Students create their own thank you cards using drawings, colours, and simple messages to express their gratitude. Whether they choose to give their card to a classmate, sibling, teacher, or family member, the act of giving becomes a powerful expression of warmth and appreciation. Sharing these cards builds confidence, nurtures relationships, and celebrates the people who bring comfort during hard moments. Thank You Cards for Helpers reminds students that expressing gratitude is not only kind, it’s a beautiful, brave way to honour the support we receive when we need it most.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Self-Awareness
This activity supports students to:
- Reflect on times when they felt shy, scared, sad, or unsure.
- Identify the emotions they experienced during moments of vulnerability.
- Recognise how support from others helped shift those feelings.
Vulnerability & Emotional Expression
Students are encouraged to:
- Safely acknowledge moments when they needed help.
- Understand that asking for or receiving support is not a weakness.
- Express emotions connected to care, comfort, and reassurance.
Gratitude & Appreciation
Thank You Cards for Helpers helps students to:
- Recognise acts of kindness they may otherwise take for granted.
- Practise saying “thank you” in a meaningful, heartfelt way.
- Understand the emotional impact of appreciation on relationships.
Empathy & Perspective-Taking
Through this activity, students learn to:
- Consider how helpers feel when their care is noticed and valued.
- Reflect on the emotional needs of others during difficult moments.
- Strengthen their ability to recognise and respond to kindness.
Positive Communication & Expressive Skills
Students practise:
- Using words, drawings, and symbols to communicate appreciation.
- Expressing emotions clearly through creative, age-appropriate means.
- Sharing kind messages confidently and respectfully.
Building Trusting Relationships
This activity reinforces that:
- Relationships grow stronger when gratitude is expressed.
- Trust is built when people feel seen and appreciated.
- Small gestures of thanks can deepen emotional connection.
Belonging & Connection
Thank You Cards for Helpers supports belonging by:
- Helping students recognise the network of care around them.
- Reinforcing that they are not alone during difficult moments.
- Strengthening bonds between students, families, and educators.
Self-Esteem & Confidence
Students build confidence by:
- Sharing their feelings openly through a structured activity.
- Taking pride in giving something meaningful to another person.
- Experiencing themselves as capable of kindness and gratitude.
Respectful Relationships & Care for Others
This activity promotes respectful relationships by:
- Modelling appreciation as a key part of healthy interactions.
- Encouraging thoughtful, kind behaviour toward others.
- Reinforcing that caring actions deserve recognition.
Psychological Safety & Well-being
Students experience that:
- Their feelings and experiences are valid and respected.
- Reflecting on support can feel warm and reassuring.
- Gratitude contributes to emotional well-being for both giver and receiver.
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