The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Foundation - Grade Two
Week Twenty-Eight blends creativity, mindfulness, empathy, and emotional expression in a way that helps students deepen their understanding of themselves and the people around them. Through Draw Your Neighbour, students practise observational focus and interpersonal connection while expressing themselves artistically. My Imagination Garden encourages students to unlock their imagination and explore their dreams and aspirations creatively, building confidence in expressing future hopes. Together, these activities inspire personal growth, self-expression, and meaningful connection.
The Magic Castle Meditation adds an important mindfulness element, guiding students into calming visualisation that nurtures emotional well-being and a sense of safety. Feeling Faces supports emotional intelligence by helping students identify, label, and empathise with different emotions. As a complete experience, Week Twenty-Eight nurtures creativity, strengthens emotional awareness, and helps students better understand themselves and others, building a more connected, empathetic, and expressive classroom community.
Weekly Lessons
Draw Your Neighbour
Draw Your Neighbour is a playful, low-pressure activity that encourages students to slow down, look closely, and notice the unique features of a classmate. By sketching someone sitting near them, students practise observation skills while engaging their creativity in a fun and informal way. The focus isn’t on artistic perfection, but on noticing details, expressions, and personality, helping students become more attentive and present.
The activity naturally builds connection and laughter, creating a relaxed environment where students can appreciate one another in a positive way. Sharing the drawings at the end reinforces confidence, empathy, and social bonding, reminding students that everyone sees the world a little differently. Draw Your Neighbour is a simple yet powerful way to blend creativity, mindfulness, and connection, making it an ideal brain break, icebreaker, or relationship-building activity in any classroom.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Awareness of Others
This activity supports students to:
- Observe and recognise the unique physical features and expressions of others.
- Develop awareness that everyone looks different and that these differences are normal and valued.
- Build empathy by paying close attention to another person in a respectful, positive way.
Respectful Interactions & Personal Boundaries
Students are encouraged to:
- Interact respectfully with peers by focusing on kindness, humour, and inclusion rather than judgment.
- Understand the importance of representing others in a way that is respectful and light-hearted.
- Practise sensitivity when sharing or viewing drawings, reinforcing emotional safety.
Positive Relationships & Social Connection
The activity helps students to:
- Strengthen peer connections through shared laughter and creative interaction.
- Build trust and familiarity with classmates in a low-pressure, fun setting.
- Appreciate one another’s personalities and individuality beyond academic contexts.
Identity, Diversity & Inclusion
Through observation and creativity, students learn to:
- Celebrate differences in appearance, expression, and personality.
- Understand that everyone brings something unique to the classroom community.
- Develop acceptance and respect for diversity in a tangible, experiential way.
Communication & Psychological Safety
Students practise:
- Sharing work and receiving reactions in a safe, supportive environment.
- Responding to peers’ creative interpretations with kindness and good humour.
- Building confidence to participate without fear of judgment or comparison.
My Imagination Garden
My Imagination Garden invites students to step into a world of creativity, wonder, and possibility by designing a magical garden that grows their dreams and ideas. Through drawing and writing, students use their imagination to create a unique space filled with symbolic plants, flowers, and features that represent their hopes, interests, and aspirations. This process encourages creative thinking, visualisation, and playful exploration, helping students see their ideas as something living and growing.
The activity also supports emotional expression and positive thinking, as students reflect on how it feels to imagine a place where their dreams can flourish. Sharing their gardens helps build confidence and connection, as students celebrate one another’s ideas and creativity. My Imagination Garden is a gentle yet powerful way to nurture imagination, self-expression, and a sense of possibility, making it a beautiful reflective activity for classrooms, homes, or wellbeing sessions.
Respectful Relationships
Identity, Self-Awareness & Personal Strengths
This activity supports students to:
- Explore their inner world, interests, hopes, and dreams in a safe and positive way.
- Develop self-awareness by reflecting on what matters to them and what they aspire to grow.
- Build confidence by recognising that their ideas, dreams, and imagination are valuable.
Emotional Literacy & Well-Being
Students are encouraged to:
- Express emotions, hopes, and aspirations through creative imagery.
- Connect imagination with feelings such as excitement, calm, joy, and curiosity.
- Develop emotional awareness by reflecting on how visualising dreams makes them feel.
Respect for Self & Positive Self-Concept
The activity helps students to:
- Practise self-kindness by creating a space where their dreams are nurtured rather than judged.
- Strengthen a positive sense of self by imagining growth, possibility, and personal potential.
- Understand that caring for their own ideas and dreams is an important part of well-being.
Diversity, Individuality & Inclusion
Through sharing and discussion, students learn to:
- Appreciate that everyone’s “garden” looks different, just like people’s dreams and interests.
- Respect diverse ideas, imaginations, and aspirations without comparison or competition.
- Build acceptance that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to imagine or dream.
Communication, Expression & Psychological Safety
Students practise:
- Communicating personal ideas through drawing and writing in a non-threatening way.
- Sharing creative work in an environment that values encouragement and respect.
- Listening to others’ ideas with curiosity and kindness, reinforcing emotional safety.
Hope, Agency & Positive Futures
This activity reinforces students’ ability to:
- Visualise positive futures and goals in an age-appropriate, imaginative way.
- Develop a sense of agency by seeing their dreams as things that can grow over time.
- Connect imagination with motivation, optimism, and resilience.
The Magic Castle Meditation
The Magic Castle Meditation gently guides students into a calm and imaginative world where they can relax their bodies and minds through breathing and visualisation. As they journey to the Magic Castle, students are invited to picture friendly creatures, sparkling surroundings, and comforting details that create a strong sense of safety, warmth, and joy. This guided experience supports mindfulness by helping students slow down, focus inward, and immerse themselves in a peaceful story.
Through reflection at the end of the meditation, students become more aware of how relaxation feels in their body and mind, building emotional awareness and self-regulation skills. The Magic Castle Meditation is a powerful wellbeing tool that nurtures imagination while supporting calmness, confidence, and emotional safety, making it ideal for transitions, reset moments, or quiet reflection time in classrooms and wellbeing settings.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy & Regulation
This activity supports students to:
- Recognise and experience calm, safety, and happiness through guided breathing and visualisation.
- Develop awareness of their emotional state before and after relaxation.
- Learn strategies for settling their body and mind when feeling overwhelmed or unsettled.
Self-Awareness & Well-Being
Students are encouraged to:
- Tune into their own feelings of relaxation, comfort, and joy.
- Reflect on what it feels like to be calm, safe, and supported.
- Build awareness of how mindfulness can support their emotional well-being.
Respect for Self & Personal Safety
The meditation reinforces:
- A sense of internal safety and emotional security.
- The understanding that it is okay to slow down, rest, and care for their own feelings.
- Positive self-worth by emphasising that students are safe, valued, and cared for.
Help-Seeking & Self-Soothing Strategies
This activity helps students to:
- Learn a gentle, age-appropriate self-soothing strategy they can revisit when stressed or worried.
- Understand that calming their body and mind is a healthy way to manage emotions.
- Build independence in emotional regulation through guided imagery.
Imagination, Creativity & Psychological Safety
Through imaginative storytelling, students:
- Engage creativity in a way that feels safe, comforting, and non-judgmental.
- Experience a shared activity that builds trust and emotional safety within the group.
- Feel supported in using imagination as a tool for calm rather than escape.
Positive Relationships & Connection
The gentle presence of fairies and friendly creatures helps students to:
- Experience feelings of being guided, supported, and cared for.
- Reinforce the idea that safe relationships are calming, respectful, and nurturing.
- Build positive associations between connection, safety, and well-being.
Feeling Faces
Feeling Faces is an engaging and interactive activity that helps students tune into emotions by exploring facial expressions and the feelings they represent. Through observing emotion cards, images, or classmates’ expressions, students practise recognising a wide range of emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise. This playful approach builds emotional awareness and helps students understand that our faces often give important clues about how we are feeling on the inside.
As students discuss how different emotions might feel and how they could respond when others are experiencing them, Feeling Faces naturally develops empathy and communication skills. By sharing ideas, listening to others, and practising expressing emotions themselves, students strengthen their emotional intelligence and learn supportive ways to care for one another. The activity creates a safe space for reflection, connection, and understanding, making it a valuable addition to any classroom focused on social connection and well-being.
Respectful Relationships
Emotional Literacy
This activity supports students to:
- Identify and name a range of emotions using facial expressions and visual cues.
- Develop vocabulary to describe how people may be feeling in different situations.
- Build awareness that emotions can be communicated through facial expressions and body language.
Empathy & Perspective-Taking
Through discussion and role-play, students:
- Learn to consider how others might be feeling based on visual and situational cues.
- Practise responding empathetically to others’ emotions, particularly when someone is sad, upset, or angry.
- Strengthen their ability to see situations from another person’s point of view.
Respectful Relationships & Social Awareness
This activity reinforces that:
- Recognising emotions helps us respond with kindness, care, and respect.
- Understanding how others feel supports positive, respectful interactions.
- Emotions are valid and deserve to be acknowledged respectfully.
Communication & Active Listening
Students are encouraged to:
- Share their ideas about emotions and listen to the responses of others.
- Practise turn-taking and respectful listening when discussing feelings.
- Use clear language to explain how they might respond to someone else’s emotions.
Self-Awareness & Emotional Expression
Feeling Faces helps students to:
- Reflect on their own emotional experiences and recognise similarities with others.
- Practise expressing emotions safely and appropriately.
- Build confidence in talking about feelings in a supportive group environment.
Help-Seeking & Supportive Behaviour
Through guided questions, students:
- Explore ways to help peers who may be feeling sad, angry, or overwhelmed.
- Learn that offering support, comfort, or space can be respectful responses.
- Understand that noticing emotions is the first step toward helping others feel safe and supported.
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