The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Grade 5 & 6
Week Twenty Two encourages students to explore peaceful ways of responding to conflict and strong emotions through play, creativity, movement, and reflection. Each activity helps students understand that disagreements are normal, but the way we handle them can make all the difference. Through Peace Pals, students practise solving simple conflicts using calm voices, kind words, and shared solutions. At the same time, Conflict Cool-Down Posters allow them to identify their own emotional regulation strategies and express them visually. These activities empower students to recognise their feelings, communicate thoughtfully, and build confidence in resolving everyday challenges.
The week continues with Freeze and Think, a playful movement-based activity that teaches students the power of pausing, calming their bodies, and returning to the moment with control. Peace Pebbles enrich the experience by allowing students to express kindness through giving, reinforcing that small gestures can reduce conflict and strengthen relationships. Together, these activities promote empathy, patience, and emotional safety. Week Twenty Two helps students build peaceful habits they can carry into their school day and beyond, finding balance in big feelings, just like Mercury teaches in the Playful Astronaut journey.
Courses
Peace Pals
Peace Pals introduces students to resolving tricky moments through calm words, teamwork, and understanding. Through short, imaginative role-plays, students explore everyday disagreements, wanting the same toy, deciding who leads a game, or dealing with an accidental bump, and practise turning those moments into peaceful solutions. As they act out each scenario with a partner, they learn to listen, take turns speaking, and try gentle phrases that help everyone feel heard. The activity encourages empathy and helps students recognise that conflicts are a normal part of life, and with simple tools, they can navigate them kindly and confidently.
As pairs share their solutions, the classroom becomes a supportive space where students learn from one another and celebrate calm problem-solving. The activity beautifully connects to the Playful Astronauts’ visit to Mercury, where extreme hot and cold conditions mirror the big feelings that can arise during disagreements. Just as Mercury finds balance, students discover how using their words can bring things back to calm. Peace Pals leaves the group feeling capable, connected, and ready to handle challenges with kindness and confidence.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Students identify feelings that arise during conflict, frustration, sadness, confusion, or wanting fairness.
- Role-play helps them recognise emotions in themselves and others by watching body language and tone.
- Linking Mercury’s “hot and cold extremes” reinforces how emotions can shift quickly and how naming emotions supports calmer responses.
2. Personal Strengths
- Students practise strengths such as teamwork, patience, empathy, and kindness while solving pretend disagreements.
- They learn to value strength in staying calm, listening, and compromising.
- Taking turns in role-play builds confidence and highlights communication strengths.
3. Positive Coping
- Students learn coping strategies for real-life disagreements, such as pausing, using calm words, and asking for help.
- Practising conflict resolution in a playful environment normalises problem-solving rather than reacting.
- The activity reinforces that disagreements are normal and manageable with the right tools.
4. Problem-Solving
- Students learn practical steps of conflict resolution: identifying the issue, listening to each perspective, brainstorming solutions, and choosing a peaceful response.
- They practise using assertive but respectful language (“Can we share?”, “Let’s take turns”, “I didn’t mean to bump you”).
- Performing and observing role-plays deepens their understanding of empathy, fairness, and negotiation.
5. Stress Management
- Students learn to stay calm when faced with social conflict, a key skill for emotional regulation.
- Role-play provides a safe setting to practise responding instead of reacting.
- The metaphor of Mercury’s extremes helps students understand that finding balance reduces stress for themselves and others.
6. Gender and Identity
- Scenarios are inclusive and avoid gendered assumptions about behaviour or leadership.
- Students practise resolving disagreements in ways that respect individual identity and personal boundaries.
- Encourages students of all identities to feel confident in using their voice in conflict situations.
7. Positive Relationships
- Students strengthen relationships by exploring ways to respond kindly during disagreements.
- The activity teaches the foundations of healthy peer interactions: empathy, turn-taking, fairness, and active listening.
- By practising peaceful solutions, students build trust and create a safer, more respectful classroom culture.
8. Help-Seeking
- Students learn that seeking help from a teacher or peer is a valid strategy when conflicts feel too big to solve alone.
- The activity normalises talking about problems and asking for guidance.
- Peer-led feedback during performances reinforces that solving conflicts collaboratively is encouraged and supported.
Conflict Cool-Down Posters
Conflict Cool-Down Posters give students a gentle and creative way to explore what helps them feel steady during tricky moments. Through drawing and colouring, each student creates a personalised poster that shows the strategies that help them calm their mind and body, whether it’s taking slow breaths, finding a quiet space, talking to a trusted adult, or cuddling a favourite toy. As students reflect on these ideas, they begin to understand their own emotional responses and discover that they have tools they can use when big feelings appear. The activity encourages self-awareness while helping students see that feeling upset is normal, and calming down is a skill they can learn and practise.
When the posters are shared with the group, the classroom becomes a community of learners supporting one another. Students listen to their classmates’ ideas, gaining new strategies they might want to try the next time they need a moment to reset. Once displayed, the posters create a colourful “Cool-Down Zone” that students can revisit whenever they need a reminder of how to find balance. This activity aligns beautifully with the Playful Astronauts’ lessons on Mercury, where students learn to bring calm to hot emotional moments. Conflict Cool-Down Posters leave each child feeling empowered, understood, and ready to approach challenges with greater confidence and care.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Students recognise emotions that arise during conflict (anger, frustration, sadness) and identify early warning signs.
- They express their emotional needs through drawing and discussion, strengthening self-awareness.
- Sharing posters helps students understand that everyone experiences emotions differently.
2. Personal Strengths
- Students identify strengths such as self-awareness, self-regulation, creativity, and problem-solving when choosing strategies that help them calm down.
- Explaining their strategies builds confidence and reinforces the positive traits they use to manage challenges.
- Recognising peers’ strategies encourages appreciation of diverse strengths and coping styles.
3. Positive Coping
- Students explore healthy coping strategies such as breathing, moving away to cool down, asking for help, or using comforting objects.
- Creating a personalised poster helps them internalise these strategies for future emotional regulation.
- The activity emphasises that calm-down tools are proactive ways to manage escalating emotions.
4. Problem-Solving
- Students practise identifying a problem (feeling upset) and applying a peaceful solution (calming strategy).
- They develop the ability to choose appropriate actions instead of reacting impulsively.
- Discussing strategies with peers builds a shared toolkit for resolving conflicts more thoughtfully.
5. Stress Management
- Students learn practical strategies for managing stress during disagreements or emotional spikes.
- The process of drawing and reflecting is itself a calming, mindful activity.
- Posters displayed in a Cool-Down Zone become visual reminders of how to self-regulate in high-stress moments.
6. Gender and Identity
- Students create personalised posters that honour their individual identities and unique calming needs, free from stereotypes.
- The activity reinforces that everyone, regardless of gender or background, experiences emotions and benefits from calm-down strategies.
- Hearing a range of strategies fosters an inclusive atmosphere where differences are respected.
7. Positive Relationships
- Students share calming strategies respectfully, strengthening empathy and understanding within the group.
- Knowing how to self-regulate helps prevent conflicts from escalating and supports healthier peer interactions.
- A classroom filled with visible cool-down tools promotes a culture of care, safety, and emotional support.
8. Help-Seeking
- Students learn that seeking help (from a teacher or trusted peer) is a valid and healthy calming strategy.
- By openly discussing their strategies, students normalise asking for support when overwhelmed.
- The Cool-Down Corner and posters remind students they don’t need to manage big emotions alone.
Freeze and Think
Freeze and Think blends energetic movement with moments of calm, helping students discover how their bodies and minds can work together to find balance. As upbeat music plays, students dance freely, enjoying the chance to move, explore, and release energy. But when the music suddenly stops, they freeze and shift into a calming action, taking a deep breath, stretching gently, or giving themselves a soft hug. These quick switches between movement and mindfulness help students learn that even in moments of excitement or frustration, they can pause, reset, and regain control. The game turns self-regulation into something playful, accessible, and empowering.
Each freeze moment becomes a chance for students to practise choosing peaceful actions, building confidence in their ability to respond thoughtfully when big feelings arise. As they share which strategies helped them feel most settled, the class begins to form a toolkit of calming ideas they can use throughout the day. The activity connects beautifully with the lessons from Mercury, where extreme highs and lows are balanced through steady, reflective choices. Freeze and Think leaves students feeling energised, centred, and more aware of how to bring calm into their everyday experiences.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Students learn to recognise the shift between high energy (movement) and calm (freeze + mindful action).
- They explore how calming actions affect their body and emotions, increasing self-awareness.
- Reflection questions help students identify which strategies help them regulate their emotions during conflict or frustration.
2. Personal Strengths
- Students practise strengths such as self-control, self-awareness, and responsibility while freezing and choosing calming strategies.
- They learn to trust their own ability to regulate emotions, building confidence.
- Creativity in movement allows students to express individuality and recognise the strengths they bring to the group.
3. Positive Coping
- Students learn practical, healthy strategies to cope with big feelings: deep breathing, self-hugging, stretching, grounding.
- Repeating these actions helps embed them as automatic responses during real emotional challenges.
- The game demonstrates that pausing, rather than reacting, is an effective way to handle frustration and conflict.
4. Problem-Solving
- Students practise interrupting impulsive reactions by pausing, thinking, and choosing a peaceful action.
- The freeze moment symbolises the first step in conflict resolution: stopping to reflect before responding.
- Calming strategies support clearer thinking, enabling better decision-making in social situations.
5. Stress Management
- Movement releases tension, while freeze moments teach students how to settle their nervous system quickly.
- Students form a personalised set of strategies they can rely on when overwhelmed.
- The game turns mindfulness into a fun, repeatable habit that reduces stress across the school day.
6. Gender and Identity
- Students express themselves freely during dance and movement in a non-judgmental environment.
- Calming strategies are universal and accessible to every student, regardless of identity or background.
- The activity reinforces that everyone experiences strong emotions and everyone deserves space to regulate them.
7. Positive Relationships
- Shared movement creates connection, joy, and classroom cohesion.
- Students show respect by freezing safely, giving peers space, and participating calmly during mindfulness moments.
- Learning to regulate emotions supports kinder interactions and reduces conflict with peers.
8. Help-Seeking
- Students learn that calming strategies are tools they can use independently or when guided by a teacher.
- The reflective questions encourage students to consider when they might need help or a reminder to pause.
- Normalising emotional regulation makes it easier for students to ask for support during overwhelming moments.
Peace Pebbles
Peace Pebbles invites students to slow down, reflect, and create a heartfelt gift that symbolises kindness and calm. Using soft colours and meaningful symbols, each child decorates a pebble that represents peace, whether it’s a reminder of gratitude, a way to repair a disagreement, or a simple message of care. As they choose someone special to receive their pebble, students think deeply about the people who support them, the friendships they value, and the small actions that can help bring harmony to their relationships. The activity blends creativity and emotional reflection, allowing students to express positive feelings through colours, shapes, and symbols that feel peaceful to them.
Giving the pebble becomes a powerful moment of connection. Whether quietly placed on a desk, tucked into a locker, or delivered with a short message, each Peace Pebble carries warmth and intention. When students share how it felt to give their pebble, and how they imagine the recipient felt, the group begins to understand how generosity can repair, strengthen, and uplift. This links beautifully with the lessons from Mercury in The Playful Astronauts story, where thoughtful actions help balance challenging moments. Peace Pebbles leaves the class feeling grounded, connected, and inspired to use kindness as a way to bring people together.
Respectful Relationships
1. Emotional Literacy
- Students reflect on feelings of calm, kindness, gratitude, and connection while creating their pebble.
- They practise naming emotions associated with giving and receiving kindness.
- The activity helps students recognise how peaceful gestures can change emotional states during or after conflict.
2. Personal Strengths
- Students identify strengths such as generosity, empathy, creativity, and compassion when choosing who to gift their pebble to.
- Explaining why they selected a person reinforces strengths like appreciation, honesty, and kindness.
- Recognising classmates’ choices helps students value diverse strengths in their peer relationships.
3. Positive Coping
- Students learn that giving, sharing, and expressing gratitude are powerful coping strategies during or after conflict.
- Creating a calming object reinforces mindfulness and helps them manage emotional “heat” (anger, frustration).
- The activity models prosocial ways to repair relationships and reduce stress.
4. Problem-Solving
- Choosing someone to receive the pebble encourages students to think about how small actions can help resolve tensions or strengthen friendships.
- They practise expressing kindness even in situations where a disagreement may have occurred.
- The reflection questions help students link giving to peaceful conflict resolution.
5. Stress Management
- Decorating a pebble is a calming, sensory experience that supports emotional regulation.
- Choosing peaceful colours and symbols encourages mindfulness and self-awareness.
- Gifting the pebble encourages the release of tension and promotes positive connection, which lowers stress.
6. Gender and Identity
- Creative expression through colours, symbols, and messaging supports individuality and personal identity.
- Students learn that giving peace and kindness is for everyone, not defined by gender or stereotypes.
- The activity honours diverse emotional needs, strengths, and relationships.
7. Positive Relationships
- Gifting a Peace Pebble strengthens bonds, rebuilds connections, and promotes empathy.
- Students practise respectful communication and appreciation for others.
- The act of giving reinforces kindness as a relationship-building tool and models restorative behaviour.
8. Help-Seeking
- Students recognise that peace-building sometimes involves reaching out to others with kindness or bridging gaps after disagreements.
- The activity normalises expressing gratitude, repair, and care, important precursors to seeking support when needed.
- A “Peace Pebble Basket” creates a safe, non-verbal way for students to initiate reconciliation or ask for connection.
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