The School of Play Curriculum
Special Education
Week 2 leans into connection, confidence, and emotional literacy through quick, joyful routines. You’ll open with Heads and Tummies, a fast group energiser where students choose simple gestures, try to match peers, and celebrate every success, perfect for practising attention, body awareness, and positive social cues without any elimination. From there, The Best Me Today invites each learner to set one small, meaningful goal (e.g., listening, sharing, helping) and visualise how it will feel to succeed. Expect easy wins, regular check-ins, and rich language around pride and effort. Explicit modelling, visual prompts, and alternative gestures ensure both Levels A–D and F–3 can participate confidently.
Feelings Hopscotch combines movement, emotion naming, and expression. Students hop/step (or use a tabletop/marker version) through an emotions grid, acting out feelings and building empathy by copying and cheering their peers. You’ll close with Gratitude Pictionary, a light reflective draw-and-share that grows vocabulary, perspective-taking, and classroom warmth; artefacts can be displayed on a Gratitude Wall to reinforce belonging. Educators can expect minimal setup, flexible spaces, and multiple ways to respond (verbal, visual, assisted, or tech-supported), with wheelchair-friendly adaptations embedded throughout. The week emphasises non-eliminating play, clear differentiation, and frequent celebration, giving you strong observation points for focus, coordination, self-management, emotional language, and prosocial behaviour as students head into Week 3 feeling connected and proud.
Weekly Lessons
Heads and Tummies
Heads and Tummies is a fast, social, and laughter-filled movement game that helps students connect with each other through simple gestures and shared celebration. On the countdown to “Go!”, students choose either to touch their head or their tummy, then cheer together when they match with classmates. It’s quick, energetic, and perfect for building confidence, coordination, and peer connection. Students love the surprise element, never knowing who will match next, and the focus stays on fun rather than accuracy or competition. With each round followed by a short movement burst (clap, stretch, jump), the game keeps bodies active and minds engaged. It can be played in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class, and is incredibly easy to set up with no equipment needed.
Ideal for early learners in Levels A–D and equally engaging for students in Levels F–3, the game encourages teamwork, positive social interaction, and quick reactions. Every gesture can be adapted to suit different abilities, making it fully inclusive for wheelchair users and students with diverse movement or communication needs. After watching the short demonstration video, simply choose the version below that suits your learners and click to download the full printable. Simple gestures, big connection, Heads and Tummies is a joyful way to boost energy, teamwork, and classroom community in just a few minutes.
Please note: For students with sensory learning needs, or those who utilise a AAC device, please refer to the levels A-B PDF for these activity variation ideas and strategies.
Levels A & B download HERE
Levels C & D download HERE
Levels F to 3 download HERE
The Best Me Today
The Best Me Today is a simple, uplifting activity that helps students choose one small goal that will make them feel proud. It encourages responsibility, self-awareness, and kindness in a way that’s easy, visual, and achievable for every learner. Students select a personal goal, like sharing, listening, helping, smiling, or trying their best, then use pictures, words, or gestures to show how they think it will feel when they achieve it. Throughout the day, teachers use gentle reminders and visual prompts to help students stay focused on their chosen goal. The activity ends with a short reflection where students share whether they tried their best and how it made them feel. It’s a beautiful way to build confidence, encourage positive choices, and help students understand that effort, not perfection, is what matters most.
Perfect for early learners in Levels A–D, and equally powerful for older students in Levels F–3, this activity supports emotional development, goal-setting, and daily self-reflection. It’s inclusive, flexible, and easily adapted for diverse communication styles, physical abilities, and classroom needs. After watching the short demonstration video, simply select the version below that suits your students and download the full printable.
A gentle daily ritual that builds pride, responsibility, and positivity, helping every child become the “best me” they can be today.
Please note: For students with sensory learning needs, or those who utilise a AAC device, please refer to the levels A-B PDF for these activity variation ideas and strategies.
Levels A & B download HERE
Levels C & D download HERE
Levels F to 3 download HERE
Feelings Hopscotch
Feelings Hopscotch blends emotional learning with movement, balance, and play. As students move through the hopscotch grid, hopping, stepping, or using adapted actions, they pause on each square to name or act out the emotion shown. Their peers cheer, copy, or reflect the feeling back, turning the whole activity into a joyful mix of expression, empathy, and physical coordination. This game helps students recognise emotions, practise expressive skills, and connect with their classmates in a supportive, playful environment. With every hop comes a new feeling to explore: happy, sad, excited, calm, angry, tired, proud, surprised, giving students a chance to use their face, voice, and body to communicate how emotions can look and feel: the group celebration after each turn builds confidence, a sense of belonging, and positive social interaction.
Designed for early learners in Levels C–D and beautifully adaptable for students in Levels F–3, Feelings Hopscotch can be played indoors or outdoors and easily modified for wheelchair users or students needing alternative ways to participate. It’s inclusive, energetic, and simple to set up with chalk, tape, and emotion cards. After watching the quick demonstration video, choose the version below that best suits your learners, then download the full printable. Where emotions meet movement, Feelings Hopscotch turns SEL into active, expressive, confidence-building fun.
Please note: For students with sensory learning needs, or those who utilise a AAC device, please refer to the levels A-B PDF for these activity variation ideas and strategies.
Levels A & B download HERE
Levels C & D download HERE
Levels F to 3 download HERE
Gratitude Pictionary
Gratitude Pictionary is a simple, creative, and heartwarming activity that helps students notice what makes them happy and express it through drawing and sharing. Students choose one thing they feel grateful for, draw it in their own way, and then show it to their classmates, who try to guess what it is. The activity finishes with each student sharing why their drawing makes them feel thankful, building confidence, connection, and joy. This light, playful game encourages students to pause, reflect, and celebrate the people, places, and things that brighten their world. It also nurtures social skills as students listen to each other’s gratitude, offer kind guesses, and create a collective “Gratitude Wall” that becomes a visual reminder of positivity in the classroom.
Designed for early learners in Levels A–D and equally meaningful for students in Levels F–3, the activity is fully adaptable for different abilities and communication styles. Whether students draw, point, gesture, label, or use assistive technology, every expression of gratitude is valued and celebrated. After watching the short demonstration video, simply select the version below that matches your learners and download the full printable.
A playful way to express gratitude, build connection, and fill the classroom with smiles, one drawing at a time.
Please note: For students with sensory learning needs, or those who utilise a AAC device, please refer to the levels A-B PDF for these activity variation ideas and strategies.
Levels A & B download HERE
Levels C & D download HERE
Levels F to 3 download HERE
.avif)
