The Resilience Project

Our students have been diving into the core principles of The Resilience Project. Through lessons focused on Gratitude, Empathy, and Mindfulness (G.E.M.), as well as Emotional Literacy, classes have been exploring how to identify their feelings, support those around them, and rewire their brains for positivity.  

To help bring these lessons to life at home, we have provided several resources below. We encourage you to try these activities together to strengthen family connections and build lasting well-being habits.  

GEM Chat: Practising Gratitude Together

GEM Chats help families practice these principles through simple daily check-ins. Research highlights that practicing gratitude for 21 days can help rewire your brain to scan for the positives, making you three times more likely to notice them.

Try it at home: Use the attached "GEM Chats Gratitude" prompts during dinner or in the car.

Habit Builder: Make reflecting on what you are grateful for a part of your daily routine.

Kindergarten & Year 1: Emotional Literacy

Our youngest learners have been practicing identifying emotions and using picture books to understand that every emotion is a form of communication. Improving emotional literacy helps children recognise and manage their own feelings while navigating friendships and change.  

Try it at home: Look for the Feelings Charades activity to help children express various emotions through faces and body language.  

Habit Builder: Use the dinner table prompt, to share and explore strategies for managing different feelings.  

Years 2 & 3: Empathy & Kindness

Students in Years 2 and 3 have been exploring how meaningful compliments can uplift others. They learned that practicing empathy through kindness releases oxytocin in the brain, which increases self-esteem, energy levels, and overall happiness.  

Try it at home: See the Kindness Tree activity to help your family share and display kind messages about one another.  

Habit Builder: Discuss daily acts of kindness and how they made everyone involved feel.  

Year 4: Character Strengths

Year 4 students have been deepening their understanding of character strengths - the unique qualities that help us feel pride, confidence, and appreciation for ourselves. Recognising these strengths in ourselves and others is a key part of emotional literacy.  

Try it at home: Use the Admirable People activity to identify strengths in people you look up to and in each other.  

Habit Builder: Discuss daily feelings at dinner and brainstorm ways to turn negative emotions into positive ones.  

Years 5 & 6: The Power of Empathy

Our senior students have been investigating the biological benefits of empathy and the role of oxytocin. They explored how acting with kindness not only helps others but also boosts their own confidence and positivity. 

Try it at home: Look for the Continuous Compliments activity, which focuses on both giving compliments to others and positive self-talk.  

Habit Builder: Encourage each family member to thank or compliment another person every night at dinner.