Every Thursday, students at Woodford Primary School in Victoria take some time out.
According to a report in The Standard, they get together at lunchtime, play soothing music and colour in mindfulness activity sheets. It might just look like simple relaxing, but the students are doing something important – they’re building resilience to help them cope with life’s challenges.
The mindfulness lunchtimes, led by students, form part of a pilot program being run at the school as part of A Big Life, a program run by the Warrnambool Student Wellbeing Association, Brauer College and Warrnambool College.
Program manager Loretto Blundell said the program, introduced in Term 2, had been adapted from the version aimed at high school students.
‘The program we’re doing is a simplified, more age-appropriate version and we’re focusing on gratitude, empathy and mindfulness,’ Ms Blundell said.
‘The overall aim is to build resilience, and there’s loads of wonderful research showing we can build a culture of resilience through these three very practical strategies.’
Ms Blundell said gratitude, empathy and mindfulness can improve sleep, health, focus and academic performance.