Title: Building Resilience in Early Years

Objective: To help children develop resilience and coping skills to deal with challenges and setbacks.

Age Group: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) - 3 to 5 years

Duration: 45 minutes

Resources:

• Picture books on resilience (e.g. “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper, “The Most Magnificent Thing” by Ashley Spires)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Paper and crayons
• Playdough or building blocks

Introduction (5 minutes):

• Gather the children in a circle and introduce the topic of resilience. Explain that resilience means being able to bounce back from difficult situations and not giving up easily.
• Ask the children if they have ever faced a challenge or a setback, and how they felt about it. Encourage them to share their experiences.

Main Activity (30 minutes):

• Read a picture book on resilience, such as “The Little Engine That Could” or “The Most Magnificent Thing”. Pause at key moments to ask the children how the characters are showing resilience and what they could do in similar situations.
• Use the whiteboard to draw a simple chart with two columns: “Challenges” and “Ways to Overcome Them”. Ask the children to suggest different challenges they might face (e.g. not being able to tie their shoelaces, not being able to reach a toy on a high shelf, etc.) and write them in the first column. Then, ask the children to suggest different ways they could overcome these challenges (e.g. asking for help, trying again, finding a different way, etc.) and write them in the second column.
• Provide the children with paper and crayons, and ask them to draw a picture of themselves facing a challenge and using one of the ways to overcome it that they suggested. Encourage them to be creative and use their imagination.
• Finally, provide the children with playdough or building blocks and ask them to build something that represents resilience to them. This could be a tower that doesn’t fall down, a bridge that can withstand weight, or anything else they can think of.

Conclusion (10 minutes):

• Gather the children back in a circle and ask them to share their drawings and creations. Encourage them to explain how they showed resilience in their pictures or models.
• Summarize the key points of the lesson and remind the children that it’s okay to face challenges and setbacks, as long as they keep trying and don’t give up easily.
• End the lesson with a positive message, such as “We can do hard things!” or “We are strong and resilient!”