Little Social Stars Curriculum
Every term has a main focus — and every skill your child builds in Level 1 becomes the foundation for what comes next in Level 2. Nothing is repeated. Everything is deepened.
Mindfulness and Feelings Check-In — Our Session Backbone
Every single session opens with a grounded mindfulness circle followed by a feelings check-in. Children learn to name how they are emotionally, understand their body's signals, and build a toolkit of strategies. This thread of emotional awareness runs through all six terms and deepens every year — it is never a one-time lesson.
Foundations Year
Ready, Set, Go
Before any skill can be taught, children need to feel safe and know what to expect. This term builds that foundation.
- Predictable arrival, session, and departure routines so every child knows what comes next
- Transition practice — moving between activities calmly and with confidence
- Independence skills — packing up, asking for help, following two-step directions
- Managing big feelings at transition points (drop-off, activity endings)
- What to do when routines change — building flexibility within safety
- Introduction to feelings check-in as a group ritual
- First feelings vocabulary — happy, sad, scared, excited, angry
- Body signals — "where do I feel it in my body?"
- 1–2 simple calming strategies introduced and practised
Feeling Detectives
With routines in place, children turn their attention inward — learning to identify, name, and begin to manage their emotions.
- Identify and name 5 core feelings — happy, sad, scared, angry, excited
- Notice feelings in others through stories, games, and real moments in group
- Understand body signals — "my tummy feels wobbly" = nervous
- Build a personal toolkit of 2–3 calming strategies that work for them
- Ask for help when feelings get too big to manage alone
- Introduction to the idea of a "problem" and how to solve the problems
- Solution 1: Say, "Please Stop"
- Solution 2: Ask for Help
- Solutions 3 & 4: Share and Play Together
Super Friends
Now regulated and emotionally aware, children turn outward — learning the specific skills of friendship and how to navigate peer situations.
- Getting a friend's attention — name, look, wait
- Asking to join play — "Can I play too?"
- Sharing — "Giving toys?"
- Helping others feel included — "Come play with us!"
- All 4 solutions introduced in Term 2 are now practised in real peer play moments
- Children choose and try solutions during natural conflicts in the group
- Linking feelings to conflict — "what zone was I in when that happened?"
- Kinder-Ready spotlight: lining up, raising a hand, waiting your turn
Moving into Level 2 — Children entering Level 2 already have 5 basic feelings words, 2–3 calming strategies, 4 conflict solutions, and the core friendship skills. Level 2 doesn't restart these — it builds on them. Every skill gets more nuance, more independence, and more complexity.
Building Year
Feeling Detectives — Deeper
Going beyond naming feelings to understanding triggers, building a personal regulation toolkit, and beginning to support others.
- Expand feelings bank — adding frustrated, embarrassed, proud, nervous, overwhelmed
- Feelings on a spectrum — not just big/small, but in between (a little worried vs very scared)
- Identify personal triggers — what changes my zone and why?
- Noticing others' emotions in more complex situations and responding with care
- Self-advocacy — "I'm in yellow, I need a moment to calm down"
- Review and build on Level 1 strategies — what still works?
- Add new strategies — mindfulness, movement, imagery, talking it out
- Build a personalised toolkit of 5–6 strategies that work specifically for them
- Checking in on a friend — noticing their zone and offering support
Super Friends — Complex
Building on the 4 friendship skills from Level 1 — navigating the harder parts of friendship like exclusion, disagreement, and compromise.
- Maintaining friendships over time — staying connected, checking in
- Sharing "Requesting toys" in play
- Play Organizer – Giving a play idea to a friend
- Giving compliments in play
- Being a good friend when it's hard — staying kind under pressure
- Review 4 solutions from Level 1 — still using them
- Add Solution 5: Ignore sometimes
- Add Solution 6: Ask using kind words
- Add Solution 7: Take a break, calm down and come back when ready
Little Problem Solvers — Full Bank
Completing the full solution bank, applying every skill learned across both years, and stepping into Kindergarten with confidence.
- Review solutions 1–4 from Level 1
- Add Solution 5: Wait and Take Turns
- Add Solution 6: Get a timer
- Learn to Trade a toy
- What to do when the first solution doesn't work — trying another
- All feelings, friendship, and problem-solving skills applied in complex real-life scenarios
- Group problem solving — when more than two people are involved
- Preventing problems before they start
- 🎓 Kinder-Ready graduation — celebrating everything they've built across 2 years
Ready to Begin?
Every child starts at Level 1, Term 1 — Ready, Set, Go. Spaces are limited to keep groups small and meaningful.
Enriching Early Learning Community