Positive Empowerment Framework
As a parent you are always trying to protect your babies the best way you can and arm them with the confidence and capacity to squash those negative words when they come their way! When Luna was born, I knew she was different with her beautiful red hair and fair skin, in the same breath I knew the way she looked would open her up to negativity and comments on her individuality and flare. I wanted to teach her to feel confident, be brave and when she thought of herself to feel beautiful. I knew that Luna had the potential to let those negative words hold no weight, to never hurt her. This is why I started teaching her about self-love and empowerment.
These words were practised every day in our household and became a nightly ritual after bedtime stories. Through these mantra’s Luna adopted a new way of life, one where nobody or nothing would hold her back. Whether it was being kind and making new friends or being brave and swimming a lap of the pool on her own. Everyday Luna lived freely and without hesitation, a way of life I hope to teach others. These words were spoken until her very last breath and our aim is that these words are spoken forever more.
Through our framework we will teach each of Luna’s mantras, their value, importance and how our children can embody these within their life.
Through a tailor made and developed text, Luna’s Life Lessons will deliver a series of teachings that each focus closely on a core mantra with engagements that follow. The lesson structure has been created to ensure cohesion and allow for appropriate implementation and integration into an already packed curriculum.
Introductory Lessons - Luna’s Rainbow Tribe (Book)
Lesson 1 - Kind
Lesson 2 - Confident
Lesson 3 - Brave
Lesson 4 - Smart
Lesson 5 - Strong
Lesson 6 – Loved
Summary Lessons – Luna Rainbow Day
Luna’s Life Lessons links closely to the Australian Curriculum, EYCG and EYLF, allowing participants to engage from as young one year olds right through to Year 2 primary aged students. Within each lesson plan in the framework, you will find links to relevant content descriptors and outcomes.
Our framework provides many opportunities for differentiation whether that be within your kindergarten centre or in your Year 1 classroom. We have created a range of resources that accompany each lesson ensuring you are able to deliver the content to best meet your students’ needs.
Luna’s Life Lessons is made for teachers and early childhood educators, by teachers and early childhood educators. We encourage a commitment from staff delivering our programs to ensure it is the absolute best it can be. Ultimately it is your students who benefit from this as you teach them these important messages that they will carry with them throughout their journey in life.
There are a plethora of wellbeing frameworks and pedagogies on offer to educators, parents, and students, ultimately; they all have the same goal and that is improving the individual’s wellbeing and mental health. Within the Australian setting, The Melbourne Declaration states that “schools play a vital role in promoting the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development and wellbeing of young Australians” (MCEETYA, 2008). Among this, educators are being encouraged to develop competencies in areas other than academia, facilitating the teaching and learning of additional 21st century skills. Highlighting the need to teach social and emotional learning as it is evident within current literature that these skills prepare young people for the real world (Hagen, 2013). In addition to Hagen, Murray-Harvey and Slee (2010) discuss the amount of time children spend in school and how educators must provide a learning environment that encourages students to not only thrive academically but, in all way’s relating to their wellbeing (Slee & Skrzypiec, 2016). It is evident through research and findings, the clear need for wellbeing and mental health initiatives in schools to prepare young people for the challenges they can face in the real world.
Now you see the need for such initiatives in schools, let us share some further research into positive education and its underpinnings. Martin Seligman shares five key areas of wellbeing to be taught in schools, “PERMA” positive emotions, engagement through strengths, meaning and sense of purpose, positive relationships and accomplishment (Seligman, 2018). In education, positive psychology focuses on ones’ positive emotions and how to utilise strengths to achieve individual and collective goals (Cefai & Cavioni, 2014). Furthermore, it focuses closely on using these positive emotions to facilitate adjustment, promote resilience, growth and wellbeing, in turn reducing depression, anxiety and the feeling of hopelessness (Seligman, 2018). Ultimately Seligman believes in a strengths-based approach that encourages a sense of engagement, growth, relationships and achievement.
Our goal here at the Luna Capri Foundation is to encompass a range of pedagogies and frameworks ensuring we are adhering to our governing bodies and their recommendations. This brings us to our framework – Luna’s Life Lesson’s, a holistic wellbeing and children empowerment framework. Combining both positive psychology and character education. We will arm our students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to feel empowered and confident to face life’s challenges. Our framework focuses on the education of the whole child, ensuring we are teaching 21st century skills alongside core academic competencies.