What child doesn’t like a robot? Please let me introduce Boris the Robot! If you are looking for a creative, fun way to engage and involve your students and bring ‘heart’ to students’ development then Boris is your man – or should I say, your Robot! The lovely Boris is the creation of Dave Hill.

I have had the absolute joy of meeting with Dave Hill of Hilltop Media in the UK recently. “Hilltop Media resource teachers and parents as they seek to build strength in the hearts of children.”

Dave Hill has created a fabulous curriculum resource called HeartSmartPrimary. This is an amazing programme for primary school students designed to build character, emotional health and resilience in children. It is designed to improve the mental health of your students, improve the relationships of your students and also improve the academic achievement of your students. Now that has got to be worth thinking about!

HeartSmartPrimary offers a comprehensive programme designed to shape school culture. It uses 5 principles designed to resonate with students and become part of each students’ internal dialogue.

  1. Don’t Forget to Let Love in!
  2. Too Much Selfie isn’t Healthy!
  3. Don’t Rub it in, Rub it Out!
  4. Fake is a Mistake!
  5. ‘No Way Through’ isn’t True!

 

For each of the 5 principles there are 7 practical and easy to read lessons for each year level.

There are videos to support these clearly written and easy to use lesson plans.

You can use the Church School material course for each level of primary school and each lesson has a focus Bible verse too!

All the lessons are linked to UK educational targets in term of the PSHE – Personal, Social and Health Education, as well as the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools – SIAMS and the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) guidelines. As yet, the lessons are not linked to the Australian Curriculum but you could easily see how this work sits within the General Capabilities and our Anglican Schools Southern Queensland Shared Syllabus. I would also see this as an excellent way to reinforce Habits of Heart at your school. You see, the lessons are about wholeheartedness, love, self-worth, empathy, forgiveness, identity, acceptance, honesty, grit and resilience. I think you would naturally find the connections between Habits of Heart and HeartSmartPrimary. There is a natural confluence and synergy!

But don’t take my word for it – listen to the creative and delightful Dave.

As Dave reminds us, when he quotes from Aristotle,

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”