Caring for Our Shared Space

Overview

In this final session of Caring Friends Together, children bring together earlier learning about kindness, helping and caring for others. Through a shared mural and a practical tidy-up, they explore how caring for people and places helps everyone feel safe, welcome and included.

Learning intentions

• WALT notice ways we can care for our friends and shared spaces.
• WALT work together, share materials and take turns.
• WALT use kind words when helping or solving small disagreements.
• WALT make a helpful choice for our classroom.

Success criteria

• I can show caring for people or places in my artwork.
• I can share materials and take turns.
• I can use kind words such as “Can I help?”, “Your turn” and “Let’s do it together.”
• I can put classroom items in their proper places.

Curriculum links

• Health Education — Relationships: practising sharing, taking turns, listening and solving disagreements positively.
• Health Education — Relationships: using kind language to build and maintain friendships.
• Health Education — Relationships: recognising unkind or excluding behaviour and responding with kindness and confidence.
• Key Competencies: relating to others; participating and contributing; managing self.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Read and discuss. Teacher reads a short picture book about caring for people or places, pausing to ask, “Who is being caring?”, “How might that person feel?” and “How did they help?” Open with the caring friends introduction slides to show a welcoming classroom before-and-after image and introduce the words kaitiakitanga (caring for people and places), aroha (love and kindness) and akoranga (learning together). Students share examples from home or kindergarten, using gestures or home-language words where helpful. Briefly explain that caring for a shared space means looking after places and things that everyone uses. Model: “I notice the blocks are on the floor. I can help put them away so our friends can play safely.”

2. 10–15 min · Model the mural task. Teacher shows the mural area and demonstrates painting or collaging a hand, person, heart or tidy shared space. Discuss what each image could show: a hand helping, people cooperating, a heart showing aroha, or a clean space cared for through kaitiakitanga. Students suggest a kind or helpful action to include. Set clear expectations: use gentle hands, share resources, ask before taking, walk with tools, and tell an adult if there is a problem. Children work in groups of three, with flexible roles such as artist, material collector and encourager.

3. 15–35 min · Create a collaborative mural. Teacher supports five groups of three to create and add images to one large mural titled “We Care Together”. Prompt conversations with questions such as, “Who is your picture helping?”, “How could you invite someone to join?”, and “What kind words could you use?” Refer back to the mural process and kind-words slides for the three steps: choose an idea, create together, add it to the shared mural. Students paint, glue collage pieces, add handprints or draw people, hearts and cared-for places. They practise sharing materials and taking turns. The teacher photographs children’s explanations or records their words beside their artwork.

4. 35–45 min · Care for our classroom. Teacher signals a transition and invites children to look carefully around the room. Together, identify three or four areas needing care, such as blocks, books, art materials or dramatic-play items. Model sorting one item into its labelled place and explain how this helps the next person. Students work in small groups to tidy, sort and return items. Adults reinforce kind teamwork: “You noticed what needed doing,” “You waited for a turn,” and “You helped make this space ready for everyone.”

5. 45–55 min · Reflection circle. Teacher gathers children near the mural, revisits the reflection and sharing slides, and invites each child to complete the sentence, “I can show aroha by…”, or “I can care for our shared space by…” Children may speak, point to their mural contribution, use a gesture, or ask an adult to say their words. Celebrate specific examples of cooperation, persistence and helpful choices. Acknowledge that people may care for spaces in different ways and that everyone’s contribution matters.

6. 55–60 min · Close and revisit. Teacher asks children to silently look at the mural and notice one caring image made by someone else. Finish with a simple class affirmation: “We care for people. We care for places. We learn together.” Students name or demonstrate one action they will try during the next class day.

Resources

• the caring friends introduction, mural process and reflection deck
• Large paper or cardboard for the mural
• Washable paint, paintbrushes and water containers
• Coloured paper, magazines, glue sticks and child-safe scissors
• Thick crayons or markers
• Aprons or protective table coverings
• Clearly labelled tubs, shelves or baskets for classroom tidy-up
• Short picture book about kindness, helping or caring for places
• Camera or tablet for recording children’s explanations

Assessment

• Observe whether children share, take turns, listen and use kind words during the mural; record brief examples.
• During tidy-up, note whether children identify where items belong and participate safely in caring for the shared environment.
• Listen during the circle for each child’s ability to name, show or select one kind or helpful choice. Accept verbal, visual, gestural or home-language responses.

Differentiation

• Offer picture choices, gestures and sentence starters: “I can help by…”, “Your turn”, and “Let’s do it together.”
• Provide larger tools, pre-cut collage shapes, adapted scissors and adult or peer support for children developing fine-motor control.
• Allow children to participate through painting, gluing, carrying materials, pointing, demonstrating or dictating an idea.
• Pair children thoughtfully and model joining play or responding to conflict: “Please stop. I’m using that. You can have a turn next.”
• Extend confident speakers by inviting them to explain how their artwork shows kaitiakitanga, aroha or akoranga.