Rise & Resilience Pathway for Early Childhood Development
My philosophical approach to Early Childhood Education
I embrace the belief that children bring an inherent melody of grace and wonder, enriching our lives as we guide them through the journey of learning and growth. Drawing inspiration from renowned early childhood theorists such as Albert Bandura, Sigmund Freud, and Robert Coles, my practices as a NLP practitioner and Resilience Facilitator are intricately woven with the understanding that teaching goes beyond imparting knowledge – it’s a reciprocal exchange of wisdom.
As I echo the sentiment that social and emotional learning holds equal importance as learning to read and write, my fervor lies in empowering early childhood teachers and educators with the necessary tools to educate our future generation. This includes preparing children to navigate change in the face of adversity, cultivate positive relationships, face their fears, and to identify, regulate and manage emotions and harness the foundations of acceptance and accountability. It’s about getting them out of their busy minds and into their heart space and helping them develop a solution orientated growth mindset, that is open to opportunity and experiences .
My approach aligns with the profound insights of these theorists. By showing acceptance, we empower children to love themselves, to tap into their inner greatness and discover love in the world around them.
I firmly believe that a child's love is a beacon of profound wisdom, capable of replenishing our inner peace, infusing laughter into our lives, and enveloping us in the harmonious beauty of their presence.
THE AIM
Is to assist children in forming neural connections that foster mental strength. Harnessing the foundation of social and emotional capabilities with a particular focus on emotional regulation, building positive connections and developing a growth & grit mindset.
THE PURPOSE
The programs are customised to facilitate the areas of strengths and needs of the teachers and educators in the early childhood sector, through educator data collected prior to training. The purpose is to enable the teachers and educators to consolidate and implement resilience into their teachings and to practice emotional intelligence in their daily interactions.
FACILITATION
The Gold Package – Duality Training: comprises four interactive sessions delivered within the kindy classroom environment + two 40 min zoom sessions and six corresponding training modules delivered over a six-month period, with one module introduced each month to progressively build, reinforce and embed the learning. Additionally a 30 day team resilience challenge is offered through the centre’s choice of portal.
Option to replace: one interactive classroom session with a team resilience training session facilitated at a staff meeting.
The program provides hands-on support for ECTs, demonstrating how the resilience tools and practices within the Mindful Kids Program can be authentically applied, modelled and embedded within everyday classroom experiences.
At the same time, ECTs participate in Emotional Intelligence training designed to develop the very same skills and capacities they are supporting children to build. This creates a congruent approach where the educator’s learning and personal practice directly aligns with what is being taught to the children.
Over time, consistent implementation, measurable progress and ongoing reinforcement allow these practices to become habitual, integrated and embodied, creating a resilient and emotionally intelligent classroom culture that continues to evolve.
Silver package – comprises four interactive sessions delivered within the kindy classroom environment, and four corresponding training modules delivered over a four-month period.
Additionally a 30 day team resilience challenge is offered through the centre’s choice of portal.
Option to replace: one interactive classroom session with a team resilience training session facilitated at a staff meeting.
Bronze package comprises three interactive sessions delivered within the kindy classroom environment, and three corresponding training modules delivered over a three-month period.
Parental Interest: Interested in hosting an in-centre parental resilience evening providing free, practical resilience tips and parenting resources that support families in their parenting role and contribute to your Quality Area 6 – Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities requirements? Inquire to learn more.
Resilience is having the capacity to deal with change in the face of adversity, try new things, to identify, regulate & manage emotions , build positive connections with others and bounce back when things don't flow according to plan.
THE PROGRAM
The program outlines various competencies of Emotional Intelligence, with focuses on:
Managing Emotions
The ability to stay focused & think clearly
Self-Awareness
The ability to recognise what you are feeling
Self-Exploration
The ability to self-inquire and build a sense of well-being & confidence
Social Skills
The ability to manage, influence & inspire emotions in others
Language Positivity
Promoting empowering praise through positive language patterns
Adopting flexible thinking patterns
Shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Flexible & adaptable mindsets breed resilience and growth.
SESSION 1: Mastering Self, Modelling Resilience
Developing Self-Mastery through the 'Mastering The Emotional Mind' Program with an integrated QIP module
The Emotional Mastery Program is a practical 50-page workbook comprising four progressive modules, designed to support individuals in understanding and leading their inner world. The first three modules explore emotional intelligence, self-awareness, nervous system regulation, communication tools and conflict resolution strategies, supporting participants to recognise emotional patterns, regulate their responses, strengthen relationships and communicate with greater clarity and confidence.
Supported by The Calm Kit, participants are equipped with simple, practical tools they can return to in real time to reset, reflect and respond with greater intention. The program is designed not simply to impart knowledge, but to support the ongoing development and embodiment of emotional mastery through reflection, practice and continuous improvement.
The fourth module translates these learnings into a practical Quality Improvement Plan (QIP)-aligned framework, with a specific focus on identified practices across Quality Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7. It supports centres with compliance alignment, evidence collection, measurable indicators and continuous improvement, demonstrating how emotional intelligence and resilience practices can be meaningfully embedded into everyday practice.
The module also includes a Professional Development handout for Educational Leaders, providing a practical resource that can be utilised with the broader team to support consistent implementation, reflection, professional learning and ongoing improvement across the service.
SESSION 2: Teaching & Embedding Resilience
The 'Mindful Kids' Resilience program focuses on equipping educators with practical strategies to teach, model and embed resilience within everyday experiences.
The program moves beyond simply managing behaviour to help educators understand what is happening beneath a child’s emotions and responses, and how their own presence, language, role modelling and connection can shape a child’s emotional development. It explores conscious leadership, co-regulation, nervous system regulation, growth mindset and the development of neural pathways that support confidence, connection and resilience.
Across four modules, educators learn how to recognise and respond to emotional dysregulation, support children through big feelings, use empowering communication and praise, and gradually guide children towards greater independence and self-regulation. The program combines this understanding with practical, child-friendly strategies including breathing and mindfulness, movement, sensory regulation, emotional check-ins, calming routines, positive self-talk, Brain Gym and bilateral integration activities.
5 Key Learning Takeaways for Teachers
- Understand the behaviour behind the emotion
Learn to recognise emotional cues and understand dysregulation so you can respond with connection and support rather than simply reacting to behaviour. - Use co-regulation to build self-regulation
Develop practical ways to guide children through overwhelming emotions using calm connection, reassurance, active listening and regulation strategies, gradually helping them learn to regulate independently. - Communicate in ways that build confidence and resilience
Understand how language, empowering praise, positive role modelling and growth-focused communication can strengthen a child’s self-belief, independence and willingness to keep trying. - Create emotionally safe and resilient learning environments
Learn how connection, healthy boundaries, predictable routines and an emotionally regulated adult presence can help children feel safe enough to express emotions, make mistakes, problem-solve and learn. - Build a practical toolkit for everyday emotional regulation
Gain child-friendly strategies that can be used in real classroom situations, including mindful breathing, movement, sensory activities, positive self-talk, emotional awareness, calming routines and brain-body activities that support regulation, focus and confidence
SESSIONS 3,4,5 & 6: From Insight to Practice
Sessions 3, 4, 5 & 6 translate the insights gathered through the Educator Data Form and Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire into targeted, practical support aligned with the individual needs of the centre and its educators.
The data informs the selection and focus of the resilience and emotional intelligence programs, ensuring the training is responsive, relevant and purposeful, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.
Both sessions 3 & 4 are delivered in-centre, allowing the learning to be applied directly within the classroom environment and everyday practice.
To provide greater flexibility, the two-hour session can be structured as either:
- 2 hours of in-classroom interactive training, supporting ECT through practical modelling and implementation; or
- 1 hour of classroom-based training + 1 hour of individual coaching, providing ECT + EL with dedicated group support to explore their specific strengths, challenges and areas for development.
Sessions 5 & 6 are delivered through 40 min zoom sessions- small group coaching for the teacher & management team: Educational Leader, Centre Director and 2IC.
This tailored approach creates a bridge between what the data reveals, what educators learn and how the learning is embodied in practice, supporting meaningful and sustainable change across the centre.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Expected outcomes for Educators:
- Assimilating and Implementing the tools and techniques through the training
- Sustain the training through regular short training refreshes conducted by management
- To harness and implement the training to modify and on-teach to children in their care
Expected outcomes for children's learning & development:
- Being able to identify and regulate their emotion’s
- To redirect their focus and pivot in the moment towards another choice
- To have the capacity to deal with change and connect positively with others
MEASURING SUCCESS
- Witnessing ECT drawing on the training and responding appropriately and connecting positively with children
- Using the educator refection tool to be completed at the beginning and the completion of outlined program. Feedback from ECT will be collected post each interactive classroom or online session. Any clarification can be followed up in the moment to ensure compression is solid and training is being taught correctly.
Explicit links to Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline
- Identity – Building a confident self-Identity, a sense of security and trust and acting with independence and perseverance;
- Connectedness – Building positive relationships with others, showing respect for diversity and exploring interactions between people and the environment around them;
- Well-Being – Building a sense of autonomy and well-being, ways to manage self-care, considering and empathising with others;
- Active Learning – Building Positive dispositions towards learning, problem solving and exploring decision making processes;
- Communicating – Exploring and expanding ways to use language and skills for listening and taking turns in conversations.
TIME FRAME
The resilience pathway roll out will vary depending on the package chosen, as follows:
Gold package rolled out over 6 months.
Silver package rolled out over 4 months
Bronze package rolled out over 3 months
ESTIMATED COSTS
The packages range from $3000 – $5000. The pricing reflects the customised content creation, duration of facilitation, and the modules provided for ongoing training.
Parent resilience evenings are offered at a flat fee, inclusive of travel within our service radius, and include a complimentary Resilience Handout for families. Enquire to learn more, discuss availability and find out whether your Centre is within our included travel area.
Your Centre is an ideal fit for this program if your team of early childhood teachers and educators seek to improve productivity, enhance their [SEL] skills to develop resilient children, communicate effectively and foster positive relationships with colleagues, families, and the children in their care.