🌿 Starting with Empathy and Kindness: A Learning Journey from Birth to 8 Years
 
Across Australia, educators are observing a growing need to bring empathy and kindness back into the heart of children’s learning. From the baby room to school-aged care, children are developing their understanding of feelings, fairness, and care for others — yet these essential social foundations need intentional nurturing. The Empathy and Kindness Learning Pack provides educators with play-based experiences that help children recognise emotions, practise caring actions, and strengthen their sense of connection with others.
 
Aligned with EYLF V2.0 Outcome 1 – “Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect”, this pack empowers educators to embed empathy in daily routines and interactions. It also links strongly to NQS Quality Area 5: Relationships with Children, supporting services to create emotionally safe, inclusive spaces where kindness grows naturally through play, relationships, and reflection.
 
This resource invites all Australian early learning communities to take part in a shared movement — nurturing empathy and kindness as lifelong skills that begin in our early years.

🌼 Empathy and Kindness: Birth to 3 Years 
From the very beginning of life, babies and toddlers experience empathy through connection — the warmth of an educator’s voice, the comfort of gentle touch, and the rhythm of daily routines filled with care. By responding to their cues, mirroring emotions, and modelling kindness, educators help even the youngest children begin to understand feelings and compassion.
 
Each experience is simple to implement within everyday routines, complete with EYLF and VEYLDF links, theorist connections, analysis of learning, and extension ideas — making it easy to weave empathy and kindness naturally into your daily program.
 
🌿 Activity Highlights Foundations of Empathy: 
Attuned Moments Emotion Peekaboo
Gentle Hands Circle Time
Helping Hands Basket
Soothing Sensory Touch Tray
Kindness Garden
The Feelings Blanket
The Heart Helper Ritual
Kindness Tree
Hello, Goodbye, I See You – Transitions with Heart …and many more engaging, nurturing experiences designed to help children grow with empathy, kindness, and care.
 
🌸 Empathy and Kindness: Kindergarten Years (3–5 Years)
During the kindergarten years, children begin to express empathy and kindness in visible, meaningful ways. They notice others’ emotions, practise caring actions, and start to understand fairness and respect through play and conversation. For example, when a child shares a toy to comfort a sad friend, or helps someone rebuild a tower, they’re learning that their choices can make a difference.
 
This pack offers educators engaging, play-based experiences that weave emotional understanding into everyday routines. Each activity is easy to embed into your program, complete with, QKLG, and VEYLDF links, theorist connections, analysis of learning, and extension ideas, supporting you to build empathy, belonging, and care across the day.
 
🌿 Activity Highlights
Feelings Detective
Warm Wishes Workshop
The Kindness Garden Patrol
The Kindness Story Basket
The Kind Kitchen Café
Builders Who Care – Construction Kindness Crew
Feelings in the Forest – A Sensory Kindness Trail
Our Kind Cultures Table
Kindness Puppets – Solving Friendship Problems
Friendship Circles – Daily Rituals of Empathy
…and many more creative, heart-centred ideas to help children grow into kind, empathetic learners.
 
🌟 Empathy and Kindness: School-Aged Care (5–8 Years)
Older children are capable of expressing empathy and kindness in clear, intentional ways. At this stage, they begin to take responsibility for their actions, demonstrate leadership, and reflect on how their choices affect others. Through teamwork, community projects, and emotional reflection, children learn that kindness isn’t just a feeling — it’s something they can do every day. For example, when a child comforts a peer after a game or helps solve a disagreement, they’re practising empathy in action.
This pack provides creative, active, and reflective experiences that encourage children to lead with care and social responsibility. Each activity includes MTOP and VEYLDF links, theorist connections, analysis of learning, and extension ideas, making it easy to weave empathy and kindness into after-school programs in engaging, age-appropriate ways.
 
🌿 Activity Highlights
Kindness Chain Reaction
Kindness Quest – Cooperative Playground Challenge
Drama of the Heart – Kindness Theatre Workshop
Kindness in the Calm Zone
Hearts in Action – Community Kindness Project
Secret Compliment Circle
Walk in Their Shoes
The “How Would You Feel?” Jar
Fix-It Friends – Repairing Moments of Hurt
Fair Play Detectives
…and many more inspiring, hands-on activities designed to help children lead with empathy, kindness, and care.
 
💛 Why Every Service Needs This Pack
Empathy and kindness don’t just happen — they’re taught, modelled, and nurtured every single day. In a time when children are growing up in fast-paced, often disconnected environments, this pack helps educators and families bring the focus back to what truly matters: compassion, connection, and care.
 
Whether in early learning, kindergarten, OSHC, or family day care, embedding empathy-based experiences helps shape emotionally intelligent, resilient, and inclusive young people. Including one activity or reflection from this pack each day transforms ordinary routines into meaningful moments of connection — from a toddler’s gentle helping hand to an older child’s act of leadership and care.
 
Aligned with the EYLF, QKLG, VEYLDF, and MTOP, and directly linked to Quality Areas 1, 5, and 6 of the National Quality Standard, this resource empowers educators to intentionally build empathy through relationships, play, and real experiences. By using this pack, your service contributes to a positive shift — helping children recognise emotions, value others, and grow into kind, capable citizens who make a difference in their world.