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Sign up for Every Heart Beats True!

'Every Heart Beats True' is a fun and engaging educational program designed to encourage and inspire students to take positive action to enhance their own health and wellbeing

Information for teachers

‘Every Heart Beats True’ is a fun and engaging educational program designed to encourage and inspire students to take positive action to enhance their own health and wellbeing.

The program links to the Australian Curriculum’s Health and Physical Education strand and has been carefully designed to support currently existing health and wellbeing programs in schools.

It uses AFL and AFLW players from the Melbourne Football Club as role models to deliver positive messages around health and wellbeing.

The program is delivered to students in Years 3 and 4 and focuses on the importance of being active, eating well, leadership as action not position, the benefits of a daily gratitude practice, plus other ways we can look after our minds and bodies.

Register your school to be part of ‘Every Heart Beats True’ in 2020 and you will receive (Casey, Stonnington, Boroondara and Glen Eira council regions only):

  • An ‘Every Heart Beats True’ health and wellbeing session at your school facilitated by the players from the Melbourne Football Club.
  • The opportunity to participate in a Q & A Skype session with players from the Melbourne Football Club
  • Access to online content to compliment both your school visit and your school’s own health and wellbeing programs
  • A free Melbourne Football Club gratitude journal, ‘My Heart Beats True’, for each student in Year 3 OR Year 4
  • An invitation from the Melbourne Football Club to attend our annual ‘Every Heart Beats True’ Gala Day held at AAMI Park, featuring players and expert staff from the Melbourne Football Club, and a range of exciting and interactive activities related to health and wellbeing.

Register your school as an ‘Every Heart Beats True’ school below.

If you have any further questions about the program, please contact Olivia Toms on 9652 1179 or email olivia.toms@melbournefc.com.au

Activities for the classroom

Gratitude and acts of kindness

Encouraging students to think about what they like, what they are good at and their likes and talents can help them determine how they can serve others and deliver small acts of kindness to each other.

What to do:

  1. Give each student a piece of plain A4 paper
  2. Show students how to fold the paper into thirds so there are three equal sections
  3. At the top of the first section, write the heading ‘I like…’, at the top of the second section write the heading ‘I am good at…’ and at the top of the third section write the heading ‘I can help by…’
  4. Students draw and/or write a response to each section (eg: I like….music. I am good at …. sport. I can help by … giving hugs)

Here’s an example you can follow!

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Thanks Goodness for Skittles

Grab a bag of Skittles and play this fun game with your students

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Make a Gratitude Jar

We hope that your students are loving using their ‘My Heart Beats True’ gratitude journals at school! A gratitude jar for your classroom is another great way to help children begin to develop a thankful heart.

What to do:

  1. Place a jar in a central location in your classroom.
  2. Place some pieces of paper (or copy and cut up the ones that we have created for you) and a pen next to it.
  3. When your students think of something that they are grateful for, have them write it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar.
  4. Choose a certain time each week (for example, Friday morning) to empty the jar and read all the thankful thoughts together as a class.

Download the printable resources for the activity HERE.

Guess the fruit and veg

This is a great opportunity for kids to get familiar with their fruit and vegetables (Important: please check student allergies before selecting fruit and vegetables for this activity)

You will need:

  • A non-transparent bag
  • A blindfold
  • A selection of fruit and vegetables

What to do:

  1. Place a selection of fruit and vegetables in a bag.
  2. Choose a student and place a blindfold over their eyes
  3. The student must try and guess what the food is by feeling, smelling and even eating it!

Every Heart Beats True - Heartbeat Exercise

This exercise is a fantastic one for getting your students up and moving to help them refocus during class. But is also provides the opportunity to strengthen their skills in mindfulness by drawing their attention to their heartbeat.

What do do:

  1. Get your class up and moving with some jumping jacks or star jumps on the spot for one minute
  2. Ask your students to sit down where they are standing and place their hand over their heart.
  3. Ask them to close their eyes and pay attention only to their heartbeat for 1-2 minutes.

Ask students to share if they were able to notice their heartbeat and practice their focus. Maybe they counted their heartbeats?

Puzzles to promote mindfulness

Did you know that jigsaw puzzles are also a great way to strengthen your mindfulness skills?

Working on a puzzle allows the brain to relax and the mind to focus, while the hands are kept busy.

Just like colouring, they provide a calming distraction from hours spent staring at screens.

Why not set one up on a table in your classroom and allow the kids to work on it individually or in group of two or three for 5 minutes during the day?