Develop Personal Resources

Students identify and draw “personal resources” that help them feel calm, strong, or joyful.
Ages 5-10 / 10
min Activity
Mindfulness
Self-Awareness
Art

Objectives

  • ‍Learn about, and identify, personal resources that foster positive feelings (i.e., gratitude)
  • ‍Create and share drawings of their personal resources

Supporting Research

Resourcing is a tool from the Community Resiliency Model © that invites people to reflect on resources which foster feelings of strength, resiliency, and self-efficacy, and draw upon these resources to focus on pleasant sensations and personal wellbeing. Educators should encourage students to practice mindfulness and self-awareness to identify their own personal resources and recognize positive emotions and experiences associated with these resources. 

To learn more about these skills, and how they promote students’ healthy growth and the development of empathy, please check out our Empathy Framework.

Materials

  • ‍Art materials (e.g., pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and paint)

Activity Partners

Instructions

  1. Introduce the concept of “personal resources” by explaining: “We have natural resources in our environment, like air, water, flowers, and sunshine, that help us live healthier lives. Just like these natural resources in our world help us, we also have personal resources which help us feel calm, strong, or joyful, such as a special person or place, a favorite song, or a meaningful memory.”
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  2. Ask students to think of a personal resource and draw a picture of it (or a symbol that represents it). Students can also write words around their drawings, and describe the colors, smells, sounds, and textures of their resource.
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  3. As students work on their drawings, ask them to notice the emotions that they feel when they think about their resource. What expression do they have on their face? What sensations do they feel in their body?
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  4. If students feel comfortable, invite them to share their personal resources and any related experiences. For example, if they drew a picture of their best friend, ask questions to deepen their reflection such as: “What is your favorite thing to do together? What do you enjoy most about spending time with your friend? How do you feel when you think about them?”
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  5. Remind students that they can look at their drawing, and think about the emotions and sensations that their personal resource brings up, whenever they feel themselves moving out of their okay zone.