Belonging Cake

When children spend a significant amount of time away from their school routine, it is important for adults to prioritise re-establishing and nurturing children’s friendships and sense of belonging within the school environment. This activity is designed to help children consider and share what they need to feel happy, welcome and included on their return to school.

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Links to Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes

  • I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others. HWB 2-05a / HWB 3-05a
  • I understand that people can feel alone and can be misunderstood and left out by others. I am learning how to give appropriate support. HWB 2-08a / HWB 3-08a
  • I value the opportunities I am given to make friends and be part of a group in a range of situations. HWB 2-14a / HWB 3-14a

Learning Intentions

  • Learners give examples of what children need to feel they belong at school.
  • Learners identify barriers and solutions to what gets in the way of feeling a sense of belonging.

Duration

1 hour (Part 1)
45 minutes (Part 2)

What You Need

  • Aprons cut out of A2 paper (one per child)
  • Colouring pens
  • A3 sugar paper for the Belonging Cake recipe (one per group of 4-5 children)
  • Template L (one per group, printed on white A3 card)
  • String (two x 10 cm lengths and one x 20 cm length per child)
  • Hole punch
  • Party materials – such as hats (one per child), a table cloth and a cake (optional)

Activity

Part 1 – Ingredients and Recipe

Give each child a paper apron and colouring pens. Invite the children to draw or write on their apron the things that make a child feel like they belong at their school. This might be people, places and things that happen at school (see image).

In a circle, ask each child to share what is happening in their drawing and why it makes them feel like they belong. Help the children to use a hole punch to create holes in the top and at the waist. Attach the 20cm length of string to the neckline, and the 10cm lengths to each side. The children can then put on their aprons and fasten them using the attached string.

Next, explain that everyone is going to create a recipe for a ‘Belonging Cake’. What ingredients would be needed to make every child feel like they belong? Divide the children into groups of 4 – 5 and hand out the A3 recipe paper. Ask the children to write or draw ‘ingredients’ to form a group recipe for their belonging cake. The groups can then name and decorate their recipe. In a circle, invite the children to share their recipes with the wider group.

Part 2 – Baking Our Cake

Hand out the thermometers to each group (Template L) along with colouring pens. In their small groups, ask the children to discuss what might get in the way of a child feeling that they belong at school. The children can record their ideas in the bottom part of the thermometer.

Next, explain to all the groups that to bake the ‘belonging cake’, we need to heat up the oven. To make the oven hotter, the children need to come up with four to five solutions to the issues they have written in the bottom of the thermometer. Every time they come up with an idea, the oven gets hotter and hotter!

When all groups have filled in their thermometer, the belonging cakes are ready. This is a nice opportunity to throw a party with a decorated table, cake and party hats.

Click the button for a printable activity plan.

Belonging cake (Activity plan)Download