Mental Health Month ideas for OSHC
24 DIY activities for a mental health month at before and after school care or vacation care, usually run around 21 September or October. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
Animal Yoga Session
Children move through simple animal-inspired poses and breathing to finish the day calmly.
Before School Calm Start · Wellbeing Wednesday · R U OK Day +2Breakfast Check-In Table
A shared breakfast table where children eat together and chat about the day ahead, starting the morning calmly and connected.
Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month · Wellbeing Wednesday +3Breathing Buddies
Children lie down with a soft toy on their tummy and watch it rise and fall as they practise slow, calm breathing.
Mental Health Month · Mindfulness Day · Wellbeing Wednesday +2Calm-Down Glitter Bottles
Children make sealed glitter bottles to shake and watch settle, giving them a simple tool for calming big feelings.
Pamper and Zen Day · Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month +2Chill-out Chats
Children gather in small groups on cushions to talk about feelings, what helps them relax and what made them smile. Builds trust and emotional language.
Feel Good Friday · Kindness Day · Friendship Day +2Compliments Wall
Children write and draw kind notes about each other on a big sheet of paper to create a wall of positivity.
R U OK Day · Mental Health Month · Friendship Day +2Conversation Starter Cards
Children practise asking friends how they're really going using conversation cards. Builds empathy and listening skills.
Emoji Day · Mental Health Month · R U OK Day +2Emoji Feelings Check-In
Children choose an emoji card to show how they feel and share why, building emotional vocabulary.
R U OK Day · Mental Health Month · Dramatic Play Day +2Feelings Charades
Children act out emotions for others to guess. Builds emotional vocabulary in a playful way.
Mental Health Month · Mindfulness Day · Wellbeing Wednesday +2Feelings Wheel
Children make a spinning card wheel of emotions with faces and words, then use it to share how they are feeling.
Before School Calm Start · Mindfulness Day · Pamper and Zen Day +3Gentle Morning Stretch
Five minutes of gentle stretches before the bell helps children wake up their bodies and feel calm and ready for school.
Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month · Sensory Day +2Glitter Calm Jars
Children make sealed glitter jars to shake and watch as the glitter slowly settles, breathing calmly along with it.
Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month · Kindness Day +2Gratitude Art
Children draw or collage the people, places and things they feel grateful for, then share one with the group.
Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month · Pamper and Zen Day +2Guided Body Scan
An educator uses a calm voice to guide children through relaxing each part of their body while lying on mats.
International Day of Peace · Mindfulness Day · Mental Health Month +3Homemade Stress Balls
Children fill balloons with flour to make squishy stress balls, then talk about calming strategies.
Pamper and Zen Day · Mindfulness Day · Before School Calm Start +2Kids Yoga and Zen Patterns
Children follow a gentle kids' yoga session, then wind down by drawing repeating zen patterns. A calm way to reset.
Wellbeing Wednesday · Kindness Day · Mental Health Month +2Kind Words Painted Stones
Children paint positive words, affirmations or symbols on smooth stones to keep, give away or place in the garden.
International Day of Peace · Mindfulness Day · Before School Calm Start +3Mindful Mandala Colouring
Children colour detailed mandala patterns to soft music, a calm way to focus and unwind.
New Year's Party · Mindfulness Day · Wellbeing Wednesday +1New Year Wish Jars
Children write or draw their hopes and goals for the year ahead and seal them in a decorated jar to open later. A calm, reflective way to start fresh.
Pamper and Zen Day · Mindfulness Day · Wellbeing Wednesday +2Pamper Face Masks and Foot Spas
Children mix simple face masks from oats and yoghurt and soak feet in warm tubs while calm music plays. A relaxing, sensory pamper session.
Emoji Day · Paper Crafts Day · Mental Health MonthPaper Plate Emoji Faces
Children paint paper plates yellow and add card features to create expressive emoji faces.
Wellbeing Wednesday · Mental Health Month · R U OK Day +1Peg Worry Dolls
Children wrap wooden pegs in wool and fabric scraps to make small worry dolls, then talk about sharing worries with someone they trust.
Kindness Day · Friendship Day · R U OK Day +2Toothpaste Words Lesson
Children squeeze toothpaste onto a plate and try to put it back, a simple demonstration of how words can't be taken back once said.
R U OK Day · Kindness Day · Rainbow Day +2Yellow Kindness Day
Children wear yellow and complete acts of kindness throughout the day. A whole-group focus on checking in and caring.