The Southern California fires from January 7-31 were a shocking, unprecedented natural disaster with around 200,000 people under evacuation orders. The environmental, economic, political and community impact of the fires will be felt for years as the affected communities and industries come together to rebuild.
With this in mind, Makers Empire, Bushfire Kids Connect, and Growing With Gratitude are offering their curriculum-aligned Naturally Brave challenge course free of charge to Southern California schools affected by the bushfires as well as complimentary subscriptions to Makers Empire and Growing with Gratitude.
In this education program for years 3 to 6, students will learn about the causes and impacts of natural disasters. Students will use design thinking processes and key concepts around well-being to create solutions for families and communities impacted by natural disasters. The Naturally Brave challenge course comprises 20 activities aligned with NGSS and ISTE Design and Technology standards:
- A series of specially made videos introduce students to the key skills of gratitude, empathy, self-awareness, ownership, and kindness & service, and unpack how these skills can help during challenging times.
- A series of activities and quizzes to help students practise each skill.
- Design Tutorials help students develop 3D design skills needed for the final design thinking challenge. They step students through designing a gratitude rock, an empathy shoe, an emotions dice, a key-chain reminder, and a kind avatar.
- The Challenge Course concludes with a design thinking challenge that asks students to design something to help a family impacted by a natural disaster drawing on the key well-being concepts.
The Naturally Brave challenge course is part of a Naturally Brave program for schools including professional development for teachers designed to promote awareness of natural disasters and encourage resilience and empathy in students. The full program was funded by the Australian Government National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Disaster Ready Funding (DRF) and won the Australian Resilient Australia Awards in the Mental Health & Wellbeing category.
Watch Aussie Kids Who Completed Naturally Brave
Get FREE Naturally Brave Challenge Course
Are you from or connected to a school in Southern California? Sign up for your free Naturally Brave challenge course for students with a complimentary six-month subscription to Makers Empire for your whole school and access to Growing with Gratitude’s online well-being resources.
