The Self-Care City: Discover The Self-Care City

Topic
- Health
- Identity & emotions
Learning skills
- Self-awareness
- Empathy & social awareness
- Communication & expression
- Body awareness
Activity type
- Group discussion
Materials
- Printable downloads
Age
- 6 - 11 years
5 - 15 minutes
2 - 4 players
Intermediate
Calm
Small (office, pavement)

Contributors

Mobile School

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Everything you need to play this game

Self-Care City Poster Download self-care-city-finaal.jpg (676.1kb)

A step-by-step guide to play the game

Gather a group of players in front of the Self-Care City poster and explain to them that everyone has different ways to calm down and feel good (as shown on the poster). Explain that which self-care techniques help one person might be different for another.

The players explore the game board. Ask them to identify the different self-care islands like sports, home/family/friends, art, nature, music and play. Which type of activities can they find where?

Ask the players to think about what they do when they need to calm down and feel good.

Now you can use the four corners of the poster. These symbols can help to delve into the various self-care activities and help players think about which activities they like. Choose, or let the players choose which corner to start with and ask the following questions:

Paper planes: Which activities do you like to do alone? Which activities do you like to do together? Why? How do solo activities differ in impact compared to group activities? How can you balance solo and group activities for optimal self-care?
Hot-air balloon: How do you feel when you do a specific activity? Why? Are there any activities that boost your mood instantly? Which ones?

Compass: Is the activity good for your heart, body, mind or your social life? Which activities help to calm your heart, body, head, and social? Why? Can an activity benefit more than one aspect of well-being? Which ones?
Traffic light: When you are okay (green) / feel stressed (orange) / totally overwhelmed (red), which activities do you like to do? What activities do you need then? Are there any activities that consistently help you manage stress? Which ones?

The game ends when you discussed all four corners and have related some examples from the poster to it.

Extra game information

This game is part of the Trauma-Informed Youth Work toolkit, which is designed to create a safe, supportive environment for all participants by acknowledging the impact of trauma on young people and fostering trust and empowerment. By incorporating activities that use indirect methods to explore emotions and behaviours, the toolkit makes sensitive topics more accessible and less intimidating, especially for younger audiences. The teamwork aspects of these activities foster collaboration and support, aligning with trauma-informed principles. This approach promotes healing, resilience, and positive development in every youth engaged, while emphasizing emotional awareness and understanding.

Variations

You can focus on only one of the corners of the poster, depending on your target group.
Once you discussed a specific activity, you can also actually do it with the group, before you move on to the next player.
If the players are familiar with the Comic Poster, ask them to find the main characters (Ezra, Elias, Atid, Satya, Samir, Viktoria) and have them discuss what activities help these characters relax.
Instead of having a player answer the questions immediately, have them draw/mimic/describe/... the self-care activity and let the other players guess.
Let the players work together to create a short story or comic about one of the characters who visits the Self-Care City and tries different self-care strategies.

Specific learning objectives

Identify different ways to take care of yourself.

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