How to Use Wish Well Rituals in Sophie’s Classroom

Wishing well offers a way for children to support each other and calm themselves. The Wish Well Board provides a visual way to aid children in wishing each other well during your daily Wish Well Ritual.

Wishing well is a way to instantly calm ourselves, and offer love and caring to others. It lays the foundation for empathy, an essential social skill. Wishing well provides a way for children to help others when there is no physically tangible way to offer help. To wish well 1) put your hands over your heart 2) take a deep breath in 3) pause and picture something precious in your mind 4) breathe out while opening your arms and sending those precious, loving thoughts out to the person you are wishing well.

The Wish Well Board is used for the class-wide Wish Well Ritual. When a child is absent, moving to another school, has arrived late or is in need of support for other reasons, place the child’s picture or name in the heart inside your Wish Well Board. During your Wish Well Ritual, you will invite the class to wish the child well with the process described above, and/or by singing a song like “We Wish You Well” on Songs for I Love You Rituals Volume 2 or “I Wish You Well” on It Starts in the Heart (in English and Spanish). You may purchase a Wish Well Board, or create your own using a magnetic cookie sheet and magnets or foam board and velcro.