WITH a carrot in hand, five-year-old Olivia Beacher blows on the treat and makes a wish before feeding it to miniature pony, Carm.
The Hamilton Community Preschool student had the opportunity to meet the real-life version of a character that has been teaching her to be kind and aware of her emotions.
"I like Carm because he's nice and kind and makes me feel happy," she said.
Using equine therapy, Carm and pony pal Eleven Eleven, are helping to build empathy and reduce anxiety among children through the SeeMore Kindness program.
Run by the KIDS Foundation, the pilot program was launched at the Hamilton school on Tuesday, August 20 and is set to spread across 650 early childhood education centres with the help of a $50,000 funding boost from the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation.
Hamilton Community Preschool and KIDS Foundation educator Jackie Mulholland said mental health and wellbeing is prevalent and it was important to educate from a young age.
"You might as well start here. Equine therapy is all about teaching self-regulation. Not only will the children be able to identify their feelings and emotions, but then they'll be able to learn through animals about their feelings and emotions, and how to regulate them," she said.
The pint-sized ponies feature in the SeeMore Kindness resource book, and visited on the day to mark the launch with students opting to make a wish or blow their worries away on a carrot before feeding it to Eleven Eleven or Carm. The ponies will make regular visit to the school as part of the program.
KIDS Foundation CEO Susie O'Neill said by having horses come into kindergartens and preschools, it allows children to understand what kindness is about.
"Horses are animals that have a great connection to humans, they can actually feel your heartbeat from 10 feet away," she said.
"We find that children who are in the recovery phase, if they've been injured or traumatised, it actually calms them and helps them get into contact with their emotions."
"Eleven Eleven spreads kindness through rainbows and magic, while Carm helps you get in touch with your feelings."
The SeeMore Kindness program can be tailored to suit the needs of each preschool and also has a scanning element which brings the characters to life on a digital platform.
Dr O'Neill hopes to see the program eventually form part of the preschool curriculum.
"The long-term goal of our project is to see the SeeMore Kindness program embedded into preschool curriculum as best practice for helping children build lifelong skills for understanding their emotions, themselves, others, and the environment," she said.
"With the help of our program, we feel that over time, children will be healthier, more connected, active, resilient, mindful and kind.
The project will expand to education centres across the Central Coast, Hunter, Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West and New England regions.
Newcastle Permanent Head of Customer Retail Charitable Foundation spokesperson Jackie Connors said the project will benefit thousands of local families.
"It's what we stand for - aiming to provide funds to charities like the KIDS Foundation to thrive, and the communities that support them," she said.
