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Co-authored by Kelly-Ann Allen, Ph.D., and Cassie Hudson
A member of our research team handed a five-year-old a crayon and asked her to draw what makes her feel like she belongs at school. She drew herself surrounded by Lego blocks. “I feel like I belong to school when I am playing Lego,” she wrote.
This wasn’t what we expected in our latest study. After analyzing drawings and conversations with 108 children in their first year of school across Melbourne, our research team discovered something important. Children know exactly what makes them feel like they belong, and it does not always involve other people.
The friendships and teachers were, of course, really important, but we perhaps were not prepared for how important other factors were.
Solitary Play Is More Important Than We Think
Sixty-one percent of children drew themselves playing. Nearly half of these drawings showed children playing alone. Not lonely. Not isolated. Purposefully engaged with familiar objects that created their sense of security.
One boy filled his entire page with Lego pieces, drawing himself as a faceless figure with wiggly arms reaching for blocks. The toys dominated. Building (pardon the pun) through familiarity.
Other children drew themselves engaged in social play. Trampolines with friends, playground games, shared activities. The solo players reminded us that belonging doesn’t always require other people.
Forcing structured activities or constant social interaction might miss the mark. It might also be in the unstructured times, when children feel safe, where belonging can thrive.
Three Levels of Social Connection
When children drew relationships, they showed us three distinct levels: seeing, being with, and doing.
Some children felt a sense of belonging from spotting their teacher across the classroom. One girl drew her teacher as a house-shaped figure with a heart on the front, writing, “I feel like I belong to school when I see my teacher.” The teacher wasn’t interacting with her in the drawing. They were just present.
Others needed proximity. They drew themselves standing near friends or sitting close to classmates, not necessarily talking or playing together.
The third group required active engagement. Drawing, playing games, and running together. These were the obvious relationship builders that most school programs target.
We need to appreciate the first two groups more. Quiet companionship might be doing more for belonging than we think, and it may be that some students prefer it.
Spaces That Support Belonging
Forty percent of children highlighted specific school locations. They chose spaces that offered either security or agency.
Book corners appeared frequently. Small, defined areas where children could retreat. Playgrounds offered autonomy, freedom, and choice. One child drew a single tree on the school grounds, writing that seeing this tree made her feel like she belonged.
The physical environment is important for belonging, and schools that understand this create multiple types of spaces: busy social areas, quiet retreat zones, and semi-private spots where children can observe before participating. This diversity meets a variety of needs.
Predictability Creates Belonging
The strongest finding was that 73 percent of children connected a sense of belonging to familiarity. They drew morning routines, familiar faces, and predictable activities. One child drew the front of the school building, explaining that just seeing this familiar sight made him feel like he belonged.
Predictability and consistency are belonging builders in their own right.
Our Approach
Before children began drawing, lead researcher Cassie Hudson read them a story called “Mia Belongs Here,” which focuses on belonging in the home environment. This helped children understand the concept without influencing their school-specific responses. We then asked each child to complete the sentence “I feel like I belong to school when…” through drawings and words.
Children drew for 10 minutes, then talked individually about their drawings, offering explanations. The approach let children express complex feelings through multiple modes—visual, written, and verbal.
Practical Implications
Belonging does not require intensive interventions. Many children build belonging naturally through engagement with familiar objects, play, and feeling safe in their spaces.
We need to protect unstructured play time. Both solitary and social play contribute to belonging, but children need a choice about how to participate.
Create predictability. Timetables, consistent seating arrangements, and regular routines help children feel secure enough to take social risks.
Recognize that children have different social intensities. Some children need active engagement; others just need to see familiar faces. Both are valid paths to belonging.
Design spaces intentionally. Children need options. Busy social areas and quiet retreat spaces, open playgrounds and cosy corners.
Conclusions
These findings matter because belonging in the first year of school sets trajectories for everything that follows. Children who feel like they belong become students who take academic risks, form friendships, and develop resilience.
The five-year-old with her Lego drawing taught us something important. Belonging isn’t about fitting in; it’s about finding your own way to build connection and security.
