ELSA
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Everybodys's Good at Something! On your feet everyone!
Inside Out: Guessing the feelings.
This a lovely clip to show children the basic emotions. Talk to your child/children about each feeling during the clip.
Emotions/Feelings
A few weeks ago I put some ideas about emotions below in green labelled Emotions Games. It is so important to talk about our feelings, it helps to let other people know how you are feeling and that makes us feel better too. Whatever feeling you have it is always good to share it with someone so that they understand how and why you are feeling that way. Here are a few more ideas that you can do to help learn about how you feel and encourage your children to express themselves:-
- Make different emotion faces and ask your child to guess what you are feeling and vice versa.
- Sing 'When you're happy and you know it' and then continue with the verses using happy, mad, sad, excited, scared etc.,
- Label an emotion, make the facial expression and ask your child to copy you.
- Throughout the day, tell your children how you are feeling and why. "I'm cross because I can't get the computer to work. I'm frustrated because I can't get the lid off the jar. I'm happy because we are going to play a game"
- When you give your child their food, arrange the food into a facial expression or use dried foods and make faces - pasta, cereal, raisins etc.,
- Make a feelings diary. Throughout the day encourage your child to write or draw a picture of how they are feeling and why. This will encourage them to express how they feel. Even if they don't verbally tell you, written or drawn is giving them the confidence to start.
- If your child has experienced a certain emotion and when they are calm ask them to draw a picture of how they felt and why then talk about it with them when they are ready.
Invisible String
This is a lovely story all about attachment. Read this story together and talk about what is happening as you go through the story. There are some lovely activities I have attached for after.
Fight Flight Freeze - A Guide to Anxiety for Kids
Rainbow Mood Tracker
This is a good way to track your mood. Fill in a colour each day of how you have been feeling and then see if there is a pattern. Which mood has the highest number of days and which mood has the lowest number of days? If you can't print it off then you can always draw it.
Wellbeing Diary
Keep a track of all the lovely things that you do each day. If you write them down it motivates you to keep going and do different activities. At the end of the week think about all the items on the right-hand side and be proud of what you have achieved this week. If you don't have a printer you can make your own copy by drawing it.
Below is a great supporters pack with some lovely ideas. Remember it starts with you, so be kind to yourself. Take time each day to do something for yourself. 
Stress balls
These are a good way to unwind or relax, and it's a nice massage on your hands and releases muscle tension. Fill a balloon with rice, lentils, flour, bicarb soda or a mixture of rice and flour. Then pop your filled balloon inside another balloon to make it less likely to burst.
Online Games
A great site with a mixture of fun online games for children, including some wellbeing games!
Mindfulness Colouring
A lovely activity for all the family to join in. Complete this mindfulness colouring poster all about lockdown. Put your favourite music on, relax and enjoy.
Have you filled a bucket today?
Do you remember that we all have our own buckets that we made in school? Why not listen to the story with your family and all make your own bucket so you can fill them daily with lovely messages. Make it as creative as you want and don't forget to put your name on it. Have fun and spread the kindness.
May Wellbeing Calendar
Each day challenge yourself to complete the challenges on the calendar. Don't worry if you miss a day, just go onto the next. Have fun!
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May Wellbeing Calendar Have fun and let me know how you get on!
What are your top 10 tips?
What would be your top 10 tips to give to someone for staying at home? Mine would be....
1. Keep a daily routine.
2. Physical exercise.
3. Contact my friends.
4. Speak to my mum on video call.
5. Find some time to relax - read my book, play with my dog, suduko, cooking.
6. Eat healthy food throughout the day and have my cup of tea and biscuits in the evening.
7. Tell someone how I am feeling. (Very important!)
8. Doing something nice for someone, it always puts a smile on my face.
9. Watch my favourite TV programme.
10. Walking my dog with my 3 girls and them laughing at me constantly telling them to keep their distance from people!
Emotional register for under 5's
This is a great tool for the younger children to use to help them talk about their emotions. If you don't have a printer you can draw the register.
Mindful Breathing
1. Find a relaxing place to lie down and place your one hand on your tummy.
2. Breath deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. Pay attention to any sounds that you may hear and your hand moving up and down whilst you breath. Do this for a minute.
3. Then take a slow deep breath and feel the air filling your lungs as you breath in and slowly release.
4. Take another deep breath, hold it and then slowly release.
When you finish think of one thing that you are grateful for.
Glitter Bottles
A glitter bottle is a great way to try and relax. All you need is a clean plastic bottle, glitter, food colouring and water. Fill your bottle with water, then add your glitter and a few drops of food colouring. When you feel like you want to relax, give your glitter jar a good shake:-
- Watch all the glitter in the water and put some nice music on.
- If you've used different colours, keep your eye on one colour.
- Follow one piece of glitter around if you can.
- Use it as a timer to calm down.
Those are just a few ideas. Let me know if there are any other ways that you can use your glitter jar.
Fuzzy Jar
What makes you feel warm and fuzzy? It could be a nice warm cup of hot chocolate, watching a movie, a hug or even a video call.
Mindful colouring
Colouring is a fantastic way to relax, calm yourself and take time away from everything. Google mindful colouring and there are lots of sites that you can print off pictures to colour in. If you don't have a printer, pick a dark pen and on a piece of paper start to draw squiggly lines but don't take your pen off the paper (as I've done above)! Once finished you should have lots of different sized shapes/areas to colour in. Put your favourite music on or try some relaxing music and colour away!
How can you turn that negative into a positive. Use this helpful booklet to keep a track of any negative thoughts and turn that negative into a positive. Speak to your mums or dads about the negative thought you are having and write down a solution that you come up with. When you are feeling that thought again, go back to your booklet.
Positive paperchains
Make a positive paper chain. Start with lots of paper and cut them into strips. On each strip write something positive in your life, it could be:-
- The sun is shining
- I have my family
- I can speak to my friends on the phone
You can make different paper chains:-
- All the positive things in your life
- All the kind things that you have ever done
- All the people you love
- All the different emotions you have felt and why
- All the things that make you happy
- All the things you are proud of
The list is endless, decorate them with pictures as well and brighten up your room or house!
Calming Down Dice
These dice are a great way to calm down. Make the dice and colour them in if you wish. Then start to roll the dice and practise the activity.
If you are feeling a little angry or anxious then make a calming dice. Use one that is below or make one of your own with your own calming strategies.
Routine planner
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Lots of children will feel slightly nervous or anxious being away from their normal school routine. A good way to ease their anxiety is to plan the day ahead visually and in chunks-morning/afternoon/evening. Try some of these resources or make your own with your child. Have fun!