Let’s revisit strategy 6 – Get Active

When we feel ‘down’, being active is sometimes the last thing on our mind. However, in order to help us feel better, we need to live a well-balanced and healthy life. When we adopt an active lifestyle, fuel our body with proper nutrition and respect our bodies by allowing time to rest and relax, it can help to lead a longer, healthier and more fulfilling life.
We have learned that:

 Being active is not only good for the body but also for the mind.
 I have a range of hobbies and interests that I enjoy doing.
 Doing anything new involves taking a risk.

Activity

Download the sheet below and track your fitness activities and levels over the week. Starting today or on another date, do as many different activities aimed at keeping you active, getting fit and keeping you healthy. You may choose only one type of activity a week and see if you can improve as the week goes on or you may choose several different activities, spreading them out throughout the day.

Use the record sheet to record how you get on, how you feel, what needs to improve and to track your progress. You may need to ask an adult to help you with filling in the form. Alternatively, you may want to design your own fitness tracker, set yourself a goal and work towards achieving it over the next week or even further.

How well did you do?

How much better do you feel?

Did the physical activity improve your mental health?

Are you going to keep it going?

Let’s revisit strategy five – Talk Things Over

At times we all feel worried. It is important to encourage children to share and talk about what they might be worried about. It can be difficult in bad times to believe that things will get better, but just like the weather, things will change at some point and better times will come.

We learned that:

 At times we all feel worried

 If worries are not dealt with, they can sometimes get out of control

 If you are struggling, it is important to ask for help

Activity

It is really important that we talk to someone we trust when we are worried or upset about something. If we do not then a little worry can become a much bigger one. During these uncertain times, little things can worry us but we do not always feel able to talk about them openly. Why not make a worry box for your family? Using a cardboard box, decorate or cover the box, adding your own decorations. Seal the box but make sure that there is an opening for the worries to be posted. Make sure that you have a supply of paper slips and a pen or pencil placed close to your worry box for all the family to use. Agree as a family when the worries will be shared and discussed – every morning, once a week or bedtime?

Encourage all members of the family to use the worry box – they may worry about the return to school, when they will next see their teachers or friends, when will things return to normal or about moving to high school. Talking opening about these things will help….even if we do not always have the answers.

A worry shared is a worry halved…

Here are some more uniform photos from Friday’s School Uniform Day…

 

 

Hope you are enjoying School Uniform Day. It is so lovely to see the pupils back in their uniform…

 

Let’s revisit strategy four of the Building Resilience Programme.

Everyone encounters a wide range of emotions every day. Becoming more aware of
how we feel can have a big impact on our well being, our behaviour and our
relationships with others. Learning to be more aware helps us to get in tune with our
feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
In this unit, we have been learning:

 We all experience a range of emotions every day
 Sometimes we feel stressed
 I have ways to help me cope

Activity

We need to take a moment to look after ourselves by slowing down and doing something different. You will all be aware of the five senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. 

Take a piece of paper or a whiteboard and draw out five boxes or bubbles and write the name of a sense at the top of each box or bubble. Now go on a walk and using your senses, draw or write what you have noticed for each of the senses. Is it a blackbird singing or your dad playing music? Is it the smell of your mum’s perfume or is it something cooking in the kitchen? Is it the colour of a particular flower in the garden or  the clouds in the sky? Is it the taste of the sweet you are eating or is it the baking mixing spoon that you have just licked? Is it the touch of your cat’s fur or is it the touch of the ice inside the freezer?

Sometimes, we have to stop and look at the world differently, to make us see the world around us differently, to make us forgot about things right now and to focus our minds on something new so take a moment.

We have been asked to share this letter from the Early Years Team at the City of Edinburgh Council with you.

We have been learning that challenges, mistakes, and problems are part of everyday learning activities and social interactions. How we think about and respond to these problems has an impact on how we manage our learning and on how we handle the next problem that comes our way.

We are learning to use a growth mindset and problem-solving approaches to develop resilience strategies that will help us cope in times of challenges and setbacks.

We understand that:
 Who we are and what we are good at is not fixed

 The way we think, feel and learn shapes our brain

 I can change through the choices I make

Activity

Design a colour wheel of happy, feel good emotions. Draw round a dinner plate or use a pair of compasses to draw as large a circle as you can. Divide your circle into eight equal pieces. You can cut the circle out and fold it to make it easier. On the outside of each piece of the circle, write down a feeling that makes you feel positive about yourself and what you can do. Some examples are excited, active, happy, surprised, cheerful or creative. You will be able to think of others. In each of the different segments of the circle, draw and colour a picture or pattern to match the emotion you have chosen. Think carefully about the colours you use – are they bright, bold colours? Display your emotions wheel somewhere and every time you feel down or fed up, have a look at the wheel. What could you do to lift your mood, what colour makes you feel good, what are you good at? Think positively during these uncertain times.

During this difficult time, we need to remain resilient as we try to cope with the ups and downs that the lockdown brings.

Let’s revisit strategy 2 – Respect Yourself

We learnt about the importance of recognising our own uniqueness. When you respect yourself, you realise that, although we all have things in common, we also have special characteristics that make us unique. If we were all the same it would be a very dull world. We learned that identifying our own strengths helps us to understand, like and accept ourselves better.

 There is no-one quite like me

 Everyone has different strengths

 I treat myself with respect

Activity

Work with another person in your family. This could be your mum, dad, brother or sister or someone else who lives with you at home. Each of you needs a piece of A4 paper. Fold the A4 piece of paper in half to make two columns. At the top of one column, write ‘All About Me’ and on the other side write ‘My Strengths’. Under each heading, make a list of 1 to 10. On the side ‘All About Me’ , on your own page, each of you writes down ten things about you – your physical appearance, your personal qualities, your interests. Try to do this on your own and do not share with the other person at this stage. On the other side, each of you writes down your ten strengths. Think carefully, are you kind, are you good at cooking, are you good at solving problems or thinking of new ideas? Again try not to show the other person. When you both agree that you have finished, share your ideas. What did you find out?

• Is there any thing about your physical appearance that is the same?
• Did you write down the same qualities?
• Do you share any interests?
• Do you share any strengths?

Have a chat…..You may share some things but you will find that there are some things that only you have, enjoy or are good at. These things are what make you unique.

Being resilient at this time is really important. As we become more resilient, we can cope better with many different situations and emotions.

We are starting by revisiting the strategy, Keep Connected.

We have been learning about the importance of having caring relationships. We have been thinking about the special people in our life. These people are our ‘Back Up Team’.
We have learned that:

 Relationships are important for our health and wellbeing

 Belonging to a group can be a good way to build friendships

 Good relationships are a two-way thing

Activity

Make a card or write a letter to someone you care about, someone who you cannot see at this time or someone who lives alone. Tell them about what you have been doing, what you have been learning together at home or what new skills you have been practising. Send them a photo. Ask an adult for their address, stick a stamp on the envelope and post it to them. Don’t tell the person about your letter and it will be a real surprise when it arrives. You never know, you may receive a letter back.

The staff wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone. Here we are having a bit of fun …and at times being a little silly. We wish you all a safe and fun holiday!