Dobroye utro!
COMING UP…
*More live Braidbar Nursery Blethers next week. Please check Teams calendar and newsletter for details of days and times*
*Next Monday 25th is Burns Day so maybe we could all have an excuse to wear something a bit special and find some tartan*
*You may wish to join the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch coming up on 29th January. We are joining in at the hub too! Details on signing up below*
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/?sourcecode=BWMITH0230&channel=paidsearch&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1dbX18Oo7gIV8mDmCh0q4wd5EAAYASABEgI3n_D_BwE
Today we return to the important topic of feelings. Please remember to check the FILES section of our Team where the Storytime folder contains some perfect texts, read by us, to help you reflect on and discuss feelings with your child.
A. This book reminds us that we all have feelings and that they come and go. Recently we may all have recognised ourselves feeling disappointed or bored more frequently than usual. By staying active, getting outdoors and connecting with friends and family you can alleviate some of these feelings.
B. Looking at someone’s face or how they move their body can give us an idea of how they are feeling. This activity focuses on recognising feelings in others. Draw a simple remote control with different emoji type faces (or put stickers on an old remote) and pretend it controls your face – when
you press ‘happy’ you smile, and so on… Play with someone else and guess each others’ emotions.
C. How we see and feel about ourselves is very important. Tell your child ‘The Amazing Story of You’, beginning when they were very little and reaching the present day. They may wish to join in or take over their story. The idea is to remind them of how they have grown and developed, challenges they have faced and overcome, building resilience to face new challenges.
e.g. “Once upon a time there was a little girl called…” Tell your child about themselves, focussing on their successes: how they tried and tried until they learned to roll over, how they used to pull themselves up on the side of their cot to build their muscles, etc.
You may decide to document this story together with words and/or pictures/photos, maybe in your child’s learning book.
D. It is okay to feel worried sometimes. Talking about your worries or sharing them with someone can help you to feel better. Try one of these activities to help you when you are feeling worried.
Draw a bag or use an empty one… What worries would you put inside it? Draw the worries or write about them. Share your pictures with someone and talk about it.
Make a worry monster… You can use any kind of recycling or junk materials. Decorate your monster and give it a name. Write down your worry or draw a picture of it. Feed your worry to your monster. The monster will eat it so that you can let it go!
E. Why not try the ‘Turtle Technique’ when you are finding it hard to manage your feelings? As we suggested last time, it can be beneficial to ‘rehearse’ different strategies when your child is calm so they can call upon them more readily when needed.
https://challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu/docs/TuckerTurtle_Story_Home.pdf
F. Sometimes we have difficulty finding the words to say how we feel. Learn some Makaton for feelings here:
G. Maybe some of you have some left over Skittles sweeties after doing Mrs Elliott’s science experiment .. so here’s a wee game you could play to use them up!
H. Can you listen to what the characters tell us and ‘Name That Emotion!’?
I. Make a list of ten things that make you happy. Can you write the numbers in order then write the rest of the list with your grownup’s help?
Your challenge is to do as many of those things as possible before the weekend is over! The nursery adults will try to do the same and we can share our successes together on Monday on Teams.
The first thing on my happy list is to listen to and dance to this song! 🙂
Grownups, you may wish to access these websites for further information, support and guidance:
https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/coping-with-being-a-parent
https://www.samh.org.uk/about-mental-health/self-help-and-wellbeing
https://www.parentclub.scot/toddler
https://www.parentclub.scot/child
