Ohayo gozaimusu!
COMING UP
Pink and Red groups Blether today at 1pm.
Green and Purple groups Blether tomorrow at 2pm.
FRIDAY = In Service Day (Blog post and some activity on Teams)
MONDAY + TUESDAY = Holidays (No blog post nor Teams activity)
This week is Children’s Mental Health Week with the tagline ‘Express Yourself’. We invite you to think again about what makes you and your family unique and special and how you can express and share this.
A. 
Can you write your name? Maybe with an adult’s help. Names are important, you might like to discuss with your child why their name was chosen and who chose it. The children may also enjoy finding out and talking about their second names or any pet names they may have from either you or relatives and friends. What does your name mean? Do you share it with anyone else in your family? If you have access to a baby name book, or wish to look online it may be interesting to read out what your and your children’s names mean and to learn their country of origin.
B. 
Imagine you were meeting someone you had never met before. What 5 things would you tell them about you? Could you write a list or draw? Here are some ideas:
I am kind when…
I am brave when…
I get sad when…
I am happy when…
I get annoyed when…
C. 
Experts agree that affirmations can help young children feel confident and cultivate a positive self-image. Here are some daily affirmations you might wish to try, depending on your child’s unique character and needs.
“My feelings matter.”
“I believe in me.”
“I like myself.”
“I’m going to have a good day.”
“I like to help my family.”
“I have the words I need.”
“My brain is powerful.”
“I like to keep trying, even when things are hard.”
“I learn from my mistakes.”
“Every problem has an answer.”
“I am the only me in the whole world.”
“My family loves me so much!”
“I get better and better every day.”
“I care about others.”
“I am never alone.”
“I have great ideas.”
“I am surrounded by love.”
“I am everyone’s friend.”
“I am my own person.”
D. Try these ideas from the ‘Resilience Alphabet’
E. 
We all have families, both big and small, near and far. They are the people we share many memories with, and the people who know us best. Each family is unique, so why note celebrate your special family ties by creating a family tree? Think about these questions when creating your tree:
- Who is in your family?
- How many people are in your family?
- Where do your family live?
- How old and what are the names of your family members?
- Do you have any pets in your family?
Why not try looking out some family photos, maybe it will bring back some fond memories, and you can talk to your child about family they not have seen for a while or even met! If you are able to, use these photos in your family tree!
F. 
While creating your family tree talk to your child about how every family can be different. Some children may only have one parent or have two mums or be living with their grandparents.
Here is a story to help your child think about different kinds of families:
G. 
Here are lots of questions about family to ignite discussion that will also develop other literacy and maths skills, depending on the direction your child takes this in.
How many people are in your family / live in your house?
Who is oldest – put in order oldest to youngest – Or height
Who has the longest name? How many letters? Who has shortest name? How many letters? Can you write your name and the names of other people in your family? Do you see the same letters in your name to people in your family?
What are their likes and dislikes? What colour are their eyes? What colour is their hair? Do you share any of these? How could you record the eye and hair colour of people in your family?
H. Can you join in with some singing and actions?
I. 
This past year its been difficult to see our friends and family who live far away or even close by, as much as we would have liked to. You could try sending them a hug in the post so they can open it up and feel like they are getting a special hug just from you! If they don’t live far away you could perhaps go a walk to their house and post it through the letterbox.
Begin by tracing each of your hands on the paper, then cut each hand out. Now have fun decorating the hands (decorate both sides). You could use paint, markers, glitter, or whatever you have at home.
Take some ribbon or a long strip of paper and measure how long the distance is, when you stretch your arms out really wide, as if you were going to give this special person a huge hug! This shows the length of your arms ( and your hug) Using tape or glue secure the ribbon to each hand. You or your adult can write a special message on each hand or just write, “A hug from (child’s name).”
