Blog Archives

January 28th, 2021

28/1/2021

Let's celebrate uniqueness and individuality this Children's Mental Health Week!

Hello everyone!
Next week is very exciting because it is Children's Mental Health Week! The week begins on the 1st February and the theme this year is ' EXPRESS YOURSELF!'

Talking about mental health and expressing our feelings can be difficult, no matter our age. We all face different feelings at different times, both bad and good, but ALL feelings have a purpose and it is OK not to be OK!

One day we may be in the blue zone, feeling tired, sad and missing someone or something, but then the next day we could be in the green zone, ready for the day ahead and feeling calm and focused.

On my blog I will leave you some activities to get on with through the week! Also- it will be AMAZING for you to get involved with the VPS Gruffalo ART project too!

There is so much to learn about the different emotions that we feel!

When we begin to try understand these emotions, and learn to regulate them - hopefully we will be able to have good mental health.

Express Yourself? What does that mean?

Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, sport and doing activities that make you feel good.

How do you express yourself?

‘EXPRESS YOURSELF’ 5 Day Challenge!

Below there is a link to a printable 5 day challenge with a drawing/writing task and a doing/talking task each day.

Each task is linked to the theme 'Express Yourself' for this years Children's Mental Health Week.

There is a certificate for the end of the 5 days! So please do send in your work to your teachers or upload onto your Google Stream :)

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Face behind the mask:

Hello, I am Emily and I am based in KS2 as a HLTA but I also work across the school to support children with their emotional well being.

I am a qualified ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) and I am passionate about advocating for Children's Mental Health to be recognised and nurtured.

Please click this link to find out more about what an ELSA is and how ELSA sessions could benefit your child.

We are always here to support the children - so if you have any concerns about your child - please inform either myself, the class teacher/team or Barbara/Joan/Shelly.

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Zones of Regulation

Parents/carers - You may have heard your children talking about Zones of Regulation at home. At VPS we use the Zones to help the children understand both their own and others emotions and be able to regulate or take notice of how that Zone is making them/others feel. The Zones are great for the children's emotional literacy as it allows the children to articulate how they are feeling by relating themselves to a Zone.

For more info: hes-extraordinary.com/the-zones-of-regulation

What is mental health?

Mental health includes our emotional and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

''Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood''. (mentalhealth.org)

Resources for children and young people

Kooth offers emotional and mental health support for children and young people aged between 11 – 24 years . It's available up to 10pm every day.
Spotlight are offering free over the phone check-ins for all young people in the borough with our Youth Workers. They are also happy to speak with any parents who may have concerns.
Dr Karen Treisman has created videos to support relaxation and emotional regulation.

www.childline.org.uk/ -Resources for young people- online.

Resources for Parents

Every Mind Matters gives information about looking after your mental health.
Gonna get through this from Spotlight contains links to different mental health and wellbeing organisations, educational resources and activities for children.
Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19.
Tower Hamlets education psychology service (THEPS)
Mental health advice and resources for adults and young people
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has a range of useful advice for parents, carers and young people.
Think Equal has free Home Kits packed with children’s books, activities and easy step by step instructions for you, to help develop your child’s social and emotional learning while keeping them entertained.

SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK:

On Friday 5th February you have the chance to dress in your brightest colours - or dress in the colours of how you are feeling! Dress to self -express! I cant wait to see what you wear! Even if you are at school - you can wear NON uniform and dress in your brightest colours!

Have a go at some of the really lovely resources inside the ELSA calendar which has a different activity for you to do everyday linked to the theme 'Express Yourself' .

I will be interviewing school staff about how they express themselves and how it makes them feel!

The AMAZING Gruffalo project -Everyone, even your parents can take part in this! The link is : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnUXURvQ9ug&feature=youtu.be

Raise awareness about the importance of looking after our mental health by engaging in conversations, circle times and lots more !

A whole 28 days of ELSA activities!

If you are feeling a little bored at home why not give some of these AMAZING ELSA activities a try! I will attach the link and each day you could come and have a go at the activity which is based around the theme EXPRESS YOURSELF! All you need is a pencil, some paper and your imagination! Reflect how you feel when you do each activity - it may help to put you in the green zone!

Click on the PowerPoint - all credit to @ELSAsupport

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Brain Breaks!

14/1/2021

Good morning everyone,

This week I would like to talk to you about 'Brain Breaks'.

Brain breaks are a powerful and effective way to help you regulate your emotions and refocus your attention on your work or what you are doing.

They have a HUGE impact on how you are learning. Learning can be exhausting sometimes - especially now as we spending lot's of time on our screens!

We want to make sure you are in the GREEN zone as much as you can be whilst you are at home. Having regular (3-4 minute) brain breaks, or movement breaks can help you stay in the green zone.

At home, I would like you create a list of 3 things you will try to use in your day so that you are feeling in the green zone and not feeling too overwhelmed.

E.g. Emily/I will:

1.Get up at stretch and walk around my room when I feel myself getting stressed.

2.Have no screen devices at lunchtime so I get a mental break.

3. Close my eyes and take deep breaths and switch off for one minute - then go back to my task.

What will yours be?

COPING KIT

Childline say:

''When you're feeling low or overwhelmed, it can be hard to know how to cope. But distracting yourself or doing something positive can really help''

Even doing just one positive thing every day can help to improve your mood.

Not sure what you want to do today?

Use our tool to help.

www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/coping-kit/

Click here for some ideas on different ways to give your brain a break! :)

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www.unicefkidpower.org/brain-breaks-for-kids/

Below I have chosen a beautiful quote to show you from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

It says: ''This storm is long.''
''It will pass.''
''Will it?''
''Yes'' said the horse.
''So hold on''.

Keep holding on everyone! You are more resilient than you know and if you are struggling make sure you reach out to either, your parents, me, your teacher or someone that you trust!

These times will pass and we will be able to reunite again when times are safer.

Happy New Year!

4/1/2021

''Now, as always, we are all in this together, and we can only get through it together'' -This Is Beyond.

But everyone, something we can think positively about is that we have information today that we didn’t have yesterday, and every day we are learning more about how to stay safe and get through this. We are going to be okay.!

There are experts who are really good at protecting us from things like this. They are working around the clock to make sure we are safe, and I trust them, so try trust them too.

We can do this Team VPS!
Big smiles!

Emily :)

Hello VPS!

By now you probably have heard that we will not be returning back to school until the 18th January.

This is because we need to keep ourselves and other people safe as the virus COVID 19, is at the moment quite high in Tower Hamlets.

Closing the school is something that we all really don't want to do as we love teaching you all in the classroom, but the government think it is the best choice of action to make sure things get better and we can overcome COVID 19.

What’s happening is different from what we’re used too. There’s no ‘right’ way to feel and different people will feel different things. It’s okay to feel whatever you feel.

You proved you could do 'remote learning' once before and I am certain that you can do it again!

On the ELSA blog I will try to leave you some things to do in your day to look after your emotional wellbeing.

You have Google Classrooms to chat to us if you need us for anything.

The Purple Mash ELSA blog is also back in action so please reach out to me or your teachers if you have any questions.

Reach for the stars!

Activity:

On a scrap piece of paper why don't you draw out some stars or make a spider diagram of all the things you would like to achieve during 2021.

It is sometimes good to set goals but be kind to yourself.
Make sure the goals you want to achieve have a possible outcome that you can work towards.

You might want to:

- Read a certain amount of books by a certain date.

- Learn a new skill (e.g. - Language, sport, crafting)

-Make new friendships.

- Become more confident in class.

- Become healthier and increase your fitness levels.

There are lots of things you might want to achieve so have a good think and set yourself some reachable goals!
If you need help with this - reach out on Google Classrooms or Purple Mash - and I can help you think about what might be the best goal for you!

14 Isolation Diary

Here are some ELSA challenges that I hope will keep you occupied.

It is an Isolation Diary but the challenges are fun and I hope you will feel happy whilst you are completing them.

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Credit to

@ELSA support.
https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/

First Last

ELSA Blog

January 28th, 2021

Express Yourself? What does that mean?

Zones of Regulation

A whole 28 days of ELSA activities!

Brain Breaks!

Happy New Year!

''Now, as always, we are all in this together, and we can only get through it together'' -This Is Beyond.

Reach for the stars!

14 Isolation Diary

Here are some ELSA challenges that I hope will keep you occupied.

It is an Isolation Diary but the challenges are fun and I hope you will feel happy whilst you are completing them.

ELSA Blog

Archives

Categories

ELSA Blog

January 28th, 2021

Express Yourself? What does that mean?

Zones of Regulation

A whole 28 days of ELSA activities!

Brain Breaks!

Happy New Year!

''Now, as always, we are all in this together, and we can only get through it together'' -This Is Beyond.

Reach for the stars!

14 Isolation Diary Here are some ELSA challenges that I hope will keep you occupied. ​It is an Isolation Diary but the challenges are fun and I hope you will feel happy whilst you are completing them.

ELSA Blog

Archives

Categories

14 Isolation Diary

Here are some ELSA challenges that I hope will keep you occupied.

It is an Isolation Diary but the challenges are fun and I hope you will feel happy whilst you are completing them.