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Preparing Your Child for Secondary School
To help with your child's move to secondary school, please find below various links to videos, activities and information that can help support both parents and children.
Playing a game or doing a puzzle can help us when we feel overburdened by what's going on around us.
Here's a link to a website with a few games that might help take your minds of things for a little bit.

Here is a collection of resources for families and children.
There are links to websites, activities and contact numbers for helplines.
A lot of us might be struggling during this lockdown, but it's important to know that we are not alone, there is always help out there.
Here is a link to the Kent Resilience Hub.
These short videos are a must watch for any parent in Kent to learn about how to support their child to be resilient and how to be a resilient parent themselves.
Daily Wellbeing Activities
60 Second Guided Meditation
Today's meditation is about feeling as light as a feather.
What Was Great?
I want you to think about all the different things you have done this week.
Snow allows us to do things and play games that we cannot usually do, such as sledding, snowball fights and making snow angels.
Think about the great moments you had this week and either write them down, or draw a picture that shows all of those moments.
Some might be described more or drawn bigger than others.
At the end of the activity, you will have something that will remind you of all the fun you had in the snow!
Origami can help relax us, feel better, improve various hand eye skills and improve our concentration.
I have provided a link to a video I use in helping me make an origami frog. It even can jump when completed.
Find a random piece of paper, it just needs to be square shaped.
Follow the steps in the video, pause it when you need to and take your time.
Good luck!
Here is a link to different games and activities you can do in the snow.
Some of these you might not have heard of, such as snow bowling or snow painting!
What is your favourite song? There might be some music that you haven’t listened to in a long time.
Find a moment today to listen to some of your favourite songs.
You may want to do some colouring in or drawing while listening.
The songs might make you want to get up and dance.
60 Second Guided Meditation
Today's meditation takes us to a quiet cave.
Brave Book
Think about times when you have been brave. How did you overcome your fears?
What you can do is make your very own Brave Book.
Write or draw something that happened that was scary.
Then write or draw what you did.
You can rate how scared you were out of 5.
Then rate how brave you felt afterwards.
You will then build up a collection of moments when you were brave, that can remind you how strong you can be when you are feeling scared or worried.

Colour Breathing
The first thing you need to do is choose a negative colour, a colour you might associate with worry or fear.
Next choose a positive colour, this might represent feeling relaxed and calm.
Make sure you are nice and comfortable. You can close your eyes if you like.
Now imagine your body is filled with the negative colour.
Remembering the deep belly breathing in previous exercises. Take a deep breath in all the way down to your stomach, imagining you are breathing in the positive colour.
When you breathe out, some of the negative colour, your worry, is leaving your body.
Every time you breathe in, you are breathing in the calm positive colour.
Slowly your body is being filled up with the calming colour and the negative worry colour is leaving your body, more and more.
Below is a link for a video to help guide you through this exercise.
Things I did well this week
This exercise is about thinking of things that you have done well this past week.
You might want to write a list and see how many things you can think of.
You could draw a picture of each thing.
It's great to have something that reminds us of all the things that we have achieved so far!

Comic Book Worries
Think about something that might be worrying you at the moment.
Now, make a comic strip in which you overcome those worries.
How did you do it?
60 Second Guided Meditation
Today's meditation is based on a peaceful river.

My Goal
Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn?
Is there something you would like to get better at?
This activity helps us think of the steps we need to take in order to achieve a goal.
Draw a big ladder.
At the top of the ladder is where you are going to write/draw your goal.
Then in each space leading up to your goal, think of the steps you need to take in order to achieve it. These steps should be written/drawn in the spaces.

Close to My Heart
This activity helps us think about the people, places and things that are close to our hearts.
Draw a big picture of a heart. Then divide the heart into different sections, like the one in the example.
In the different sections, draw or write all the people, places or things that are close to your heart.
Tell a Joke
Laughter is a great way to feel better. It helps when we are feeling worried or sad.
I want to set you a challenge to make someone laugh. You might find a joke to tell them, or a funny video to watch.
My joke to you is:
Why don't eggs tell jokes?
They'd crack each other up!

Thinking about Worries
This activity is about writing or drawing your worries. This is something you can use throughout the day to record the progress of your worries. At the end of the day you are able to look back and see what you thought was going to happen compared to what actually happened.
Sometimes our worries can feel too big and we feel out of control. This activity helps us look at some of our worries and maybe notice that sometimes our worries are just thoughts, they don't actually happen.
The first cloud is for your worry.
I'm worried I won't be able to do the Maths task today.
The second cloud is what you think might happen.
I will get all the answers wrong and the teacher will be cross with me.
The third cloud is for what actually happened.
I tried my best. I didn't get everything right but my teacher was proud of me.
60 Second Guided Meditation
Today's meditation is about feeling safe.
It's another chance to clear your mind and practise those deep breathing techniques.
Self-Esteem Booster
In the example below they have designed a wheel, with different sections for you to write or draw your strengths and talents in.
You can either draw your own wheel to fill in or design your own Self-Esteem Booster. It might be a car, a boat or a tree. The idea is once you have drawn your picture, think about all of your strengths and talents. You might be really good at reading, riding your scooter or being a good friend.
You should then write or draw your strengths inside of your picture. You can then colour it all in if you like.

Mindfulness Texture Bag
This is a guessing game that engages children's attention and curiosity and you can change the items each time you play. The focus of the game is using our sense of touch to try and guess what is in the bag.
Place a collection of small, objects of various textures into a bag (a toy car, fluffy toy, piece of dry pasta, a stone etc). Have each child reach into the bag and feel something without taking it out of the bag. Have them describe it and then try and guess what it is.
Using a pinwheel for deep breathing
Crafting your own pinwheel is a great activity that links to the belly breathing activity from last week.
You can practice breathing out slowly or more quickly, using the speed of the pinwheel as a measure. You can then figure out which way works and feels best for you.
Today's activity is a Personal Fortune Teller. This is a great way for children to think about their personal qualities, positive traits and their own goals.
You can use the picture above for ideas of what to write in yours. Also, you may want to personalise it even more for your child and together you may think of some great ideas to write/draw in yours.
The fortune teller is split into four areas; Caring, Calm, Proud and Powerful. For each one you should think of two ideas to write/draw.
I have included a link to a youtube video below that shows you the steps to fold your own fortune teller.
60 Second Meditation
Here is a short 60 second guided meditation.
It works well with the belly breathing exercise uploaded earlier in the week.
Sword and Shield activity
This activity reminds us what can help when we feel under attack by our worries and fears.
The first part of the activity is to draw a sword. Now, make sure the sword is big because you are going to be writing and drawing inside of it.
Inside the sword you should write or draw your worries.
Now it's time for the shield. Again, draw a nice, big shield. Inside of this shield you should write or draw things that help you when you feel worried. They might be people you can talk to, activities that help you feel calm or positive affirmations about yourself.
This exercise helps us see the things in life that make us feel worried or anxious, and how we can 'defend' ourselves from letting these feelings take control.

Three Senses Activity
When you tune into to your senses, you give your busy brain a much-needed break.
It's very hard to be frustrated or worried when your are focusing on your senses because you engaged in the now rather than the past or future.
This activity can be done anywhere, and can be really useful when you are feeling bored or frustrated.
To begin, tell your child that they can focus on their senses to calm their body and mind. That you will pay attention to sound, sight and touch to try this out.
Tell them to focus on their senses when you ask a question. You can talk about what they noticed when you’re done, and they should try to be silent and pay attention during the activity. It’s easier and more fun that way.
Next, take five slow breaths together and ask your child:
1. What are three things you can hear?
2. What are three things you can see?
3. What are three things you can feel?
Give them about 20-40 seconds per question.
When you are done, ask him what they noticed for each question.
Perhaps they heard a clock, saw a painting, and felt the chair under them and so on.
Ask how this activity made them feel.
Could they use this skill when they're bored or anxious? When might that be?
Belly Breathing with a Soft Toy
Belly breathing is a technique that helps us relax and feel calm. Just a few minutes each day can help reduce anxiety and re-energise you for the day.
A great way to practise belly breathing is if you go and find a soft toy.
With your soft toy lay down on the ground and place your toy on your tummy.
Slowly breathe in and imagine it travelling down through your chest and filling up your belly.
Hold it for a second or two, and then slowy breathe out.
This is where your soft toy can help show you if you are doing it correctly. When you breathe in your soft toy should be slowly rising, and every time you breathe out it should slowly go back down.
Do this five or six times to start with. You can then repeat this activity throughout the day as needed.


The Jar Activity
For this activity you can either draw a jar on a piece of paper, or find an empty one in your home to use.
What you have to do is fill the jar up with either words or drawings of things that make you laugh. You might not be able to fill it all in one go, but each day you might think of something else that makes you laugh and add it to the jar.
Over time you will have a jar full of laughter. So if you are feeling sad, you can look in your jar and find something that will make you laugh.
Christ Church CEP Academy, Brockman Road,
Folkestone, Kent, CT20 1DJ Telephone: 01303 253645