Articles & Resources

Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Feeling Faces

Feelings In this week’s article we looked at self-regulation (if you missed it, find it here). Being able to recognise and respond to our feelings is a key part of emotional literacy. However, frequently, in my work as a teacher, therapist and in my work with parents, we find that many children struggle to know

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Supporting Children to Develop Self-Regulation Skills

Changes to the EYFS (PSED) In the new EYFS, self-regulation is now covered in the prime area of Personal, social and emotional development. If you want to keep up to date, find the EYFS here.  The new Early Learning Goal, within Personal, Social and Emotional Development describes self-regulation as follows: ELG: Self-Regulation – Children at

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activities: Rainbow Breathing

Rainbow Breathing When we are relaxed, our minds are clearer. This means that we can make decisions easier, feel more in control and manage situations more effectively. Teaching children breathing exercises helps them to learn to breathe deeply, as well as feel more relaxed and calm. Rainbow breathing is a fun and simple activity, which

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Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Breaking the Cycle of Competitive Stress

The issue with stress, is that it has become almost fashionable to compare: Who has the most to do To declare how stressed we are To tell everyone about how much we have to get done To wear our badge of stress and overwhelm as a badge of honour to our friends, family and social

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activities: Bubble Breathing

Learning breathing techniques as part of our day is a perfect way to: calm the central nervous system reduce stress lower your heart rate regulate emotional responses increases energy improves digestion Bubble Breathing Bubble breathing is a great activity to teach children to help them reduce their own stress. Bubble breathing is a simple and

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Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Recognising the impact of child trauma

Over the many years I have worked with children and teenagers, and over the last 8 years working in my therapy office I meet so many clients with different backgrounds. Some have scars on the outside, from domestic violence, self-harm, eating disorders or alcoholism. Others have scars on the inside from emotional abuse, neglect, domestic

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activities: Prioritising Workloads

When we have too much to do, we can quickly spiral into feeling: Overwhelmed Suffocated Panic Stress Which means that we can begin procrastinating, avoiding or starting everything and finishing nothing. For many, it can feel like ‘everything is a priority’ and all needs to be done NOW. So, how do we help young people

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Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Top Tips for Supporting the Return to School

As the world prepares for the return to school, parents up and down the country are getting the uniforms ready, purchasing new school shoes and packing lunch boxes…. But what else do we need to consider to prepare our children for a successful return to school? Get organised Double check school lists and requirements Make

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activities: Fears Worksheet

Fears and Worries Fear is a primitive response, where the body reacts to potential threat of danger or risk of harm occurring. This can cause the sensation of anxiety, such as a rapid heart rate, nausea, shortness of breath, trembling, sweating. This may present itself as: Becoming angry or irritable over small things Bursting into

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Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Why we need to praise qualities, not outcomes

Praising children and teenagers is something that we all know is important. However, is there a right or wrong way to do it? Do we need to praise qualities, not outcomes? We frequently meet young people who place the value of themselves on: Their academic outcomes (homework, coursework) Their test results Their sporting achievements Their

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Feelings Wordsearch

Finding creative ways to talk about feelings can open new conversations. Sometimes, just sitting down can feel too confronting for some children, so activities can provide the perfect opportunity to explore what we are feeling and how it affects us. So, we are sharing our feelings wordsearch with you. Download it here How to us

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Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

10 Ways that Adults can Support Child Mental Health

Whether we are a parent, an early years educator, a teacher or an education or care professional, mental health is on our lips. How do we best support young people to manage their mental health? How do we promote self-care? How do we educate about well-being. It starts with us. By being advocates and role

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Self-esteem Chart

Self-esteem Self-esteem is the value we place on our own worth. It is the opinion we have of ourselves. The way we view our worth in the world. It can be positive or negative, and the level of our self-esteem impacts the way that we see the world and the events that occur in our

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Motivation
Nicky Edwards

5 reasons we need to be more active

We all know that we need to be more active, but the thought and the action can sometimes be a challenge to get going. It’s almost crazy that for something that we know improves our wellbeing we can find getting active so challenging. How much do I need? The guidelines for physical activity advise: Infants

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Mandala Colouring Sheet

Colouring has many benefits: Develops fine motor skills Supports concentration skills Develops colour recognition Strengthens handwriting skills Encourages relaxation Develops focus Creates a focus on the present Calms a restless mind Develops inner quiet Reduces stress and anxiety Can improve sleep Download it here Free Activity So, this week, our free activity is a downloadable

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

10 Ways to Support Mental Health in the Summer Holidays

Just like that, the summer holidays began. After a long eighteen months, the relief of the holidays and the increased accessibility to favourite activities is much appreciated. However, how can we ensure that we invest in our mental health over the break, so that the return to school is a positive one? Here’s our top

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Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Children’s Feelings House

Sometimes, we know that things are bothering us, but it can feel hard to put it into words. So, when someone asks ‘what is bothering you?’ the question feels impossible. Using activities that help children to talk, and explore their emotions in safe spaces helps children to develop their self-awareness and emotional literacy.   Download

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Self-care
Nicky Edwards

Why we need buckets full of self-esteem

Self-esteem has become one of those words that we throw around frequently, but do we really recognise the impact of self-esteem in our child’s life? Do we see the impact of self-esteem on children’s lives? Or perhaps you’ve started to look at your child in comparison to their peers and begun to worry about how

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