This is a booklet which could be used with a child who has lost a pet. It is the one thing that I have dealt with many times in my role as ELSA. It is probably the first time the child has dealt with death and they are understandably very upset. It is really important that you get permission from their family before working on bereavement with a child. Most parents are very happy for you to help their child come to terms with their loss.
I have included ‘The Rainbow Bridge’ poem which is a lovely poem to discuss with the child. I know it gives me comfort with the loss of my pet cat.
The feel good game – is a game about self-esteem. The game will promote discussion on positive aspects of the child’s life and will use affirmations and character traits to reinforce self-esteem.
The game could be played on a one to one basis or a group basis. My suggestion is no more than four children.
To make the game
Photocopy or print the game board onto A3 paper then laminate
Print all the cards, laminate and cut into separate cards
Print the ‘I am board’ and laminate, print 4 of each so that you have enough for girls or boys.
The game consists of:
Affirmation cards
Character trait cards
‘I am’ boards
A game board
You will also need counters, dry wipe pens and a die to play.
How to play
Choose the person to go first by each throwing the die and the highest number thrown goes first. Go clockwise from that person.
The first person throws the die and moves their counter that number of spaces.
They must answer the question they land on, however, if they land on affirmation then they must read this out to the rest of the group. Ask the child if they agree with the statement. They may or may not. If they land on a ‘character trait’ they must read it out and explain what it means. If they cannot explain it then ask if anyone else can help? If they think they have this character trait they can write it on their ‘I am board’. The aim is for each child to have 5 character traits on their board at the end of the game. Continue going round the board until each child has their five character traits.
There isn’t a winner as such with this game as the aim is for the children to learn about their positive traits When they have all filled their ‘I am’ board then they are all winners!
You can photocopy each ‘I am board’ before erasing the writing for the next game.
Interact is a game about communication. It is aimed at non-verbal communication skills. The game will teach children about gestures (some by touch), expressions, eye contact and voice (expressions, pitch and volume). It does not cover space and personal space although that could be addressed by the person leading the game.
The game could be played on a one to one basis or a group basis. My suggestion is no more than four children.
The game consists of:
Say it cards
Expressions cards
Eye contact cards
Gesture cards
A game board
Bingo type boards
You will also need counters and a die to play.
How to play
Choose the person to go first by each throwing the die and the highest number thrown goes first. Go clockwise from that person.
The first person throws the die and moves their counter that number of spaces.
They will land on either ‘say it’ ‘gestures’ ‘eye contact’ or ‘expressions’. They must pick that card and do what is on the card. They may need help with the gestures as you may need to model to them what it means but they will soon begin to learn them. When they have done this they get a counter to put on their bingo board.
The first person to fill their bingo board is the winner. If someone has reached the finish star but still hasn’t filled in their bingo board then they must start again.
The Cool it game - is a game about managing anger. The game will promote discussion on anger management and the recognition of anger. Anger affirmations are used along with cool it cards which give lots of ideas for calming down.
The game could be played on a one to one basis or a group basis. My suggestion is no more than four children.
To make the game
Photocopy or print the game board onto A3 paper then laminate
Print all the cards, laminate and cut into separate cards
Print the ‘my choices board with either the 3 boxes or 6 boxes’ depending on the children you are working with (one for each child)
The game consists of:
40 Affirmation cards
40 Cool it cards
2 types My choices board
A game board
You will also need counters, dry wipe pens and a die to play.
How to play
Choose the person to go first by each throwing the die and the highest number thrown goes first. Go clockwise from that person.
The first person throws the die and moves their counter that number of spaces.
They must answer the question they land on; however, if they land on affirmation then they must read this out to the rest of the group. Ask the child if they agree with the statement. They may or may not. If they land on a ‘cool it ’ they must read it out and explain what it means. If they cannot explain it then ask if anyone else can help? If they think they would like to try this ‘cool it’ they can write it on their ‘My choices board’. The aim is for each child to have either 3 or 6 choices to try when they start to become angry. Continue going round the board until each child has filled their board with ideas.
There isn’t a winner as such with this game as the aim is for the children to learn about their anger
You can photocopy the ‘My choices’ card at the end of the session for the child to take away.
The Emotions game - is a game to help teach emotional awareness. It will help with emotions vocabulary, recognising facial expressions and give an understanding of how the child may feel in certain situations.
The game could be played on a one to one basis or a group basis. My suggestion is no more than four children.
To make the game
Photocopy or print the game board onto A3 paper then laminate
Print all the cards, laminate and cut into separate cards
The game consists of:
‘How would you feel if’ cards
‘Act it’ cards
A game board
A bingo board
You will also need counters and a die
How to play
Choose the person to go first by each throwing the die and the highest number thrown goes first. Go clockwise from that person.
The first person throws the die and moves their counter that number of spaces.
If they land on an emotion face then they must say what that emotion is. If they land on a ‘How would you feel if’ space then they must pick a card and answer the question. If they land on an ‘Act it’ space then they must pick a card and act out the emotion with facial expression and gestures. You could even encourage them to say a sentence or phrase which someone who feels that emotion might say. If they answer the questions or act out the emotion then they get a counter to fill in their bingo board. The first person to fill their board is the winner so you may need to continue going around the board again. Each person must name two facial expressions, two ‘act it’ cards and two ‘how would you feel if’ cards to win the game.
9 pages of useful ‘All about me’ information. You can choose whether to do all the pages or just a few of them depending on the needs of the pupil you are working with. This is suitable from about 10-16 years old. Great for learning mentor, Teaching assistant or ELSA intervention.
Pages included in the ‘all about me secondary booklet’:
About me
Questions time
Personal qualities
Words to describe me
Body image
Staying healthy
Proud moments
Hobbies and interests
Social media
Worries that I have
All about my pets
Things I do to relax
My perfect day
Feelings
My future career
My friends
Things that make me happy at school
School rules
School feelings
How I learn best
Things I don’t like about school
Family tree
More about family
Home feelings
Family rules
Things that make me happy at home
Things I don’t like about my home
Circle of trust
A set of 20 self esteem posters aimed at self-esteem. They are all set to print as A3 but of course you could make them print smaller if you want to using ADOBE print settings.
The print quality is excellent so you can really blow them up if you want to using poster settings on Adobe.
Great for discussion during circle-time or just have them up in your room to remind children of how wonderful they are.
This is an emotions poster set with 20 bright and colourful posters all set up for A3 Printing. The quality is excellent so you could make them bigger with your ADOBE print settings.
These are useful in so many ways:
Use them during circle-time to open up discussion.
Display one each week in your classroom and discuss. Refer to the poster often to reinforce how important it is to try your best.
Create lesson plans around one of the posters.
Growth mindset posters- This is a set of posters to inspire children to try hard and understand that it is ok to make mistakes. Mistakes help us learn.
These print beautifully on A3 paper so are great to display.
Use each quote as a lesson plan and display one each week in the classroom.
There are 19 different quotes altogether.
These are useful in so many ways:
Use them during circle-time to open up discussion.
Display one each week in your classroom and discuss. Refer to the poster often to reinforce how important it is to try your best.
Create lesson plans around one of the posters.
This is a Primary School Memory Book for Year 6 children to work on independently. This year children probably won’t get the chance to do transition work like they normally do so this booklet may help to remember the good times at Primary before moving onto Secondary School.
There are 69 pages in the book which is in colour and in black and white.
So many areas covered. You might want to choose the pages to print off or you might want to print them all out.
Resource from ELSA SUPPORT
Print out the skin tone that you require. This resource has five different skin tones to suit all children. There are also 15 different sets of eyes and mouths and a set of emotions vocabulary flash cards. Laminate all the pieces and keep in a zipped bag for convenience. The aim of this resource is for children to begin to recognise facial expressions and talk about their feelings. It is excellent for children on the autistic spectrum. This resource is also very good for early years settings and can be put into an area of provision, allowing children to experiment and make different faces. Can they match the eyes to the mouth? Can they tell you what the expression is that they have made? Parents would also find this resource helpful for their preschool children.
Questions you could ask – can you make me a ‘angry face’? What would ‘angry’ eyes look like? What would ‘sad’ eyes look like? Can you make me a ‘sad face’? Also use other vocabulary such as ‘miserable, frustrated, terrified, proud’.
There are so many possibilities for working with this resource. The cards could be used as a matching pairs game. Lay out all the cards and ask a child to choose a mouth and eyes that match – name the emotion.
Use the face (laminated) for drawing emotion faces. Put it alongside a mirror so children can make faces themselves.
Use the angry eyes and mouth to discuss anger and how to recognise when they are becoming angry. What makes them angry? What could they do when they are angry?
Pick an emotions flashcard(included with the pack) and make the appropriate face.
This resource will help children understand the basics of CBT. Our thoughts affect our feelings, our feelings affect our behaviour or actions and those behaviours or actions reinforce our thoughts.
Included in the pack:
A poster to display as a reminder
A 24 page workbook
Flash cards of thoughts. feelings and actions
Credit card sized cards to take way from sessions as a reminder
Teach children about the six basic emotions with these booklets and games. Angry, sad, happy, scared, disgust and surprise.
Can be used on a one to one basis, with a group or even a whole class. Use the sheets as worksheets or lessons for every child.
Great for ELSA intervention or for Learning mentors or Teaching assistants.
Also a set of superhero fans thrown in to help with emotional regulation.
Activities consist of:
Creating a superpower to help people
Creating a superhero name
Designing your superhero
How it makes you feel to use your superpowers to help someone
Comparing your favourite superhero to yourself – same and different
The Superhero emotion characters have all been drawn by myself.
The crafts are very simple. It is the process that is important. Children relax when they are working on a craft and to be honest I do not know of a child who does not enjoy crafts especially when it is with someone who is interested in them and interested in what they say. They will open up to you and talk freely whilst enjoying themselves. These activities are also perfect for an ELSA or Teaching assistant who has to do a one off session with a child or who has to work reactively to a situation. Also can be used for whole class activities at Christmas time.
When children succeed in an activity then their self efficacy increases. They begin to believe in themselves. Along with your encouragement and praise they will begin to have a ‘can do’ attitude. It takes time but if anyone ever says to you that what you are doing is just ‘crafting and having fun’ WHAT are they learning? You can tell them.
The resource includes:
Card crafts (20 activities)
Templates (17 templates or resources)
Front cover, contents sheet
Here are some emotion faces based on Christmas characters.
This resource can be used in many different ways. Laminate the ‘face sheet’ and then laminate all the expression and vocabulary cards. Cut out the expression and vocabulary cards. Use a blob of bluetac to stick items onto the face. Add a whiteboard pen, a mirror and some playdough to extend the use of this resource.
All images have been drawn by myself.
This resource can be used in many different ways. Laminate the ‘face sheet’ and then laminate all the expression and vocabulary cards. Cut out the expression and vocabulary cards. Use a blob of bluetac to stick items onto the face. Add a whiteboard pen, a mirror and some playdough to extend the use of this resource.
All images have been drawn by myself.
I have also included different skin colours.
This resource is ideal for working one to one with a child. The red light is the negative emotion such as anger, frustration, fear, worry, sad and upset. The green light is the positive emotion such as happy, chilled, content, ok, calm, and confident. The amber/yellow light is all the things the child can do to help get from the red light to the green light. These are the tools.
Make sure you go through the resource with the child and decide which ‘tools’ they need to use or try.
Print and laminate this resource, Cut out the cards and keep in a little zip folder, Use either velcro or blu tak to stick the cards onto the base board.
If you need the cards to be bigger just print all of it onto A3 paper and laminate.