This is a great activity to use as part of transition days at the end or beginning of the school year and was designed with the New Year and New Term in mind; I will be using it with my own class to set our goals for the New Year. Also perfect to use as part of dreams, wishes or goals themed lessons.

These mindfulness / brain break cards are perfect for those ten minutes of a day that you need to fill! Whether it’s an ice breaker task with a new class, mindful minutes for some calm or some brain break activities for those days where nothing seems to be sinking in, these cards are perfect. All you need to do is print, hole punch the corner and add your own keyring!

A great resource for the first week back at school. Have the children create a time capsule of all the things they have done over ‘lockdown’. This resource includes ideas of making an actual time capsule from a jar and burying it, but can be tweaked if preferred as a worksheet activity.

Need help generating some ideas to create your own version of Lost and Found (Oliver Jeffers)? Look no further than this dice game, designed especially to get those creative juices flowing. Use as a teacher model, in pairs/groups, or individually to create your own version of the story. Simply roll the dice to land on a character, setting, and prop et voila! Endless story creating fun! Let the story games begin!

The OU/OW Popcorn Game is perfect for the teaching and learning of the OU/OW grapheme. The aim of the game is for the children to recognise the difference in ‘ou’ and ‘ow’ words, and sort the popcorn into the correct boxes. Encourage the whole class to say, spell and segment the word in question: for example - “Pouch. Can we all say pouch? How do we spell pouch? Which box does it go in?” Can the children segment the word and then blend? When it has been decided as a class which box the word should go in, congratulate the children.

How can I use this resource to teach positive thinking? This fabulous Positive Thinking Resource can support positive mental health and emotional wellbeing, and encourage discussion for how to keep the mind healthy and happy. Discuss with your class the power of having a positive mindset and how we can put on our Positive Thinking Caps to overcome mental hurdles. And if you like this resource, take a look at my Mindfulness and Brain Break cards that help children to concentrate and think about mental wellbeing. Top tips for thinking positively: Thinking positively can often be a challenge, especially in uncertain circumstances like today. Here are my top tips on how you can actively practice positive thinking: •focus on the good things •keep a journal of things you are thankful for •spend time with positive people •identify your areas of negativity •start and end every day with a positive note

12 complete lesson plans of ice breaker activities with accompanying KS1 learning objectives that meet NC guidelines. Perfect for getting to know your new class!

What activity can my class do that helps with anxiety? Who doesn’t want to help children with their anxiety? A healthy way to work on anxiety is to share what you’re feeling and this worksheet is a lovely way to do so. By introducing your children to sharing their feelings when they are young they can start to get better at dealing with difficult emotions and also be less afraid of their worries. This activity would pair nicely with my “Put on your Positive Thinking Cap” worksheet, also available on my TES. When is the best time to start to deal with anxiety? Although there is a whole week that is dedicated to mental health within children, it could be a better idea to talk about anxiety and mental health now. This is a delicate subject and should be dealt with gently but the sooner we start focusing on how we can deal with anxiety the more progress we can achieve. This resource would be a great start on that journey to dealing with anxiety. When is Children’s Mental Health Week? Children’s Mental Health Week starts on 2nd February and ends on 9th February. This is a great week for focusing on helping your children deal with their anxiety.

If you’re on the hunt for a fantastic template to help your KS1 and/or KS2 children learn how to structure a poetry review, then this resource is exactly what you’re looking for! This brilliant resource has been designed especially for your students to write their own poetry review at both key stages (and has even been used in my latest English observation!)