Malachi's Mindfulness, Waking Up My Sense's

Hello everyone, my name is Malachi I am nine years old. I live in Lambeth and I decided to do some of the five senses activities when I went out for my daily exercise today. I used my mums’ phone to capture things that brought my senses to life. I noticed so many different things that I had not seen or noticed before. I saw a lot of signs around about the virus and how to keep safe. 

I enjoyed looking at the tall green clock and tried hard to listen  if I could hear the hands ticking. I also noticed the beautiful colourful flowers which smelt so lovely. I saw children’s drawings on the pavement and wanted to add my own drawing to the art work. 

As I rode my bike I heard dogs barking birds singing and the sound of cars as I zoomed down the hill feeling the wind on my face as I looked at all the different shades of green on the  tress on either side of me. I enjoyed waking up my senses it made me feel alert and full of energy. Why don't you give it a go. 

Challenge: Can you count all the sense I used? 

Mindfulness Five Senses Check In

Right now, we might all have moments of feeling confused and worried about the future. How about trying a few activities to help you to stay present and connected to yourself and the environment? 

These five games and activities can be done at home or when you go out for a daily walk. You can do it alone, but during this time of being separate from others, maybe find someone else to share them with. 

Name five things that you can see

Name four things you can hear 

Name three things that you can feel

Name two things that you can smell 

Name one thing that you can taste

Play a game of 'I spy' to wake up your senses and help you notice what is around you. Try using you other senses to play ‘I hear’ and ‘I smell’. 

Find five different objects, they could be from inside your house or perhaps you can find them during a walk. Really take time to look and feel them. Describe the texture and what you notice about the object. 

Play a game of 'I see. I know. I wonder...' take it in turns, to say one thing you see right there and then, one thing you know and then share one thing you wonder. Example, 'I see my hand typing. I know it is nearly bath time. I wonder how many people in the world might eat pasta today?

See if you can observe something new about something you might see or eat every day like an apple. 

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week from 18-24 May 2020. The theme is 'Kindness Matters'. Do you know that being kind to others can be beneficial to your own mental health? Watch the video below to find out how. 

One thing that we have seen all over the world since the Corona Virus outbreak is that Kindness is winning in uncertain times. People are coming together to sing on balconies in Italy, others are setting up groups to offer support to the elderly or vulnerable -like collecting shopping or calling them for a chat. 

Acts of kindness are gifts that we can give to ourselves and to friends, family and our community. 

Think of things that you like doing that spark joy in you. It might be riding your bike, drawing or eating dinner with your family. Try and do at least one act of kindness for yourself today and think about someone that you would like to give a gift of kindness too.  

Here are some ideas 

Call a friend who you haven’t spoken to for a while 

Post a card or letter to someone you are out of touch with 

Make a drink for someone you live with 

Video call someone to say hello 

Send someone a handwritten thank you note

Tell your family how much you love and appreciate them 

Help with household chores 

Smile at someone  

Arrange a time for a virtual movie night with family or friends 

Create a new dance with a friend on video chat 

Save your pocket money and donate it to charity 

Maybe you can think of your own acts of kindness. Tell us what you did and we will share it on the blog. 

Child Friendly Corona Virus Chat

As we are living in a time of great uncertainty and change. Here are some questions to think about or even better get the whole family involved. A conversation is a great way to gain knowledge about what is happening. As you go through the question’s share your answers with an adult so they can offer you the right information if your understanding is incorrect. 

1. What is the Corona Virus?

2. Who is the Prime Minster? 

3. How many weeks have we been in lockdown? 

4. Do you want to go back to school?

5. Who is the first person you are going to hug when lockdown ends? 

6. Where is the first place you are you going to go?

7. What do you think we can do to get rid of the virus?

8. Do you like home schooling? 

9. If Corona was an animal what animal would it be and why?

10. How did the Corona Virus start?

11. If you had to wear protective clothing to help you, what would it be? 

As new information and updates becomes available from the government it may be confusing to understand what it means. Keep on asking questions to the adults in your home and keep on talking. We are here to support you and will be posting tips and creative ways to do this. 

Creative Tip: 

Maybe you could write a script, draw a picture, create an art sculpture from your recycling bag about life in lockdown. Use some of your answers as inspiration to create something that helps you to process this time. 

Make sure you’re caring for yourself. You’re not alone in this! Reaching out to family or friends who are in a similar position can really help at difficult times.

       

"Shake it off" in the Morning, Count Fruits in the Evening

After all this time being at home, lots of things go through your mind, including feeling stress, anxious, sad or moody. We all feel like that sometimes. These activities can help you deal with those feelings that make you feel not so good. 

Shake it off  (any age) 
What you need: shakers that make noise, upbeat and fun music. 
As you play the upbeat and fun music, use anything which sounds like a shaker to shake to the beat. 
"Our big idea during this time is forgiveness, which means that we will not stay angry when someone does something wrong. We can shake off the anger. Shake your whole boy to show how you would shake it off. Now lets's play some music and use our new shakers to the beat. Lets practice shaking it off to Justin Timberlake Can't stop the feeling. 

It feels good and puts a smile on your face when you move and have fun. Whenever you are angry, focus on doing something fun for a while. When you move and shake, it's hard to stay angry. 

Counting Fruits (any age) 
Count to 10 when they are feeling upset. First, choose a topic (i.e fruit). Next, begin counting: "1 apple, 2 bananas, 3 oranges, 4 plums, 5 watermelon, 6 peach, 7 grapefruit, 8 kiwi, 9 strawberries, 10 coconuts". This helps you to move to your "thinking mode" and makes it easier to get calm.

I Feel Like Running and Jumping All Day Long

One of the things we do in our blog each week is to create characters and imagine how they are feeling and what they might say. Maybe you could tell us if you like what they are saying and doing, or if you totally disagree with them. 

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Sometimes, being at home all day is more tiring than being outside running and playing, and also more boring. After a few days at home, I feel like running around and jumping and doing handstands. I really miss doing all these things. 

I told my teacher, and she told me that physical activities are really important. So now I am trying different things. I love the "Little Chick Cheep" song and am trying to learn the dance routine. It is difficult, but it is really fun when I get it wrong. 

This is the dance!

This is the original song!!!

My teacher also told me that I could do a little bit of PE in my room, and sent me a link to this teacher who does lessons every morning! It feels good to know that other children all over the world are doing PE at the same time as me! Why don't you try?! This is an example. If you like it, click on his playlist or join him at 9am.

Clapham Manor Staff Miss Their Students: Video

All the staff at Clapham Manor Primary School wanted to remind you that you are the most important part of our school. We all miss you and hope to be back soon reading stories, learning history, playing with the time tables, cooking, learning science, making music and many other things. 

What is the thing you want to do most when we come back to school?

In the meantime, the whole staff wanted to remind you we are here for you, we miss you and we are preparing great learning and fun activities!

We hope you enjoy it!

A Comic about Coronavirus

Reporter Cory turner created this recording to help you understand coronavirus. 

Then, author Malaka Gharib created a comic to go with it. 

This book talks about something really important> it does not matter where you are from, everybody can get coronavirus. Nobody gets coronavirus just because of their cultural background. Love all your friends following the social distancing rules: call them, video call them, write letters or just think about them.

We hope you enjoy this comic. 

Malaka Gharib is the creator of this comic. 

Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus?t=1588945190802