he 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. 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 (13 templates or resources) Front cover, contents sheet

Stick the label onto a container or box. Pop the cookies into the container and invite children to pick a cookie and answer the question. This resource will help raise children's self-esteem. Could be used whole class, groups or individually.

This game consists of: A game board Star cards Bingo boards Social skills questions (3 questions on 18 cards, 54 questions altogether) Friendship questions (3 questions on 18 cards, 54 questions altogether) Self-esteem questions (3 questions on 18 cards, 54 questions altogether) Emotions questions (3 questions on 18 cards, 54 questions altogether) Instructions You will need a die and a counter for each child. The game can be played with a group of children or you can just use the cards for working one to one with a child. You could also use the cards during whole class circle time activities. The game will promote the following skills: Turn taking Sharing Speaking Listening Friendship skills Social Skills Emotional awareness Self-esteem Resilience Fairness Co-operation Peer learning

Strength cards are a brilliant way of raising self-esteem in children. Please see below for lots of ideas on how to use them. There are lots of ways of using them to help boost a child’s self esteem. They help children to name and recognise their inner strengths. Great for the child who is shy or doesn’t want to speak out in front of others. Lay all the strength cards out and ask the child to pick five strengths that represent them. In a group situation, ask one child to sit in the centre of the circle and the rest of the children have to pick five strengths that represent that child. In a group situation, give each child a white board and pen and go through the strength cards. The children can write five on their whiteboards. Pick one of your strength cards and decide how you are going to use that strength – today, tomorrow, next week, next year? Pick one of the strengths that you want to be. For example if you decide you want to be a good team player. How can you achieve that? Make a plan. Pick someone you admire, it might be a footballer, a singer, a film star, a family member or a friend, what strengths do they have? Put the cards face down, ask a child to pick one. Discuss the card. Does he/she know anyone with that strength? Do they have that strength? Would they want that strength? Ask the child to design their own strength card. What image would it have? What would the strength be? Use the strength cards as affirmations. Use the five cards the child has chosen and get them to say ‘I am strong, I am thoughtful, I am wise, I am musical, I am kind’. Put them in a little box and the child must look at them daily and repeat the affirmations. Pick one strength card such as ‘affectionate���. Who do they know who is Affectionate? Discuss. This could also be a group discussion.

The teen affirmation workbook begins by offering a clear explanation of affirmations and their significance. It is vital for young minds to grasp the concept of positive self-talk and how it can shape their perceptions and attitudes. The workbook helps pupils to craft personalised affirmations that resonate with their unique experiences and aspirations. Teens learn to transform negative thoughts into affirmations that inspire confidence and resilience. Pupils will reflect on any negativity in their lives through self reflection and learn to flip these into positive affirmations. Pupils are encouraged to use their affirmations daily for 2 weeks and monitor their feelings over this time. They are then encouraged to reflect on any changes that have been observed over that 2 week period. What’s included in the teen affirmation workbook? Affirmations are… (what they are) Affirmations can… (how they can benefit you) Self reflection…(what are the negatives?) Turning the negatives…(How to flip those negatives into a positive statement) Your turn…(Practising how to flip the negatives) Creating affirmations (advice on how to write one) Example affirmations Creating your own affirmations Daily affirmation practice Remember… (the importance of daily practice) Keeping track…(A table for helping monitor feelings and any positive changes) Reflection…(How have things changed over two weeks – question prompts)

ANTS Automatic Negative Thoughts game. ANTs are the spontaneous, habitual, and often irrational thoughts that creep into our minds in response to various situations and triggers. These thoughts can significantly impact our emotional well-being and overall mental health. This game will help pupils to recognise those ANTs and will help them to reframe their thinking so they are more positive. Included in the ANTS automatic negative thoughts game: Game board (print A3) Change it cards – 8 of each type of ANT – 64 in total ANTs cards – 2 sets of 8 – one with their names and one without Positive affirmation cards – 16 cards Editable ‘Change it and Positive affirmation cards’) for you to add your own if needed. This is especially relevant for secondary pupils. This is editable in POWERPOINT so please ensure you have that installed if you want to edit the cards. ANTS covered in this pack: Emotional Edna – thinks with her feelings. eg. I FEEL hopeless, I FEEL like a failure. Fortune Teller Felicity – predicts the worst outcome e.g. I can’t win the race!, I will come last! Guilty Gertrude – Uses the word should and then feels guilty – eg. I should have done my homework, I should have done some exercise. All or nothing Audrey – uses words like always, never, every. Eg. I always lose, I never have anyone to play with. Blaming Barry – blames everyone else – eg. It’s your fault I slept in, It’s your fault I feel angry! Mind Reader Mavis – thinks he can read other people’s minds – eg. He must be laughing at me, I know she hates me! Labelling Lawrence – calls himself and others names – eg I am such a loser, She is such an idiot! Negative Nancy – ignores the positives and only sees the negative – I only came second in the race, I only got one sticker today.

These are our unwind the mind activity mats. These mats are a combination of working on the particular topic – e.g. be brave and mighty and relaxation activities through refocusing attention. There are puzzles, mindful colouring, drawing, creating patterns and a little writing. You can print them A4 but also if you want them bigger, use your printer settings and print them on A3 paper. These are suitable for KS2 and most of them for secondary too. These unwind the mind activity mats are perfect for Before or after SATs or tests Ending your session Beginning your session Morning routine whole class activity When things are winding down at the end of term Calming corners Homework Transition times Any stressful situations We have the following 10 mats along with answer sheets where needed Be joyful Be mindful Be calm Be positive Be brave and mighty Be kind Be caring to yourself Be determined Be friendly Be proud Benefits of unwind the mind mats Both puzzles and mindful colouring are calming activities that can help children relax and unwind after a busy day or during stressful times. Engaging in these activities encourages deep breathing and fosters a sense of peace and tranquillity. Solving puzzles and colouring mindfully can act as effective stress-relief techniques for children. By focusing their attention on the task at hand, children can temporarily shift their focus away from worries and anxieties, promoting a sense of calmness and emotional well-being. Puzzles and mindful colouring require children to concentrate and pay attention to details, which can help improve their concentration and focus over time. These activities encourage children to stay engaged in the present moment, enhancing their ability to sustain attention and ignore distractions. Puzzles can provide children with opportunities to exercise their problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities. By deciphering clues, finding patterns, and making logical deductions, children can develop important cognitive skills that are essential for academic success. Mindful colouring allows children to express themselves creatively and explore their imagination through colours and designs. It provides a non-verbal outlet for self-expression, allowing children to convey their emotions and feelings in a safe and therapeutic manner. Successfully completing puzzles and creating beautiful artwork through mindful colouring can boost children’s self-esteem and confidence. Accomplishing challenging tasks and seeing tangible results can instil a sense of pride and accomplishment in children, reinforcing their belief in their abilities. There are lots more benefits to these activity mats.

Here you have a PowerPoint file of editable names. You can click on the name and change it. It will go to two lines if you want to add a surname too. The box is set to stay the same but your writing will be smaller or bigger depending on how many letters you put in. There are 15 hand drawn backgrounds included in this pack all great for mindful colouring. Some are more complex than others so choose one that you think the pupil will like. The font is embedded into the file. Once you have chosen from the 15 backgrounds, click on the name and change it. Click ‘Save as’ and save the PowerPoint first. Click ‘Save as’ again and choose PDF from the drop down list. You can then print that page from your PDF. You can duplicate one design if you want to by right clicking on the slide on the left hand side of your screen and choosing duplicate. This pack is great for an opening session or just to catch up with the child after the long holiday. They can take it away with them and finish it at home if they want to.

These separation cards are perfect for touching base with your ELSA children. Once an intervention is finished it is important to keep contact with your children. Great relationships occur during ELSA interventions. Some children do build a strong bond with the adult that they work with and these little cards will ensure that they know they are still being thought about and are not forgotten. Of course these were created for the ELSA/Child relationship. These would also work well for Teacher/Child, TA/Child, Learning Mentor/Child or anyone who works either on a one to one basis or small group basis with children. Parent’s may even find them useful to pop in their child’s lunch box for example, or put one under their pillow to remind them about how amazing they are. There are 22 different cards altogether These cards can be printed on A4 card and there are 4 to each A4 sheet. Have a stack of them printed and ready to give out to your children. There is a mixture of ‘thinking of you’ type cards, ‘inspirational cards’ and even Birthday, Christmas cards.

Positive self-talk display pack for anxiety Help children to change their thoughts when they feel anxious by displaying these thought bubbles in your classroom or area. Print the banner as a poster in Adobe, you can choose how many sheets to print it over using the settings. What is included? How to change ‘Self-talk’ list 17 thought bubble suggestions Positive ‘self-talk’ list Positive ‘self-talk’ worksheet ‘When I feel anxious I can say’ banner

Emotions early years – Teaching children about emotions is the most fundamental thing you can do to ensure children become emotionally literate and will help them with that all important emotional regulation. This ‘EMOTIONS’ resource will help to do just that. The main part of the resource is a powerpoint show where you can introduce each emotion. This gives lots of opportunity to work on one emotion at a time and promotes lots of discussion. This resource is aimed at early years but there are children that you may feel would benefit from this in KS1. Children are learning to: Recognise the emotion Understand what it means Label the emotion Express the emotion This resource consists of: A powerpoint show with 20 emotions and an emotional register A PDF of the show 20 ‘girl’ emotion sheets in black and white for colouring 20 ‘boy’ emotion sheets in black and white for colouring 20 ‘girl’ emotion fans 20 ‘boy’ emotion fans

This resource explores lots of different emotions to allow children to see the connection their thoughts have with their feelings, physical sensations and actions. When you think happy thoughts it makes you feel better both physically and mentally and your actions are more positive as opposed to when you think worrying thoughts or angry thoughts. This resource, through exploration of these thoughts and feelings will give you a base to help children change their thoughts and see how that makes them feeling and act differently. There are 40 sheets altogether covering 20 emotions. Girl clipart and boy clipart is used so you can choose which to use with the child you are working with.

his activity will help teach children speaking and listening skills, so important for good social skills. There is a Santa face, a plate template and 48 cookies with a range of Christmas items and also some emotion faces. Cut out Santa’s mouth and stick the sheet to a box – I used an old Amazon packaging box but anything A4 sized will do. Cut out a selection of cookies and place them on the ‘Cookie plate’ This activity is fun for one to one working but two children could also use it together. You can start easy by saying ‘Feed Santa a yellow cookie’. ‘Feed Santa a pink cookie’. ‘Feed Santa a cookie with a present on it’, ‘Feed Santa a cookie with a bell on it’. Then move onto more accurate descriptions. ‘Feed Santa a yellow cookie with a Christmas tree on it’, ‘Feed Santa a pink cookie with a bow on it’. It could get even trickier with requests such as ‘Feed Santa a pink cookie with red lights on it’. There are also some ‘emotion cookies’ for work on emotions and listening skills. ‘Feed Santa a cookie with a happy face’, ‘Feed Santa a cookie with a worried face’.Children need to listen really well and follow the instructions.Children can also take turns to describe which cookie they want another child or you to feed to Santa.

This game looks at 16 different emotions including the basics of of happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised and disgusted. It is ideal for children from about 5 years old. My recommendation is that it is played with one or two children due to the space needed. Children take it in turns to throw a die and move that number of spaces on the base board. They will either land on a head, tummy or bottom. They take one of those cards and name the emotion. If it is a head they are seeing the facial expression. If it is a tummy they are seeing what someone might say who is feeling that emotion and if it is a bottom they are seeing the emotion word. The idea of the game is to build a complete monster.

This workbook can be made up to suit the child. Work on families can be very useful as it helps children to understand their identity and helping them to see the support network around them. I have added sheets for different family members such as: mum dad stepmum stepdad grandma grandad auntie uncle pet sister brother stepsister stepbrother There are 23 sheets altogether in the pack. If you require any more family members then please comment below and I can add them to the pack.

Bee Here Now! is a therapeutic story to help a child suffering from worries or anxieties. It also addresses bullying. There is an accompanying workbook which will teach children some mindfulness techniques. Also included is a set of ‘cloud’ feeling fans. For more resources on anxiety check out Master Your Monsters Anxiety and Worries group intervention

This is ideal to play with groups of up to 8 children. Children will learn about good listening skills through playing this game and it will constantly reinforce those essential skills. Included in the pack: One poster for display in the classroom/ELSA area 8 bingo boards with the images in different places 1 set of calling cards

Empathy is a very difficult thing to learn for children and this lapbook will help to teach the skills needed. I have named it ‘Kindness’ because being empathetic is about being kind isn’t it? Caring about other people’s feelings and wanting to help them in some way. Children will learn how to recognise their own feelings and the feelings of others. They will learn to look at different perspectives and how to get the full picture. The vocabulary of pity, empathy, sympathy and compassion will be taught. Children will look at ways of showing that they care and will become ‘care collectors’ – they will collect times when they showed kindness and times when they received kindness. This will help them to see that it actually feels good to be kind and caring. Basic listening skills will be taught so that they know how to listen to someone who might have a problem.

This is a pupil anger trifold leaflet with information on the emotion of anger. An ELSA contacted me asking if I had any leaflets for pupils so I created this. If you like this and think it would be useful do let me know and I will look at creating leaflets for other emotions. The leaflet takes the pupil through what anger is, triggers, body feelings, labelling the feeling, scaling, and coping skills. I would suggest you give this leaflet out at the end of your sessions on anger or if you are just talking through anger with a pupil you go through the leaflet and explain everything in more detail with them. You will find instructions for printing and folding the pupil anger trifold leaflet within the download. You can add your contact details to the leaflet by typing in the BLUE box. The font is set to the same as the leaflet and the text auto adjusts so you can write a bit more than just your name. You might want to write where the pupil can find you. The blue box does not show when you print.