Mental Health & Wellbeing for Children
Hello children!
At Upperby Primary School, we believe it is very important to support you all to be happy, healthy, resilient individuals who can cope with life’s challenges. Our staff work hard to support the mental health and well-being of all the children and adults in our school community and will help our pupils and families to talk openly.
Always remember to talk to your trusted adults if you feel worried, sad, scared or unhappy. Your class teachers and teaching assistants will always listen and support you whenever they can. We are lucky to have so many wonderful adults that care!
On this page you will find activities that will promote positive mental health and help you take care of your well-being.
Our School’s Designated Mental Health Ambassadors are:
Mrs Burns (Headteacher)
Miss Wilson (PSHE Subject Lead)
Mrs Chan (Pastoral Support)
Place2Be - Children's Mental Health Week - 5th - 11th February 2024
Nature Activities (Scarf's 5 ways to well-being)
Take Notice
- Patterns in nature.
- Listening to the dawn chorus - or even just the birds at any time of day!
- Sit quietly outside and listen for sounds - how many can you hear?
- Growing something and watching it, appreciate.
- Lie on the ground, be still and think about what you can feel.
- Pay attention to an insect, watch its journey closely.
- Watch the flow of water and listen to the sound, focus on the shapes that the water makes.
Get creative
- Natural art - using objects from nature (blossom, twigs, stones, leaves, sand, shells etc.) to create a design or pattern. Take pictures, to preserve this natural artwork!
- Pressing flowers in the traditional way using books or using a microwave for a quicker way to dehydrate the flowers. Create pictures/cards using the flowers (and give to others!)
- Research then design and create a garden/flower bed to attract wildlife (butterflies, bees, birds). This can be a small patch or even pots – the bigger the better for pots, as they take less looking after.
- Sketch or paint outdoors to capture natural landscapes/flowers/birds.
- Listen to and compose music with a natural theme e.g. linked to weather, water, woodland sounds.
Be active
- Nature walk with a list of specific things to find (a treasure or scavenger hunt) e.g. a stone that’s not round, feathers of various colours and sizes, blossom, specific shape or colour leaf, something from each colour of the rainbow and/or school colours – record your treasure on digital camera/tablet.
- Challenge the children to make up or adapt a game using natural materials.
- Make a hopscotch grid using things from nature - twigs, pebbles etc. and play hopscotch together
Give to others
- Make daisy chains or weave willow bands to give to friends or family members.
- Share one of your favourite places with someone, explore it with your senses. Take a friend to your favourite place… hopefully somewhere they have never been.
- Choose one of the activities from the Get Creative section – make something to give to a friend or relative!
Connect with others
- Growing seeds/plants at school or with friends or family.
- Growing a fast growing plants e.g. cress (possibly in egg shell?) and share with family online via Zoom/Facetime. Have some fun by drawing a face on the egg and then cutting crazy cress hairstyles!
- Make picture/collage using natural materials
- Listening game with a partner – how many nature sounds can be heard?
- Birdwatching - or insect watching - with someone.
- Gardening for someone else or a school or community garden/allotment with a group/friend.
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