Primary 1a Weekly Update

Good afternoon,
This week was Childrens Mental Health Week 2022. To introduce this area of Health, which is unfamiliar to most very young children, we first discussed Physical Health and how we keep our bodies healthy. The children came up with lots of fantastic ways such as; cleaning your teeth, washing your hands, taking exercise, eating lots of fruit and vegetables, drinking water and getting enough sleep.  Once this had been explored, it was put to the children that in order to be healthy we must also look after our minds, our Mental Health. The children then learned that this week was Childrens Mental Health Week where, each day, we would learn about a way to keep our minds healthy.
On Monday we explored the concept of `Sharing Kindness', that being kind to others can help us feel good and happy. In class we discussed ways to share kindness and at the end of the day, many of the children were able to share anecdotes of classmates sharing kindness.
On Tuesday we explored the concept of `Being Mindful', stopping what you are doing and being mindful. We talked about being calm and slowing down. We learned how to do `Belly Breathing` as a way to do this. This, we decided would be a useful strategy to use out of school too if we feel nervous or angry. We also enjoyed some Mindful Colouring.
On Wednesday we explored the concept of `Staying Connected`, that connecting with others can help us feel like we belong, raising our self-confidence and self-esteem. In class we played a game to find out more about each other and what we had in common. 
On Thursday we explored the concept of `Keep Learning`, that learning new things can help your mind and is good for mental well-being. We learned how to play the new games in our Wet Weather box and are hoping for a wet play-time soon !
On Friday we explored the concept of `Get Moving`, that exercise is not only good for your body but your mind too. We tried some yoga with the on-line resource Cosmic Kids and are looking forward to trying more yoga again soon.
Finally, we wanted to share what we had learned with the other people in our school so made posters and placed them all around our building.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Davie and P1a.