Christmas Crafts for Children

I have just set up a Facebook page which I will be running until Christmas with lots of lovely craft ideas for children. If you want regular updates then go to the page and click like.
The more the merrier!

Practical activities for emotional literacy

I have just published my Kindle book and it is available today for free.

The book is a collection of 50 activities for teaching emotional literacy to children.

If you download it please please will you review it for me.

Circle time agreement

This is a circle time agreement which can be used at the beginning of each session. This is something I am always really strict with. The children soon get into the routine and follow the rules. The only one that I tend to do a bit differently is the right to pass. I have found that some children will pass because they don’t want to speak and the whole purpose of circle time is for everyone to have a voice. I let them pass but go back to them so they say something or anything really.
Download Circletime agreement

Visit www.elsa-support.co.uk for more emotional literacy/pshe ideas and activities

I am a ...

I am a..  – I saw this idea on Pinterest and have had a go myself on my IPAD. I have included a download for you to use but depending on the age of the child they could draw their own letter shape. I think it would look fabulous if it was decorated and either filled with words or pictures. They could draw the pictures or even cut out pictures from magazines.  I know when I did it I really had to think about all the things I could do. A really positive exercise for children to do and a real self esteem booster. If you are working with a group or a class I would do a circle time first. It could be a game. Keep going around the circle with ‘I am a… ‘ until all ideas are exhausted. As a group activity you could use the letters ‘WE’ are and children work together in a group to come up with all the things that they ‘are’. This would be great for getting them to find things they have in common. We are ‘artists’, ‘musicians’, ‘friends’, ‘listeners’, ‘happy’, ‘sharers’ etc.
Download: I am a …
Visit www.elsa-support.co.uk for more emotional literacy/social skills activities

Feelings hunt

Feelings hunt – this would be a good class activity and also an activity that could be taken home. Give each child a sheet and allow them to go around their class mates asking how they are feeling. Be prepared for noise but it is a good warm up activity and allows the children to learn feelings vocabulary from their class mates. Emphasis that the feelings written down need to be different. They can’t put sad in every cloud. This will encourage the children to think of different feelings rather than just the usual sad, happy. This sheet can also be used at home. The child can be encouraged to ask the question ‘How do you feel?’ to their mums, dads, grans, sisters, brothers etc. The more children talk about feelings and learn new vocabulary and what it means the more emotionally literate they will be.
This activity could be extended once the children have collected their words. Who has got the most words? Are there any words you don’t understand the meaning of? Choose one of the words and write about a time you felt like that? Choose one of the words and draw a picture of yourself with that feeling. Draw a cartoon strip of a time you felt like that. Choose one of the words and write down words around it that mean the same. How many of your words mean the same?
The list is endless of how you could use this activity.
Download Feelings hunt class

Conflict resolution mindmap

For more information check out this link

Emotional literacy support site

My website www.elsa-support.co.uk has been redesigned. If you want any emotional literacy resources then this is the place to go. There is a blog, lots and lots of free resources, Amazon bookstore, parent section, newsletter facility and lots more.
Please check it out and feel free to comment.

Super resource site

I just found this site with loads of free resources.

THE TIMEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER - my daughter's first novel

My daughter has always loved writing even as a small child she had a powerful imagination. Her year five teacher once told her she expected her to end up being a best selling author.

She works as a Research and data analyst in London at present but her dream is to become an author. After finishing her masters degree she spent some time before getting a job writing her first novel and has now published it on Amazon. It is a fantasy fiction aimed at young adults. I loved it when I read it. It is very intelligently written and quite a complex but intriguing storyline. Once I got into it I couldn't put it down. Please consider reading it if you like fantasy stories and commenting and make her dream come true of getting an agent and having it published.


 THE TIMEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
the blue hourglass

Maths site

Click here to visit a brilliant maths site. Lots of generators for making worksheets.

Subtract from 10 connect 4 game

Emotional literacy site

I have added lots to the ELSA support site so please visit and pick up lots of ideas and resources for teaching emotional literacy.

100 square puzzles - make your own

I love this! You can make your own 100 square puzzles.

Click here

Smartie emotion bingo

Click here to download this emotions game. Great for encouraging expression of feelings. Please don't blame me if the children are hyperactive with the smarties!!

Loads of free printable charts

This site is amazing. You must explore!    Free printables

12 week friendship and social skills intervention

I have put together all my planning and resources for this intervention and it is available at a small cost. The first weeks planning is free so you can see if it is something that would suit your school
Please click here to visit the website with details

Children's stress busting techniques and ideas

With the SATS approaching fast it scares me how much stress children are under. I have found some ideas and put together some resources on my ELSA website. Please check them out if you have stressed children in your school.

Phonics SEN intervention Lesson one

I have delivered my first week of this new intervention that I have written and have made changes to the first lesson to take into account all the things encountered.

• Children often reading from right to left (have highlighted the first sound in each word)
• Children not articulating sounds correctly
• Children not blending smoothly
• Children not knowing their phoneme grapheme correspondences automatically

I have decided to put all the sounds that will be worked on over the intervention in this lesson. So there are all the phase 2 and 3 sounds included in this file. Articulation is so important with blending so please look on youtube or the net and find clips of how to say the sounds if you are unsure yourself.

Any feedback gratefully received.

Click here to download the file

Punctuation points

I absolutely love this idea from 'teaching ideas'

Phonics intervention

I have started to write a phonics intervention aimed at just reading. It is aimed at SEN children or children who are falling behind in years one and two. It assumes a knowledge and ability to blend but not blend very well. Feel free to download the first session and please let me know what you think by commenting below. I would love feedback.

Click here for the first session