Being With Our Feelings - A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children: A Teaching Toolkit PDF
Preview Being With Our Feelings - A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children: A Teaching Toolkit
Praise for Being With Our Feelings . . . “I am utterly taken aback. It’s just brilliant. Anita Kate Garai has written an astounding, sympathetic and empathetic guide to children’s emotional health and wellbeing which surely must find a place in every school. If you place a priority upon mental health and the children’s emotional development, upon an understanding of their own and other’s feelings and upon growing their ability to self regulate, this is a worthy investment. Drawing upon her rich personal and professional experience, Anita provides four stories focussing on feelings, accessible for children to read to themselves or to hear, share and read aloud. Each storybook sits well on its own. Beautifully illustrated, I was particularly taken with The Red String which will resonate with any young person who has ever felt a build up of emotion or worry, but found expressing it or releasing it a challenge without support. In addition, is the extensive guidance and resources to support the use of the books in class. This is not an ‘off the shelf’ instant resource; it has emotional intelligence at its heart. Take your time, and Being With Our Feelings will make a huge difference in supporting the emotional health of our children.” Andrew Cowley, Wellbeing Speaker and Writer, author of ‘The Wellbeing Toolkit’ and ‘The Wellbeing Curriculum’ “At a time when wellbeing has never been more important, Anita Kate Garai has created a comprehensive and heartfelt guide to embedding practices of awareness, kindness and reflection, and to how we relate to ourselves and our emotions. Her Seven Keys of Being With Our Feelings is a beautiful offering to all, regardless of age. The beautiful picture books are to be read and enjoyed, but more importantly to be brought to life, to be practised and embodied. A really insightful creation with the potential to transform our relationships to each other and ourselves. A magnificent resource!” Lorna Walker, Wellbeing Writer for BBC, Senior Teacher at Youth Mindfulness, Founder of Compassionate System “I love these books! A wonderful toolkit that is a must-have for schools looking to improve their emotional literacy and working with children on how to accept and manage their emotions. Lots of high-quality resources and wonderful literature. The stories and illustrations are just beautiful. I’d recommend Being With Our Feelings to all schools. It just makes good sense.” Penny Whelan, Assistant Head and SENCO, Luton “At long last, emotional wellbeing is finally receiving the level of attention it deserves. Being With Our Feelings crucially teaches a way for all children’s feelings to be acknowledged and is set to become an important resource for all staff at all levels. This book is an essential tool in any teacher’s tool box. It encourages thinking from the point of validating one’s own feelings and gives creative and thoughtful strategies for moving forwards. Anita writes highly empathetically, in a way that reflects her 25+ years of extensive knowledge, skills and experience to back up her work. Her writing is always engaging, whilst managing to be clear, simple and to the point. As a former Primary School Headteacher, Advisor and Consultant to schools, I would not hesitate to ensure that schools and staff had access to this material and used it! Being With Our Feelings presents a mind-opening ideology on emotional wellbeing in schools, which could make an enormous difference to the future of our education, our teachers and our children. Highly recommended.” Diane McHarg, Former Headteacher, Senior Advisor to Brent Education Authority (London) and Educational Consultant for Headteachers “This is a true guide in how to accept feelings and emotions, and work with them. The toolkit is very readable and takes you clearly through the BWOF approach. The structure is clear and explicit, guiding you through the progression with useful and explicit links to the curriculum. There are excellent practical activities to develop awareness, for both children and adults alike. The support of exercises and resources facilitate the Being With Our Feelings approach being integrated into schools, so that we can support our children emotionally, with understanding and compassion. Reading this has been a great CPD session for me – mindfulness is very close to my heart. Many thanks.” Chris Dyson, Head Teacher Parklands Primary School, National Leader of Education “Being With Our Feelings is an easy-to-read, highly engaging and go-to resource, that offers out quickly digestible advice. The four stories are beautiful and so true to the heart. Anita Kate offers us an ideology that is unique in its simplicity, straightforwardness and accessibility, with a clear framework for mindfully exploring the emotional experiences of children and young people. The structure, and activities she provides, allows children to be active agents in their own emotional wellbeing. Anita writes with honesty and intelligence, showing skill and extensive experience in the field, and at no time do her words come across as preaching or patronising. One of the great appeals of this resource and what sets it apart from others, is that it teaches a mindful approach to emotional discomfort, dealing with difficult feelings like anxiety and anger in an accessible, embodied and non-judgemental way. This resource gives me hope that one day our educational system and our world, will be a more mindful, kinder and less anxious place.” Emma Whewell, FS Lead, Shepherds Down Special School. Special & Teen Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher “There is a great need for this resource. The distinction of being with your feelings, as opposed to seeing them as something to be fixed, is an incredibly important and highly welcome approach. As one reads, we are reassured by Anita Kate’s authority in her field. We can feel her extensive education, training, research, her cross curricular skill set, and her creative and therapeutic experience – both personally and professionally. I love the way the four rhyming stories are written with a strong youth voice element running through, which makes them feel unique and very honest. I will definitely be using Being With Our Feelings extensively in my work and recommend others to do so too.” Sharon Mee, Creativity and Wellbeing in Education Developer, CEO and Founder of Artpod and Melting Pot – Arts and Wellbeing in Education, Sussex and South East “Reading these books makes troubling feelings more relatable and ‘normal.’ As adults, we sometimes forget what it was like to experience these feelings for the first time and the isolation that can bring. Being With Our Feelings reminds us all, that it is okay to feel the things we feel. Teachers, parents and other carers will find them a very useful tool to help children open up to them.” Sally Mofrad, Education and Wellbeing Child Care Worker “Never more needed than now! Being With Our Feelings is an extremely comprehensive resource to support the development of emotionally literate children and adults. The TEARS framework provides a thorough approach which can easily be implemented in any educational setting, well supported by a variety of resources and practical activities. LOVE the raps, the guided meditations and gender-neutral characters in the stories. Fabulous for any school!” Gaynor Price, SEMH Advisory Teacher, City of Birmingham School Being With Our Feelings – A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children: A Teaching Toolkit A vital resource, full of practical advice for developing and nurturing children’s emotional, mental and physical wellbeing, this toolkit offers a range of easily implementable, creative options to teach young people how to be with their feelings, themselves and each other with acceptance, kindness and compassion. Using storytelling, movement, drama, art, spoken word, guided meditations and providing plenty of photocopiable and visual aids, the Being With Our Feelings toolkit is a must-have resource for ensuring a mindful, embodied approach to wellbeing. Centred around the teaching of seven key principles carefully designed to develop healthy relationships with our feelings, this toolkit provides a comprehensive and progressive framework (suggested for Years 3–6), as well as the flexibility to suit the needs of any school, group or individual, Each key is unpacked through a main teaching activity with clear teaching points, followed by mindful reflections, creative explorations and opportunities to apply learning using the accompanying storybooks. With opportunities for assessing understanding and progression throughout, this toolkit follows a TEARS structure – teaching and exploring, applying, reviewing and self-evaluating. Being With Our Feelings encourages: • increased emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing • more conscious behaviour, reduced bullying and healthier relationships • greater compassion, empathy and kindness • an understanding of integrity and values • a diverse feelings culture • an established feelings language • a space for freedom and creativity of expression including using imagery, sound and movement • all-inclusive wellbeing rituals and routines that embody the energy and sensation of feelings. Whether you are a teacher or school leader looking to develop your wellbeing curriculum or a caring adult looking to help children to be with all their feelings in a healthy way, this accessible book will enable you to support children’s enhanced development through a greater sense of self-worth and acceptance. Anita Kate Garai is a teacher, writer and mindful wellbeing consultant. www.beingwithourfeelings.com @beingwithourfeelings @AnitaKateG Being With Our Feelings – A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children A Teaching Toolkit Anita Kate Garai Illustrations by Pip Williams Cover image credit: © Liz Tui Morris, www.bolster.co.nz First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Anita Kate Garai Illustrations © 2022 Pip Williams Logo and ‘bubbles’ design © 2022 Liz Tui Morris, www.bolster.co.nz The right of Anita Kate Garai to be identified as author, and Pip Williams to be identified as illustrator of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the purchasing institution to photocopy pages which bear the photocopy icon and copyright line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-032-23327-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-27683-8 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003276838 Typeset in DIN Pro by Apex CoVantage, LLC To all our feelings and our courage to be with them ix
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