Sample Week 2- Y4:M4:W2
TOPIC
Loss
FOCUS
Play & Loss
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Does play calm me?
Session content
- Following trauma, and loss it can often be more helpful to engage in soothing activities, rather than merely talking about one’s feelings.
- This session is designed to remind children, and school staff, that play (as a therapy) can help massively when they need to deal with some tricky and painful emotions…and to remember that you are never too old to play!
- Discussion:
- Allow children time to think of things that they need in their lives so they can be soothed. Recap that the word ‘soothe‘ means to help someone feel calm and less upset.
- Remind them of previous sessions in CORE MH that have focused on soothing:
- For example…:
- the self-soothe box they created in Year 1,
- the soothing image they focused on in Project Soothe in Reception and Year 1,
- the experiments with self-soothing their mind and body in Year 3.
- N.B. If this is your first year of accessing the CORE MH Curriculum though, they will not have covered the above activities.
- In KS2, there are often less opportunities for children to play, but this session is aimed at reminding children that play can help massively when they need to deal with some tricky and painful feelings.
- Ask children what comes to mind for them when you say the word ‘play’.
- Collect their ideas, which might be things like: it’s for young children, it’s messy, it’s to relax, it’s being creative etc.
- Then write in big letters on the board: YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO PLAY! and see how they react.
Task 1: Benefits of play?
- Ask them what they think the benefits of play are and allow them time to talk about this in pairs/groups.
- Ask them to contribute any ideas (if they want to) and then explain how play helps the brain and body by:
- Releasing ‘happy chemicals’ in the brain, like dopamine.
- Helping us feel calm and in control when emotions feel ‘too big’.
- Improving problem-solving skills, creativity, and teamwork.
Task 2: Animals playing
- Play the clip below of an animal playing (Boris); click on ‘full screen’ to show to the class, and ask them to think about what we can learn from animals about how to play. Do they know the type of animal in the clip? (Boris the ferret). Click on ‘full screen’ to show to the class:
Task 3: Playing/experimenting! This is a quick experiment so at the end children can answer the question: Does play calm me?
- Have some resources available on tables for them to play with for about 10 minutes in a way that feels helpful for them:
- Here are some examples for you to get ideas from (but please use resources that you have readily available:
- Table 1: experimenting with tactile experiences like: play dough, sand, pebbles, a tray of gloop (cornflour mixed with a little water), cotton wool, chalk (or pastels) and paper.
- Table 2: mini-building challenges using small construction toys like Lego, Jenga or blocks to build something/a tower, or paper to make paper aeroplanes.
- Table 3: Mindful puzzles, cups to stack and knock over.
- Table 4: Creative play using art and craft materials.
- Carpet area:
- Imaginative play: Provide simple dress-up items or props (e.g., hats, scarves).
- Energetic challenges like having a bin and some screwed-up newspaper as a ‘ball’ to aim to throw into a bin. Turn this into a target game where they score points, or have a mini relay race tossing the ball back and forth.
- Outdoor area? Pavement chalk, balloon challenge (keep it up in the air), blowing bubbles with mixture and wands.
- After 10 minutes of play, discuss how each type of play made them feel and which type they preferred and why.
- Do not pressure but ask if any of the playful activities calmed them or not.
- Perhaps ask them to put:
- Their thumb up= play calmed me,
- thumb down=play did not calm me,
- thumb to the side=I am not sure if play calmed me.
- I wonder if you’ve learn anything about the children in your class? 🙂
- Ask each child to put a counter in the SAPs (self-assessment pots) to show if they have achieved the LO and record results.
Related PSHE Programmes of Study
- 2H16
- 2H20