Dear Parents / Carers
Please find below this week’s Weekly Update. We hope you are all keeping safe and well.
This Week – We have been planting sunflowers. We have also restarted our forest school activities and have some great ideas from Amanda below. We have been busy making light sabres, doing jigsaws and lots of colouring. We have continued to ensure that all the children are happy and are having fun!
Next week – Next week we will be having lots of free flow sessions and these will be based on what the children would like to do, this is to ensure they are happy and well.
Reassurance – Since returning to the Playhouse Lucy has found some of the children have spoken about coronavirus and how they want to go out and play with their friends. Please find some ideas on how to reassure your child and reduce some of the anxiety they are feeling at the moment.
It’s normal for children and young people to feel worried or anxious at the moment. We’ve all experienced sudden changes in our lives and routines – and we’re living with lots of uncertainty about the coming weeks and months. For some young children & young people, the coronavirus pandemic may also worsen or trigger anxieties they were already struggling with. Here are five things you can do to support your child:
- Talk to them about what’s going on. Find out how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking about, let them know it’s okay to feel scared or unsure, and try to answer their questions and reassure them in an age appropriate manner. Remember, you do not need to know all the answers, but talking things through can help them feel calmer.
- Help them to reflect on how they’re feeling and encourage them to think about the things they can do to make them feel safer and less worried.
- Reassure them that this will pass, you’re there for them, and you will get through this together.
- Spend time doing a positive activity with your child (such as reading, playing, painting or cooking) to help reassure them and reduce their anxiety. This is also a great way of providing a space for them to talk through their concerns, without having a ‘big chat’.
- Keep as many regular routines as possible, so that your child feels safe and that things are stable.
While We Can’t hug – We know it’s very difficult at the moment as we just want to hug all the people we just can’t hug at the moment. Here are three very short, but great stories, The Hug, The Hug and While We Can’t Hug. The last one has just been written for these times and shares lots of other ways to show someone we love and care for them. The Hug & While We Can’t Hug by Eoin McLaughlin: https://youtu.be/mzERzTa74lo
Tapestry Activities – Rachel has added some activities on Tapestry for you this week: one is ‘getting dressed’ and helping to build on your child’s independence skills. The other is based on sharing feelings and for your child to make their own happy box. Their box can be filled with items that make them feel happy and help them to speak about their feelings.
Playhouse Spare Clothes – We have sent home a lot of spare clothes recently with the children not bringing in their own bags. Please can you return any spare clothes to the Playhouse as a matter of urgency, we are now running low.
Forest School – This week our Forest school is all about Den building .. inside and out. Why not create a cave, den, fort or castle using items around the house like sheets, blankets and cushions. Your child could then have lots of fun inside: they can decorate it with lights, can play in there with torches, take in their colouring and reading, explore role play all inside their own magical space! Take a look on Tapestry, there are pictures to give you a few ideas, just in case you need them.
End of Year DVD – We will be compiling a DVD before the end of the school year. We are working on it now and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready.
Have a lovely weekend, stay safe and well!
Kind regards
The Playhouse Team