My Transition Activities

Two weeks ago, I had 'Move Up Morning' with my Year 4 class. Next Monday and Tuesday I also have the pleasure of being with them just prior to the summer holidays. Having two and a half days of 'transition' to plan is an incredibly exciting yet open-ended task. Much like all other areas of education,…

Mindfulness and Meditation – Teaching Pupils Wellbeing Techniques

Let's get one thing straight: the children's health and wellbeing are paramount. If they leave my class at the end of the day smiling and content, that's a win. There's always another chance to practise multiplying pairs of fractions, to use apostrophes correctly or to improve that painting technique...but they should never pass up the…

The Teacher Who Stole Christmas

It will come as a shock to many but I had a brief period of scrooge-ness recently. Yes, me! The teacher who unashamedly wore a 3D reindeer jumper to school. The teacher who allowed the children to throw up all sorts of questionable festive decorations around the classroom with reckless abandon. The teacher who refused…

Seeing Beyond The Behaviour

It's all too easy to reprimand a child for 'bad behaviour' and just move on. Trust me, I've done it far too many times myself and have never felt comfortable with it afterwards. I may have scolded their choices but have I actually resolved the trigger that causes such behaviour? Having reflected recently, I'm attempting…

My Full Time Marigold

Like a savoury scone, I've struggled to ensure this blog doesn't teeter into the realms of 'too cheesy' for all of you. Although, to be honest, in my world there's no such thing as a savoury meal with too much cheese. Nevertheless, I've tried to tone down the potentially overwhelming sentimentality of this blog. I've…

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

I’ve just completed a two-day course on delivering mental health first aid for young people and am now technically qualified as a youth mental health first aider. Hoorah! The course included coverage of a variety of mental ill health conditions including anxiety, depression, psychosis, self-harm, suicide and eating disorders and provided us with strategies to…