November 2022

For our November Wellbeing Day we focussed on Art and Anti-bullying week. The children in Year 1 spent some time reflecting on their wellbeing and talking about what makes them feel happy.

We started our day by taking part in some art based activities. The children completed a ‘walk the pencil’ activity which is now the front cover of their sketch books. We then looked at the artist Roy Lichtenstein and his style of pop art paintings to create some self-portraits using felt tips.

During our anti-bullying week assembly, we learnt a great song with some key messages to stand up to bullying. We came up with some positive words and slogans to decorate hands ready for our school display.

In the afternoon we were very lucky to have a Now press Play session. The children were able to experience bullying both in-person and online and deal with peer pressure. This taught them to recognise when bullying is happening both to themselves and to others. The activity has helped to empower them to speak up when they see this happening either at school or at home.

October 2022

For our October Wellbeing Day we focussed on Diversity and Oneness. The children in Year 1 spent some time discussing how everyone in their class is special and unique. They spoke about how children look different and how they have different personalities, likes and dislikes. The children then thought about what makes other children in the class special and gave compliments to each other.

The children looked at diversity within the classroom. We spoke about what languages are spoken at home, about the different faiths they have and what countries their families are from. The children decorated squares to represent themselves which will go towards the individually unique, together complete display.

As we are also celebrating black history month, the children learned about a significant individual. Rosa Parks. The children learned how Parks, as a civil rights activists, brought about a positive change.

The children had the opportunity to experiment with ‘poured paintings’, a style of painting that Sir Frank Bowling, a black artist, used. The children had a lot of fun creating their own piece of abstract art. We finished off our day by making Diwali Coconut Ladoo. It was lovely to see the children exploring different types of food that people eat.

September 2022

For our September Wellbeing Day we focussed on Resilience. The children in Year 1 discussed different types of emotions and how this linked to resilience. We learned about what it is to be resilient and provided children with different strategies that they could use when faced with something that they find challenging.

The first set of activities were all resilience based. We went outside and took part in a hula hoop game where the children had to move the hoop around the circle without letting go of one another’s hands. The children admitted that it was challenging to move the hoop around but we all worked together and continued. We also took part in a trust walk and played musical statues.

We then introduced the children to ‘butterfly breathing’. A strategies that we encourage the children to use to deal with situations that we find difficult. We also suggested some thinking time, alone time and counting to 10. The children coloured and cut their own butterflies to remind them of how the technique of breathing in when the wings are closed and breathing out when they spread.

Other activities includes snakes and ladders, building the tallest tower in a given time and making a paper aeroplane. At the end of the day, we reflected back on the activities and spoke about the challenges that we had faced, our feelings throughout the activities and how we showed resilience.