Being With Our Feelings - A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children: A Teaching Toolkit

To get the full Being With Our Feelings experience, this book can be purchased alongside the storybooks. All books can be purchased together as a set, Being With Our Feelings: Guidebook and Four Storybooks Set

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.

Table of Contents

PART 1 - About being with our Feelings (BWOF)

• What is it all about?
• The BWOF approach
• Outcomes of the BWOF approach
• Using the BWOF toolkit
• My BWOF story - the inspiration
• How our feelings keep us well
• The BWOF approach to listening
• Being trauma wise
• Some BWOF FAQs - your questions answered.

PART 2 - Activities & Resources

Keys 1 & 2 (YEAR 3)

• Teaching and Exploring Key 1 - We let our feelings flow and move
• Teaching and Exploring Key 2 - Feelings change, they come and they go
• Applying Keys 1 & 2 using I Don’t Want To Be Me!
• Reviewing and Self-Evaluating Keys 1 & 2

Keys 3 & 4 (YEAR 4)

• Teaching and Exploring Key 3 - Being With All Our Feelings is Brave
• Teaching and Exploring Key 4 - All Our Feelings Are Welcome
• Applying Keys 3 & 4 using The Red String
• Reviewing and Self-Evaluating Keys 3 & 4

Keys 5 & 6 (YEAR 5)

• Teaching and Exploring Key 5 - We Show Kindness Towards Our Feelings
• Teaching and Exploring Key 6 - Our Feelings Don’t Need A Reason To Be Here
• Applying Keys 5 & 6 using I Just Can’t Decide
• Reviewing and Self-Evaluating Keys 5 & 6

Key 7, all 7 Keys & transition (YEAR 6)

• Teaching and Exploring Key 7 - Our Feelings Don’t Need To Be Fixed
• Applying Key 7 and all 7 Keys using What If All The Trees Blow Away?
• Reviewing and Self-Evaluating Key 7, Keys 1 - 6 and Transition

Integrating BWOF Across the School Community

• The classroom
• Playground and lunchtimes
• Parent communication/relationships
• Staff meetings and training days
• Special assemblies

PART 3 - More Photocopiable Resources

1. The 7 Keys
2. The BWOF questions for mindful embodiment
3. First Aid Box of Mantras
4. Feeling Cards
5. Blank cards
6. Word Banks
7. Door Signs/Posters
8. Badges
9. Useful Phrases

10. Feeling Bubble

11. I Am Feeling…

12. The Creativity Explorers

13. TEARS structure

14. Blank TEAR

15. Language Swaps

16. Meditations

PART 4 - Appendix

• Getting support and keeping in touch
• Recommended reading and links

"An astounding, sympathetic and empathetic guide to children's emotional health and wellbeing which surely must find a place in every school… It’s just brilliant."
- 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 to how we relate to ourselves and our emotions… a magnificent resource."
- Lorna Walker, Wellbeing Writer for BBC, Senior Teacher at Youth Mindfulness, Founder of Compassionate System.