To teachers – Would you like the children in your classroom to be able to focus and concentrate on what you are teaching them?

October 15, 2018 by

Our book called Refocusing and Calming activities (Module 1) for children could help you?

If you use the activities that we offer in your classroom, as part of your daily routine, then your students will have a better chance of being more receptive to learning.

Here are some of the ways that you might use them.

INTEGRATED INTO CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

The exercises and techniques offered in the book can be integrated into classroom activities for the benefit of all children.

For example, at the beginning of the day or after lunch break when children’s energy may be scattered and unsettled, one of the following could be used:
Breathing Out Feelings – Activities 1.3, 1.7 or 1.9
Deep Breathing for Relaxation and Balancing – Activities 1.2, 1.4,
1.5, 1.8 or 1.10.
This can help to create a calmer, more peaceful classroom atmosphere, where the children are more receptive to learning.

DAILY ROUTINE – It may be beneficial to build in deep breathing exercises as part of a daily routine. For example first thing in the morning to help children oxygenate their bodies and to help them to
begin the day in a calm, relaxed state.

TIME OUT – Children could be taught to recognize when their own emotional energy is building up in their body (using the Body Awareness Activities in Module 2). They can them be given an opportunity to choose time out for a relaxation, and taking deep breaths followed by an art or a journal writing activity to help them express their feelings.
(See Module 5 for creative expression activities).
This could be combined with a debriefing session with the school counselor or a trained teacher aide.

A ‘CALM DOWN CORNER’ – A space could be created in the classroom, where children have access to pillows or cushions, relaxing music, art resources and their own journals. These resources can be used to help children to express their feelings as the need arises.
This corner provides children with the opportunity of expressing their feelings in a safe space, and helps them to change to a calmer more peaceful emotional energy state. For more information, see Appendix A.

Please go to our website to order this book

www.rainbowplanetconnection.com

 

 

 

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Imagine this! Children who are calm, relaxed and receptive to learning

September 14, 2018 by

At the Rainbow Planet Connection we are here to help you as a teacher, child counsellor or parent!

We realize that many children can exhibit restlessness and lack of concentration.

It’s difficult to either teach or parent children when they are  not receptive.

If we can teach children to relax and be able to put themselves into a much calmer state then we will be in a much better position to help them with both learning and behaviour.

I would like to introduce you to our first E-book on ‘Refocusing and calming activities for children.

Please read below:


There is a lot of wisdom in the old saying, ‘TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS’.

This Module has been developed to help children to refocus and calm their energy using breathing exercises. It helps them to become more aware of their breathing patterns and teaches them how to breathe in a deeper more relaxed way. Encouraging full, deep breaths can also be a powerful way to promote release of the energy linked in with feelings, which are locked in the body. It can help to set the energy in motion (e-motion).

Many adults and children, only breathe into the top part of their chest. Shallow breathing is one of the body’s ways of controlling and suppressing emotions and excitement.

Feelings of grief, sadness and fear are often held in the chest. Some of the exercises also teach them how to release pent up emotions using breathing techniques.

Benefits of Refocusing and Calming Activities
Benefits of the activities in this Module include helping children to:
  • Develop an awareness of their breathing, and how it affects their energy and emotional state.
  • Learn how to release pent up emotional energy by breathing it out, using visualization exercises.
  • Learn how to use deep breathing for refocusing, calming and balancing their energy.
  • Use deep breathing techniques so that they are more receptive to learning, more focused and less scattered.
  • Be aware of how feelings such as anxiety and fear can cause shallow breathing and how peaceful, calm and more relaxed feelings are linked with deeper breathing.
  • Understand how breathing is affected by external situations and experiences, including environmental factors and other people’s emotions

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT PLEASE CONTACT US VIA OUR WEBSITE OR YOU CAN ORDER COPIES OF OUR E-BOOK 1 ‘REFOCUSING AND CALMING ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN’

http://rainbowplanetconnection.com/products/module-one-refocusing-and-calming-activities-for-children/

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Tips for Parents – can your child’s after-school behaviour be challenging?

October 15, 2013 by

Is your child’s behaviour difficult to manage when you have just picked them up from school?

Your child has been at school all day interacting with other children. Some of these interactions are positive and healthy but others can be challenging and difficult for your child.rainbow planet 000016799650

Is it any wonder that when they have just finished school they can be a little bit difficult!? They have been exposed to other children’s emotions all day!

Many children have issues with bullying, friendships, being ostracised and other challenges with social interactions in the classroom and the playground. I know my daughter did when she was at school!

As a parent you may at times feel helpless as to how you can help your child deal with these issues. The best thing you can do is teach them social and emotional intelligence skills. This will help them to cope much better as they interact with the world in general.

We at the Rainbow Planet Connection offer a range of activities and resources that are designed to help you as a parent to teach your children these skills.

Our resources and training programs have been developed by professionals to promote emotional and social well-being in children. They are based on the creative expression of feelings through the use of art, drama, role-play, creative writing and more.

These activities are designed to develop the right-hand creative side of the brain. I feel that this has a low profile in some schools and should be given more emphasis. Rainbow Planet Connection’s programs encourage children to look inwards to see how they are dealing with their own feelings and how they are coping with the world around them.

cards1One of our resources that is especially popular with both parents and teachers is a lovely colourful set of 32 feelings cards. These have many uses in a variety of situations; for example when your child first gets home from school.

Just ask them to pick a card that best explains how they are feeling. This will help you understand how this might be affecting their behaviour. They may for instance pick ‘sad’. If you encourage them to talk about this, they may say that they are not friends with someone in their class anymore.

Then you can ask them to pick another card that expresses how they would like to feel. Perhaps they will pick ‘happy’. Then you can ask ‘What can you do to make yourself feel happier?’

An extension of this exercise is to encourage your child to sit down quietly with paper and crayons and draw a picture of how they feel or how they would like to feel. You would be amazed at how therapeutic this is for your children. A calmer happier child benefits you as a parent and makes your life easier! All our books have art extension activities.

girls in sand
Many children haven’t been taught skills for coping and responding to life and how to manage their own emotions in healthy ways.

Now you as a parent can help them to develop these skills!

Comments from other people who have used Rainbow Planet Connection’s products with children.

Module 5 – Exploring and Expressing Feelings Book plus Colourful Card Set provides a rich resource of ideas that encourages children (and adults) to become more deeply aware of their feelings and the workings of their bodies.
It is equally valuable for the group leader/facilitator working with children as it is for a parent with their own child. This resource is full of lists, instructions and step-by-step planning to accomplish the activities. It also comes with 32 feelings cards and a booklet with ideas for using them.

“I recommend these cards for teachers, counsellors, people who run workshops and most importantly for families to use on a daily basis.”

More testimonials.

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Should children start school later?

October 9, 2013 by

British academics and teachers have highlighted the need to learn through play in an article in The Guardian on 12 Children drawingSeptember 2013 and called for a later start to formal schooling. Do you agree?

They wrote a letter to Michael Gove (UK Secretary of State) to demand that children be allowed to learn through play and to call for a delay the start of formal teaching and testing.

The letter says:
Very few countries have a school starting age as young as four, as we do in England. Children who enter school at six or seven – after several years of high-quality nursery education – consistently achieve better educational results as well as higher levels of well-being.

One of the signatories, Cambridge researcher David Whitebread, explains why children may need more time to develop before their formal education begins in earnest. I was delighted when I came across this article. I have felt for a long time that children need to play and have fun before we put too much pressure on them to be successful academically.

As a school psychologist I have seen many young children who had emotional and social issues which needed to be addressed before they could be receptive to learning. Allowing them to play and have fun whilst learning these social and emotional well-being skills provides them with a great foundation for the rest of their lives.

Happy child with painted handsWith this in mind I created Rainbow Planet Connection several years ago which offers resources and training for teachers, parents and other professionals in this area.

Our philosophy is that EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING are now being recognized as key factors in helping children to develop in a much healthier way, where they feel happier about themselves and are more likely to be successful in learning.

The programs and resources developed by The Rainbow Planet Connection are based on:

  • Teaching and encouraging children to be responsible for their own energy and emotional state.
  • Teaching children how to express their feelings in a fun, creative way using Art, Drama, Movement, Music, Story Telling and other creative activities.
  • Encouraging children to express their feelings, without being embarrassed or ashamed of them, and without blaming or hurting others in the process.
  • Teaching children to communicate and interact with others in more responsible, caring ways.

Dr. Maurice Elias, a leading child psychologist, researcher and expert on SEL from Rutgers University says:

“Emotional well-being is “dramatically and positively predictive not only of academic achievement, but also of satisfactory and productive experiences in the world of work and marriage, even of better physical health.”

The Montessori and Steiner schools have for many years adopted the philosophy that a child is better left until the age of seven before they are taught more academic subjects as outlined below. Waldorf (Steiner) pedagogy distinguishes three broad stages in child development, each lasting approximately seven years.

The early years education focuses on providing practical, hands-on activities and environments that encourage creative play. In the elementary school, the emphasis is on developing pupils’ artistic expression and social capacities, fostering both creative and analytical modes of understanding.

For more information about Rainbow Planet Connection’s online training, kid’s activities and workbooks, please visit our website and read our testimonials about other people’s experiences using our resources.

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