It’s Children’s Mental Health Week next week, and it’s more important than ever this year.
With several lockdowns, social distancing measures, ever-changing coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines and prolonged absences from school having such a detrimental affect on the mental health and wellbeing of children, this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week has a particular resonance.
And so former primary school teacher Laura Steele – of education experts PlanBee – has gathered together week’s worth of fantastic free resources all in one downloadable pack for parents / carers / guardians to use during the homeschooling day to help children explore their mental health.
Each activity aims to give kids the tools to express their thoughts and feelings in a way they have never been able to achieve before.
These posters aim to help your child understand some of the physical sensations that accompany different feelings.
By exploring and discussing the vocabulary on each poster, you could ask children – Do you know what this word means? Have you ever felt like this? What made you feel this way? Could you add any more words to either of the posters?
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Older children may find the Synonym Booklet of Emotions more useful to expand their vocabulary and help them to better express themselves.
Use these 16 feelings and emotions cards to develop discussion around a range of different feelings with the questions below each emoji. If your children cannot think of an example, you could describe and explain a time when you felt this way.
They could also be asked whether each of the cards represent a ‘warm fuzzy’ or a ‘cold prickly’ feeling, picking up on yesterday’s discussions.
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You could then challenge your child to use the Design Your Own Emotion Emojis sheet to create their own versions, and encourage them to think about their personal experience of each emotion, and think carefully about the shape, colour, size and facial expression they choose.
Wednesday’s resource focuses on a specific feeling – worry, or anxiety.
Tell your child that everyone experiences this feeling sometimes, and more often than not, acknowledging and talking about the reasons why you are worried or anxious can help you to feel better. These Worry Monster Activity Sheets can help your children to voice, and then deal with, any anxieties they may have.
Anger and frustration can be difficult emotions for anyone to deal with, not least children, so these posters offer a range of techniques that can be used almost anywhere, in any situation.
The first four posters (The Calm Down Cake, The Slow Down Star, The Slow Down Square and the Helping Hand) direct children to focus on their breathing, using an image to help them do this. Discuss and practise the techniques together, first with and then without the posters in front of them, so children realise that these strategies can be successful using only their imagination if needed.
The final poster in the pack (5…4…3…2…1), may be more suitable for older children, as they are directed to use all of their senses to focus and calm the mind, and they can do this for the actual environment they are in, or an imagined one, such as a park, a beach or a forest.
The mental benefits of meditation are now widely recognised – for children as well as adults.
Research has shown that short, regular meditation sessions can have a positive effect on children’s attention, focus, self-awareness, and their management of thoughts and feelings, so this Guide Sheet is a simple, easy introduction to meditation, with step-by-step instructions to follow.
Try a short session with your child and ask them how they feel afterwards.
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You could try to add a session like this into your daily routine, and see what effect it has over time on your child’s emotional wellbeing.
A person with a fixed mindset feels that they have no control over their abilities or problems they may face, but someone with a growth mindset knows that they can improve their abilities and overcome difficulties if they persevere and are patient with themselves.
Discuss these differences with your child, and look at the poster for examples of each type of mindset.
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What type of mindset does your child think they have, and why? Why might it be better to have a growth mindset?
Children could use the blank poster provided to write their own personal examples of statements they made when they felt they had a fixed mindset, and how they could turn this around into a growth mindset statement.
You can end the week on a positive note with this activity, where children are encouraged to think about all the different aspects of their life that they are thankful for.
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A blank template is included for children to record these thoughts.
The I am Lucky Because… activity sheet may be more suitable for younger children, where they are encouraged to think about and complete the sentences, ‘I am lucky because I can…’, ‘I am lucky because I am’… and ‘I am lucky because I have…’.
You can download Plan Bee’s Children’s Mental Health Week activity pack for FREE here.
What's On
Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets
Danny Jones
Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.
First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.
This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.
Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.
Credit: Concept Image (supplied)
So how does it work?
Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.
Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?
The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.
Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –
The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.
Credit: Supplied
Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester
If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.
The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.
Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.
Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.
Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic
Greg James
Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End making it one of only three musicals ever to achieve that monumental milestone – and now it’s visiting us here in Manchester.
“Oh Bright New Day”, Blood Brothers has just landed back at the Palace Theatre. This musical written by Willy Russell is a British piece of theatre that is a staple in the musical theatre tapestry of our country.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with this iconic story, it is an emotional tale of two twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with the most fateful of consequences.
The story’s central character, Mrs Johnston is the linchpin in this whole story and carries us through the show.
This role has been played by many superb women over the years including Mel C, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and nearly all of the Nolan Sisters. This time, Mrs Johnston is performed by Vivienne Carlyle who provides a lovely maternal performance.
The other two lead roles are Mickey and Eddie, played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight respectively.
These are really complex roles to play as the actors have to portray the characters from early school years to grown adults.
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack MerrimanSean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones has been playing the role of Mickey now for nearly 25 years and so he is no stranger to this character. And I must say, he still fantastically plays the part, even when playing young Mickey, and the show really takes off when he enters the stage.
Joe Sleight is someone who I had not seen in the role of Eddie before and he gave just as strong a performance as Jones. He offered a real contrast to his counterpart with a really beautiful, touching performance.
The whole ensemble did a gorgeous job of helping to carry these characters throughout the musical, showing a real flair for multi-roling and beautiful musicality in the group numbers too.
Something which elevates this already gripping story though is the music. There are many recurring musical motifs throughout the show that on the surface may come off as repetitive but they offer perspective on how things can evolve and change over time.
Of course the song though that everybody is perhaps familiar with is the power ballad, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’. This is the climax of the show and what a climax it is. There’s not a dry eye in the house when we reach this point of the story, I can assure you!
So, whether you are returning to watch this show again, perhaps know the story from studying it in English GCSE or seeing it for the first time, it will always be an absolutely timeless classic.
Blood Brothers is on at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 30 November. Tickets are available HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2021 
