How to stop worrying and negative thoughts in 4 simple steps.

This analogy is one of my favourite ways to explain what anxiety/ worrying can feel like. The article above also gives 4 easy steps to use to train yourself to come out ( and stay out!) of the washing machine full of worries, negative thoughts and anxiety. Anxiety is part of a vast range of feelings we can all experience in our lives. When everything is well balanced, anxiety is actually a way to keep us safe and avoid taking unnecessary risks. It is an emotion that alerts us to danger. However, when anxiety and worry stop us to be content, happy, sociable then it is a bit like being stuck in a washing machine : very unpleasant! Children, teenagers, adults can all experience an overwhelming sense of worry and anxiety which, in turn, can affect one’s behaviour and self-esteem.

At Howard Primary we are very mindful in the way we teach children about feelings and how to detect overpowering emotions. We use a program called Zones of Regulation which teaches children how to put together a range of tools to support a good , healthy emotional balance.

One of the tools we practise is called mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the ability to know what’s happening in your head at any given moment without getting carried away by it. Mindfulness activities help us to:

• pay attention to the feelings we have
• process those feelings
• respond to the feelings in a controlled way

The video below goes through a range of benefits of mindfulness. In my next post I will talk about how we can pay attention to the feelings we have.

Feel free to comment or to contact me on : sdalziopolling.306@lgflmail.org

Attention Bucket is a very useful programme to develop attention skills.

You can follow the programme as follows:

1. Decide on the rules you want your child to follow e.g. 1. Stay seated OR 1.You can get up from the chair 2. You can not touch the screen 3. You have to watch the whole video 
2. Watch videos in order so start from Level 1 
3. You will see in the videos that clearing up is part of the programme. The intention is to help the children understanding the concepts of ‘Finished’ and ‘Next’.
4. Enjoy!

The first video highlights useful strategies behind the programme:

These are a selection of Level 1 and 2 sessions for you to watch with your child:

How many times do you try to get your child’s attention to no avail? How many times do you have a conversation with a teacher about a child who is unable to manage distractions?

Attention skills are necessary for all sort of tasks and activities and are part of communication and social skills too.

At Howard Primary we talk about attention skills as follow:

• Sustained Attention. The ability to attend to a task for extended periods of time without losing focus or concentration.
• Selective Attention. The ability to focus and concentrate on a task even when distractions are present.
• Divided Attention. The ability to divide focus between two tasks and complete them simultaneously.
• Alternating Attention. The ability to shift focus from one task another efficiently and effectively.

When children join Reception, we work on attention skills using a programme called Attention Bucket. It was originally designed by Gena Davies for children on the autistic spectrum. However, it has been adapted for children in mainstream school such as Howard Primary. In yr1 and yr2 we work in small groups on Attention Bucket.

There are 4 levels :

• Stage 1: Attention bucket (to focus attention)
• Stage 2: Attention builder (to sustain attention)
• Stage 3: Interactive game (to shift attention)
• Stage 4: Individual activities (to focus and sustain attention in a group, then transition shifting attention to individual activity and then refocus on the group

Have a look at the video with the amazing Gena Davies explaining what the programme is all about in the context of developing attention in children on the autistic spectrum. The main ideas are applicable to a mainstream setting too.

Then have a look at Stage 1 and 2 Easter Theme video. It is a lot of fun, children love it!

I will be posting more videos so you can do Attention Bucket at home. No props needed. Just sit with your child and watch the video. Please decide the rules you want to follow and talk them through with your child: for example : 1. we can stand up from the chair 2. we can not touch the screen 3. we have to wait till the video is over before we leave the room

Please don’t be shy! If you have any questions you can contact me on : sdalziopolling.306@lgflmail.org