I will add to this section as and when I find relevant information to help and support your child in your home.
TIP 1:
From experience I know that in our house it really helps if we plan out our days at home so that everyone knows what is going to happen and can therefore prepare themselves. So since Monday we have been using a visual timetable to set out the order of the day. in addition to this visual timetable you could create a to do list of school work activities for the children to tick off as they complete them. At home, we’ve added these to our noticeboard alongside our visual timetable. It might just be me but there is nothing quite like the feeling of ticking off everything you’ve done on a to-do list. (I have been known to write down things I’ve already done just so I can tick them off!)
TIP 2:
Support your child in managing their emotions. Some of the children have been introduced to zones of regulation which very simply means that our emotions can be split into four zones (see the image below). Ideally we want to be in the green zone but sometimes things upset us and we move to the yellow or even the red zone.
How do I use this with my child?
Step 1 is to help your child recognise when they are in each “zone”. You can also model out loud how you are feeling as well e.g. “After my walk I am feeling green as I am calm and happy.” “When you don’t do as I tell you I feel yellow because I feel frustrated.”
Step 2 is to help your child create a “toolkit” of strategies to help them to move back to green. These strategies might be individual to your child and your family circumstances but some ideas might include:
Having a drink of water
Hiding under a blanket/duvet
Counting to 10
Playing with fidget toys
Drawing a picture
Ask to go for a walk or do something active e.g. 10 star jumps