Feelings Mountains

I work with a class of children aged 7-8 whose class teacher has left the school to take up a new post this week. The vacancy has not yet been filled. The learning support assistant in their class who was on lots of children's networks has just gone on maternity leave. Many children in there have huge challenges at home and now also feel unsafe at school, faced with new supply teachers each day. Staff are supporting the class through the transition. I had the huge pleasure of working in their class yesterday morning spending time with small groups of children doing PBs.

Using an idea taken from "Protective Behaviours - Activities for Teaching Protective Behaviours in Schools" by Jodie Bodsworth, Anna Carter and Simon Sneath (Speechmark 2005), the children made 'Feelings Mountains' on A2 paper. Creating a bountiful array of 'f' words written on sticky labels describing photos they used as a stimulus, the children worked peacefully and co-operatively, developing their mountains collaboratively. A child who has never attended school until 6 weeks ago, and cannot read or write was able to tell me her 'f' words. I wrote them on labels and she drew a corresponding face next to the word. A child who has done a lot of PB work wrote a label to describe the photo of two little sisters who are smiling: "sath" (safe). Describing a baby with an adult who is looking lovingly at the baby, a child described the baby as feeling "cared for". For the little girl licking the frog, a child described her as feeling "licky".

Hope the children had as much fun making the mountains as I did watching them.

More wonderful work! I wish I still had contact time with children when I see what you are doing