Looking After Yourself
Self Care With Kids
Doing fun activities with your kids that involves both movement and mindfulness, benefits everyone! Together, you can cultivate a healthier, more balanced lifestyle and opportunity to connect.
Tips for Neurodiversity
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Be Patient and Understanding: Every child learns at their own pace. Be patient and provide extra support when needed.
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Use Multi-Sensory Learning: Incorporate different senses into learning activities, such as touch, sound, and movement.
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Create a Routine: Consistent routines can help all children, as well as neurodiverse children feel more secure and focused.
Co-Parenting Strategies
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Include Strategies in Parenting Plans: It’s a good idea to include these strategies in your parenting plan to ensure consistency between both parents.
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Communicate Regularly: Where possible, keep each other informed about your child’s progress and any changes in their needs.
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Be Consistent: It would be helpful if both parents, and any carers follow the same strategies and routines to provide a stable environment for the child.
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"Amidst the hustle of life, it's the simple joys found in nature and the laughter shared with our children that remind us of what truly matters."
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Don't know where to start?
Have a look at our free, easy suggestions below.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
​One great way to encourage kids to join you on a walk, and connect to country, is by turning the walk into a nature scavenger hunt.​
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Create a list before the walk of items for the kids to find: These can include things like a red leaf, a smooth rock, a bird, a flower, or a butterfly.
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Provide a Bag or Basket: Give each child a small bag or basket to collect their treasures.
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Set Rules: Explain that some items, like flowers or leaves, should be left in place if they are still growing. They can take a photo instead.
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Offer Rewards: Consider small rewards for connection. Offer a one on way game time later or the child can pick the next tv show to watch together.
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TIP: Make art or mud pies with the kids when you get home!
Mindfulness
Calming Jars Activity
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Mindfulness/calming jars can be used with your child if they are feeling anxious.
Shaking the jar can represent their feelings stirring up, and focusing on watching the glitter settle may help them to calm down.
There are commercial options to buy, but making the jars either with or for your children can be a fun craft activity, and you can customise the colours.
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You Will Need:
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Tap water (room temperature is fine; distilled water can help prevent mold)
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Clear glue/glycerine
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Eco-friendly glitter (a mixture of chunky and fine glitter works best)
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Food colouring (optional)
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Jar/bottle with a lid that seals (preferably plastic for safety)
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Tiny objects like sequins or charms (optional)
Steps:
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Pour tap water to three-quarters fill the bottle.
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Add food colouring if you are using it.
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Add glitter (around 1-2 tablespoons). A funnel might be useful here, but glitter is still sure to get everywhere, so take a deep breath for yourself before this step.
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Add other objects if you are using them (not too many).
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Add glue/glycerin to fill the bottle. Tip it back and forth to watch the speed of the falling glitter. If it’s too slow, you can pour out some liquid and add more water. If it’s too fast, replace some liquid with more glue/glycerin.
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Seal the lid with some of the glue or tape if you are concerned about your child opening the bottle.
My Treasure Chest – Gratitude Activity
Instructions:
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Gather Your Materials: You will need a small box (like a shoebox or a craft box), markers or paint, stickers, and other decorative items. You’ll also need paper and pens for writing notes.
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Decorate the Box: Use markers, paint, stickers, and other decorative items to personalize your treasure chest box. Encourage kids to get creative and make it their own.
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Fill with Gratitude Notes: Cut the paper into small pieces. Write notes, draw pictures, or add reminders of things you are grateful for. Place these notes inside the treasure chest box.
Why This Activity is Good for Kids’ Wellbeing:
Creating a treasure chest box filled with gratitude notes is a wonderful activity for kids’ wellbeing.
It encourages them to focus on positive aspects of their lives, fostering a sense of gratitude and appreciation. This practice can improve their overall mood and mental health. Additionally, the creative process of decorating the box allows for self-expression and can be a fun, relaxing activity.
Reflecting on the notes in the treasure chest can also provide comfort and joy, especially during challenging times.
“Not all treasure is silver and gold.”
-Pirates of the Caribbean.
Ocean in a Bottle – A Calming Sensory Activity
Instructions:
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Gather Your Ingredients: You will need a clear plastic bottle, baby oil (or any other oil), water, and food coloring.
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Fill the Bottle: Fill the bottle about one-third with water. Add a few drops of food coloring and mix well. Then, fill the rest of the bottle with oil, leaving a small gap at the top.
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Seal and Shake: Secure the bottle cap tightly. Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients, then watch as the oil and water separate, creating a mesmerizing ocean-like effect.
Why This Activity is Good for Kids’ Wellbeing:
This activity is beneficial for kids’ wellbeing because it provides a calming sensory experience.
Watching the oil and water move and separate can be very soothing, helping to reduce stress and anxiety. It also encourages mindfulness, as kids focus on the gentle movements within the bottle. Additionally, this activity can improve fine motor skills as children handle the bottle and ingredients. Overall, it’s a simple yet effective way to promote relaxation and mental wellbeing.
Other Fun Activities
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Journey Stick: Give each child a stick and some string. As you walk, they can collect small items like leaves or feathers and tie them to their stick.
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Spot the Colour: Each child picks a colour and tries to find as many items in that colour as possible during the walk.
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Story Walk: Place pages of a storybook along the path. As you walk, the kids can read the story one page at a time.​
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River Detective: Visit a local river or creek and look for tadpoles, fish, tortoises, birds, dragonflies... You could Google the area before you leave for ideas on what to keep an eye out for.
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Nature Detective: Encourage kids to look for different types of leaves, insects, or animal tracks and document their findings in a nature journal.