Practical Resource for Understanding Behaviour and Emotions

For effective use, this book should be purchased alongside the storybook. Both books can be purchased together as a set, Feel, Think and Do with Ruby, Rafa and Riz: A Storybook and Guide for Understanding Behaviour and Emotions, 978-1-032-05939-6.

Written as the adult accompaniment to the Feel, Think and Do with Ruby, Rafa and Riz storybook, this resource explores behaviour with strategies for supporting children who struggle to manage their responses and behaviours; and the role of the adult in recognising signs, de-escalation, connection and reflection.

Designed to assist adults in introducing children to their inner world and connecting that world to the world around us in an emotionally safe space, this guidebook contains six sessions that can be delivered to children in a large group, as a class, in smaller groups or individually. These sessions provide the context and landscape of the emotional health of children and what can affect their wellbeing, such as:

• risk factors and protective factors
• principles – emotional intelligence, emotional regulation
• emotions and learning
• creating emotionally safe spaces
• the imaginary iceberg – our feelings and thoughts are hidden; our behaviour is on show.

Full of opportunities for children to talk about and discuss both the events in the story and their own feelings, thoughts, opinions and ideas, this book enables teachers, support staff and all those working directly with children to expertly cover topics such as the hidden nature of feelings and thoughts, the fact that behaviour is the bit on show, and how talking about feelings and thoughts can help to explain and understand behaviour.

Liz Bates is an independent education consultant. She supports both primary and secondary schools in all aspects of Emotional Health and Wellbeing, and Safeguarding, including whole school approaches, training staff and delivering talks to parents. Liz is a Protective Behaviours Trainer, a Wellbeing Award Advisor for Optimus and a regular contributor at national conferences.