This week’s theme:
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week’s colouring in sheet:
Download and print this week’s colouring sheet here.
Fact of the day:
Feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need.
Resources list:
Youtube; sticks, leaves, petals, paper, colouring or paining materials; radio website.
Activity 1:
‘Being Zen’ is something that people say to describe peacefulness, but it’s also about simplicity. Such as looking at simple things we can do to change things in our lives, or thinking about what simple things can we do to help and connect with other people. One way that we can do this is to learn some Makaton that may make communication between people easier. Try learning these signs for simple communication.
Can you learn a couple of the signs to this song have a good dance while you’re at it!
Activity 2:
Being outdoors in a garden, an outside area, or on a short walk for exercise can be really good for our well-being and can help us connect with nature. If you don’t have the opportunity to do any gardening you can still get creative, you could compose a collage of natural items you may find in your garden or walk, or try leaf rubbing or flower pressing.
Head outside to collect some bits of nature (leaves, feathers, twigs, stones, petals) and try out some Nature Doodling, leaves make excellent hairdos! Share them with us to make others smile, you can share on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!
Head outside to collect materials for a game of Nature Naughts & Crosses maybe with leaves versus stones (you’ll need 5 of each), or petals versus berries.
Make a nature rainbow by drawing or painting a rainbow, take it outside, or hold it up at the window, to match the colours with natural objects (such as flowers, trees, animals and rocks). Try to find natural objects for all the colours in your rainbow.
Activity 3:
Sometimes, if we feel lonely listening to the radio and hearing voices can help us feel more connected to the world. On this website you can spin the globe and see loads of dots. Each of these dots represents a different radio station from all over the world. If you centre the circle over a dot you can hear what that station are playing or saying. You can hear voices in all different languages and some weird and wonderful songs and music! Spend some time zipping across the world one radio station at a time. Can you find any stations that are playing songs you know? Have a dance or a sing if you come across something familiar or something you like, and think about all of the different people in the world and how someone else is at home listening to the exact same thing as you right now.
Activity 4:
Connect with your Purple Patch group – Make a poster saying ‘hello’ to your whole group. Take a photo of it, share it on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you! Some of your friends and purple staff will be able to see it from their homes, and might even send you a message back.
Activity 5:
Write and decorate a letter, or make a card for somebody you know. Post it to let them know you’re thinking of them. You might even get one back!
Add on Activity:
Connect with others’ voices by listening to three free meditations here.