Being With Our Feelings - A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children

An astounding, sympathetic and empathetic guide to children's emotional health and wellbeing which surely must find a place in every school... It's just brilliant. Andrew Cowley, Wellbeing Speaker and Writer, author of 'The Wellbeing Toolkit' and 'The Wellbeing Curriculum'. At a time when wellbeing has never been more important, Anita Kate Garai has created a comprehensive and heartfelt guide to embedding practices of awareness, kindness and reflection to how we relate to ourselves and our emotions... a magnificent resource. Lorna Walker, Wellbeing Writer for BBC, Senior Teacher at Youth Mindfulness, Founder of Compassionate System. I love these books! A wonderful toolkit that is a must-have for schools looking to improve their emotional literacy and working with children on how to accept and manage their emotions... I'd recommend Being with Our Feelings to all schools. Penny Whelan, Assistant Head and SENCO, Luton This book is an essential tool in any teacher's tool box. It encourages thinking from the point of validating one's own feelings and gives creative and thoughtful strategies for moving forwards. As a former Primary School Headteacher, Advisor and Consultant to schools, I would not hesitate to ensure that schools and staff had access to this material and used it. Diane McHarg, Former Headteacher, Senior Advisor to Brent Education Authority (London) and Educational Consultant for Headteachers. This is a true guide in how to accept feelings and emotions, and work with them. There are excellent practical activities to develop awareness, for both children and adults alike. The support of exercises and resources facilitate the Being With Our Feelings approach being integrated into schools, so that we can support our children emotionally, with understanding and compassion. Reading this has been a great CPD session for me. Chris Dyson, Head Teacher Parklands Primary School, National Leader of Education. Reading these books makes troubling feelings more relatable and 'normal.' As adults, we sometimes forget what it was like to experience these feelings for the first time and feel the isolation that can bring. Being With Our Feelings reminds us all that it is okay to feel the things we feel. Teachers, parents and other carers will find them a very useful tool to help children open up to them. Sally Mofrad, Education and Wellbeing Child Care Worker There is a great need for this resource. The distinction of being with your feelings, as opposed to seeing them as something to be fixed, is an incredibly important and highly welcome approach. As one reads, we are reassured by Anita Kate's authority in her field. We can feel her extensive education, training, research, her cross curricular skill set, and her creative and therapeutic experience - both personally and professionally. I love the way the four rhyming stories are written with a strong youth voice element running through, which makes them feel unique and very honest. I will definitely be using Being With Our Feelings extensively in my work and recommend others to do so too. Sharon Mee, Creativity and Wellbeing in Education Developer, CEO and Founder of Artpod and Melting Pot - Arts and Wellbeing in Education, Sussex and South East. Never more needed than now, Being With Our Feelings is an extremely comprehensive resource to support the development of emotionally literate children and adults... Fabulous for any school. Gaynor Price, SEMH Advisory Teacher, City of Birmingham School. Being With Our Feelings is an easy-to-read, highly engaging and go-to resource, that offers out quickly digestible advice... One of the great appeals of this resource and what sets it apart from others, is that it teaches a mindful approach to emotional discomfort, dealing with difficult feelings like anxiety in an accessible, embodied and non-judgemental way. This resource gives me hope that one day our educational system and our world, will be a more mindful, kinder and less anxious place. Emma Whewell, FS Lead, Shepherds Down Special School. Special & Teen Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher.