Families Suffolk Magazine_May_June 2020_Issue 53

MAIN FEATURES: Family Health & Wellbeing | Education Plus lots of useful information to support Suffolk families Issue 53: May / June 2020

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Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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Hello...

Welcome to this special edition of Families Suffolk Magazine.

I hope you and your family are all keeping safe and well during these difficult and troubling times.

I would firstly like to pass on my personal and sincere thanks to all those amazing NHS staff and Key Workers who are working tirelessly to help keep our county and indeed country going.

During these troubling times my thoughts are with those who have been affected as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This special edition of Families Suffolk Magazine has been put together to offer Suffolk families support, advice and I hope a few useful ideas and tips for managing the current crisis we are faced with. I could not have done this without the amazing support of some of our regular contributors, especially Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council. I would also like to thank Suffolk illustrator Lucy Hart from Silver Lace Creative for the beautiful front cover she designed for this special edition.

In this Issue 4-5

Alternative Family Activities

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The Baby Experts, Suffolk

The main features in this issue focus on Family Health and Wellbeing and Education. It's during these difficult times that we really can appreciate the amazing services and resources that we have here in Suffolk. It's also seeing how local charities, businesses and education providers are adapting and introducing new and innovative ways to still help the community. It gives me great pride to live and work in such a great place.

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Family Health & Wellbeing

15-19

Education

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Suffolk Museums

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Suffolk Fire & Rescue

Please stay safe, look after yourself and each other.

22-23 Just One Child

With Best Wishes

Stacey Phillips Editor

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Alternative Family Activities Our regular readers will know this is where we normally feature all the great shows, events, and family days out happening around the county. Instead for this special issue we have put together a great guide of some alternative activities to enjoy while you are staying safe at home.

For Parents and Grandparents Fitness and nutrition

Singing/Karaoke/Music

A lot of gyms, personal trainers, council run leisure centres, celebrities etc are offering free online classes. Or you can join on-line, live classes provided by the above or small, independent specialists great for workouts or Pilates, yoga, etc – usually by paying a small fee.

How many of you have a musical instrument in the house you haven’t ever played or picked up for a long time. Take some time out to either learn how to play it or refresh your skills.

Singing out loud is great for mind, body and soul. And in a lockdown or isolating situation who’s going to hear if you can’t hold the right note? There are many on-line choirs or join in with the radio sing-alongs which are generally held at set times each day. Download one of the many free Karaoke Apps or browse YouTube. I bet you’ll get louder each day and even add some dance moves! And you’ll feel great afterwards.

Obviously, you need to take care exercising according to your age, ability and medical conditions. And remember to warm up and cool down to prevent injury. Stop the exercise immediately if you feel unwell. If you are unsure, seek medical advice or chose something more sedentary!

Here are a few good examples to check out: Search YouTube – There are masses of free videos available for yoga, Pilates, Zumba, relaxation and meditation, HIIT workouts etc.

This Girl Can, believes that there’s no ‘right’ way to get active.

However, you jiggle, kick, lift, stretch or sprint, it’s time to get moving, however you please. Take a look at their website www.thisgirlcan.co.uk and their YouTube channel for free exercise classes, motivation, case studies and tips.

The Keep Moving Suffolk campaign has been launched to help keep Suffolk residents moving during these difficult times. Please see pages 12-13 for more information.

Places Leisure are offering 5 brand new 'Workouts of the Week' via their free Places Locker App all of which can be done at home. With a good variety of exercises, focussing on core, strength, cardio, and stretch for all areas of your body. Their ‘Keep Moving’ workout is designed specifically for older adults.

For more information visit: www.placesleisure.org

Cookery Most of us have a stash of cookery books gathering dust. Now’s a good time to flick through and try out some new recipes. Or just search on-line, Mary Berry, Delia, Jamie Oliver and most top chefs offer free on-line recipes, or try BBC Good Food.

Why not invite your household to a dinner party – dress up, decorate the dining table to make it feel special. Involve the children, making the invites, table decorations, and food. Or make it an intimate dinner with just your partner, once the children have gone to bed. Work out new weekly meal plans to use up items that you’ve had in your cupboards for ages or those recipes which use items that are readily available in the shops.

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Hobbies and Crafts There’s never been a better time or excuse to sit down and make something creative. Again, there’s plenty of free tuition videos available on YouTube and some craft studios, such as EJaRt Creative in Hasketon, nr Woodbridge have lots of art and craft ideas on their website, along with useful 'how to' guides: www.ejartcreative.co.uk/art-and-craft-ideas. Other websites also worth taking a look at are: www.intuitivecreativity.typepad. com and www.goodtoknow.co.uk. There’s also a whole range of free colouring and painting Apps available.

Educational While your children are sat home schooling, why not join them and undertake an on-line course? There may be a small fee involved, but it could give you stimulation and knowledge and open up new employment or social opportunities when the time comes, for instance, British Sign Language www.bslcourses. co.uk are offering free courses while the pandemic is on.

Films, TV and entertainment Don’t feel guilty watching a good old romcom or comedy film! Or watch an old series or box set via BBC I-player, ITV Hub, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. Andrew Lloyd Webber has been streaming his musicals free on YouTube, you can also watch London musicals free via www.filmedonstage.com and The National Theatre are streaming their most popular productions for free on their YouTube channel. The Royal Opera House are streaming broadcasts on Friday nights from 7pm on their YouTube and Facebook channels.

Many of us have kept in contact with our multiple friends and family via Zoom or WhatsApp. Organise a quiz, play bingo, or just chat over a few nibbles and a drink. There’s also a nationwide fun pub quiz every Thursday evening at 8pm on Facebook Live, The Virtual Pub Quiz, which Jay Flynn, a former landlord hosts.

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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For Children Exercise and dance We all know that exercise improves our physical and mental health, and this is especially true for children too. The changes to your child’s routine and social interaction over the last few weeks has been huge so exercise in any shape or form is especially important for them. Keep it enjoyable and fun and join in too.

This girl can - Disney dance alongs – dance routines to help you get active with your children. Visit www.thisgirlcan.co.uk website and YouTube channel. Break into a sweat and have fun at the same time!

Joe Wicks, the Body coach, is doing a free YouTube ‘PE for kids’ class live at 9am Monday – Friday You just need to subscribe (free) on his YouTube channel. You can do it at anytime of the day if you wish and there’s also other children’s workouts available free on this channel.

Nature in the garden wildlifegadgetman.com offer a series of weekly educational guides for families to do together.

‘How to’ guides such as building bug hotels, hedgehog homes and bird feeders, all using things you already have around the home, such as plastic ketchup bottles.

Buy some seeds, compost, pots etc and encourage your children to grow vegetables and flowers, ready for planting out in the garden later on in the year.

Educational (Please also see our Education Feature on pages 15-19) The Government’s website www.gov.uk/government/ publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-educationresources/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-online-educationresources-for-home-education offers extensive resources, information and links to everything you could need for your child’s home education, whatever their age, ability, nationality, disability or needs.

Other websites worth looking at are University College London (UCL) www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/ centres/london-centre-leadership-learning/free-onlinelearning-resources Your child’s school will have already provided the learning packs and on-line resources to keep them up to the required level, which could include free use of mymaths, reading buddy, reading owl and twinkl. But there has been a phenomenal amount of other free resources available to mix up your child’s day and keep it fresh and fun.

Many schools or teachers are making their resources available to all. Other sites which may be of interest include www.teachitprimary.co.uk, www.tts-group.co.uk, www.guidedogs.org.uk/resources/learning-resources, www.suffolkhomeschooling.co.uk. There is also a new YouTube channel available from a Suffolk teacher, Mr Vale-Smith available at: www.youtube.com/channel/ UC5Hfqqf1peva1x2iuyoQs5Q.

There’s also a great selection of free Apps available but be mindful that some Apps may be only free for a limited period.

Prior to the virus, most parents limited screen time, so it’s even more important now to be aware of the effect of sitting in front of a screen for too long will have on your child.

The key is to make sure any screen time is enriching yet fun content, like games and videos from more educational sources, which engage children who are quickly becoming bored at home (Source: National Geographic) You can view live streams from zoos, such as Colchester Zoo, via their Facebook page.

BBC are offering free daily programmes to help parents and children with schoolwork, their biggest education effort ever undertaken. Videos, quizzes, podcasts, and articles are available on BBC Bitesize Daily via the BBC iPlayer, red button, BBC Four and BBC Sounds. Presenters include well known stars and organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Premier League and Puffin Books to keep the lessons fresh. And of course, CBeebies offers puzzles, games, singing and lots more for the younger ones and OWN IT for the older children.

There’s lot of painting and craft ideas for children on www. goodtoknow.co.uk/family/things-to-do/craft-ideasfor-kids, including vegetable printing, and making paper dinosaurs and boats.

You can do a virtual tour of London’s The British Museum, the world’s largest indoor space on Google Streetview, and go on a virtual visit to more than 60 galleries. You can also do virtual tours of the Guggenheim, New York and the Louvre Paris Museums.

Links to all these are available via their respective websites.

All children’s audiobooks are available free from Audible while schools are closed. This includes titles across six different languages. https://stories.audible.com/start-listen You can become a member free of the Lovereading4kids. co.uk community.

At 6pm every weekday, Oliver Jeffers will be reading one of his picture books and talking a little about the things that went into making it. Narwhal and Jelly are broadcasting live drawing sessions every week and offering lots of activity downloads too via their Facebook page.

Wellbeing (Please also see our Family Health & Wellbeing Feature on pages 7-14) If your child is anxious about home schooling or the virus or is autistic, www.andnextcomesl.com/p/how-to-help-childwith-anxiety.html might be useful to you.

You could also encourage your child to keep a journal or diary about how their life, and that of their family, has changed over the past couple of months. Often writing down their own emotions and concerns helps them, and it gives you as parents an insight to your child’s own wellbeing and helps you to address and understand their concerns, and perhaps why they aren’t sleeping as well, or quieter than usual.

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HOW THE BABY EXPERTS CAN HELP YOU...

The best local pregnancy to pre-school businesses all under one roof.

The Baby Experts online directory was created to provide a one-stop shop for Suffolk parents looking for a range of different local services. It now includes the following:

Hello...

Let me introduce myself, as you will be seeing a lot more of me in the next few issues of Families Suffolk magazine. My name is Vicky Barbour-Andrews, I live in Clare, Suffolk with my husband and two young children and run two successful local businesses specialising in all things pregnancy to pre-school. I will now be sharing my knowledge and expertise with Families readers and supporting you through one of the most exciting times in your life.

I started off in the birth and baby world as a Hypnobirthing teacher and all round birth geek! I quickly realised that there was a huge demand for couples needing help and support with birth trauma so I trained as a Birth Trauma Specialist using the 3 Step rewind system. For more information about this please take a look at my website: www.InnerCalmBirth.co.uk.

My clients tend to need that extra support and help navigating the maternity system. Whether they have anxieties, a past history that needs considering when looking at birth plans or even a fear the birth partner may have. There aren’t many situations I haven’t come up against and helped support pregnant couples at this vulnerable time in their lives.

During my time developing Inner Calm Birth, I met lots of other local birth, baby and toddler business and as a result of these local connections and friendships The Baby Experts was born.

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Antenatal Classes

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Nearly New Sales

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Newborn and Family Photographers

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Doulas

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Fitness & Wellbeing

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Breastfeeding Support

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Clubs and Classes

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Party Planning

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Pre & Postnatal Support

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Handmade Items

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Babywearing Groups

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Swimming Lessons

Facebook support group Join our online community and benefit from a network of other local parents and experts. /SuffolkParentsSurvivalGroup

The biggest and best local events The Baby Experts all come together to showcase their products and services at the following annual events: •

Bury St Edmunds Birth, Baby & Toddler Show

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Newmarket Birth, Baby & Toddler Show.

Contact information Email: Vicky@TheBabyExperts.co.uk Facebook page: /TheBabyExpertsSuffolk Facebook group: /SuffolkParentsSurvivalGroup Instagram: @TheBabyExperts

www.TheBabyExpertsSuffolk.co.uk

UPCOMING EVENTS BURY ST EDMUNDS BIRTH, BABY & TODDLER SHOW follow Please rts

by Expe The Ba ook for b on Face n the so e t a d up ow.

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Risby Village Hall, June 14th 2020 11am - 2.30pm • 45+ Local and national birth, baby and toddler businesses. • Free parking.

• Free goody bags (for everyone who pre-registers on EventBrite).

• Free demonstrations and talks from the very best in the business.

• Cafe area to rest your legs, relax and feed your little ones.

NEWMARKET BIRTH, BABY & TODDLER SHOW Newmarket Racecourse, November 8th 2020 11am - 2.30pm SAVE THE DATE - MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON 6

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Family Health and Wellbeing Your family's health and wellbeing have never been more important. At Families Suffolk we have been talking to a number of local charities and organistaions to provide you with more imformation about the different support and services that are avaiable to help you through this difficult time.

Home-Start in Suffolk Local family support charity, HomeStart in Suffolk has been supporting families across the county for over 20 years and has an army of over 225 fully trained volunteers that provide vital practical and emotional support through their home visiting services. As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation has adapted its service model to adhere to the current social distancing regulations. The home visiting service is temporarily suspended but a regular telephone or video call support service has been introduced to help vulnerable supported families during this unprecedented time.

After seeing a huge number of families in need during the current pandemic Home-Start in Suffolk also launched a new ‘Families Connected Suffolk’ support line. Giving even more families access to the support they need from their team of amazing experienced and fully trained volunteers. They have also created some very useful new pages on their website including tips for staying calm, staying in touch with friends and family and links to online resources as well as links to ideas and projects to occupy your time including activities, training and learning new skills. There is also a comprehensive collection of educational links and resources as well as fun activities for children to try at home.

Tara Somers CEO at Home-Start in Suffolk offered the following advice to Suffolk families: "My top tip is ‘just go with it’. Unprecedented times mean that the family rule book should be pushed to the side. I don’t mean that your household should descend into anarchy and resemble a post-apocalyptic movie, but equally there is no need to resemble the set of Stepford Wives (regardless of what you see on Instagram!) If trying to maintain a strict routine is giving you untold stress then you need to flex it!

Your children need you to be the you they are used to! That means YOU, not the school day they were used to, not dinner at 5pm or maths at 11.15am, but YOU! Your reassurance and love are 50% of what your children need right now, and it costs nothing! The remaining 50% a blend of some routine, food, some cleanliness and fun! Don’t forget to find a tiny part of your day to do something for you, to find your own headspace, whether this is watching the latest trashy Netflix show when the kids are in bed, having a quiet coffee in the few minutes in a morning before everyone else gets up or even hiding in the bathroom!"

For more information please visit: www.homestartinsuffolk.org

OneLife Suffolk OneLife Suffolk is a partnership between Leeds Beckett University and MoreLife, commissioned by Suffolk County Council and have a head office Ipswich with services that cover the county.

Their FREE services include: • • • • •

Weight Management for Adults, Families and Young People NHS Health Checks Stop Smoking Help Get Help to Get Active Healthy activities and events that include Health Walks.

OneLife Suffolk’s family and young people’s team offer a range of free fun, interactive and practical services, designed to support the whole family to become healthier and fitter.

The OneLife Suffolk children’s team have now developed some exciting new delivery methods to allow children and families to take part in learning about healthier lifestyles during this period of social distancing. Their new offer includes support for everyone in the community! The information will be delivered via Zoom and offers tailored support for families.

The new exciting webinars are for families to join in together and learn about some key healthy lifestyle topics. These 30 minute standalone webinars will be accessible via the OneLife Suffolk website and are free to take part in.

The webinars will cover 5 topics on a rolling cycle: • • • • •

Physical activity Sugary drinks Food labels Eatwell plate and portion size Wellbeing and sleep.

To take part in these webinars, visit the OneLife Suffolk website: www.onelifesuffolk.co.uk/families-and-youngpeople/families-young-people-free-webinars/

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Shining a light on Domestic Abuse Domestic abuse, also known as domestic violence, can happen to anyone. Sometimes the most unlikely people are experiencing it; however their public persona does not give any indicators to what is going on behind closed doors while they are at home.

Domestic abuse has no boundaries – it has no for regard for your gender, sexuality, wealth, educational level, status, race, religion, age, geography or disability. It is not only the stereotypical person who experiences domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is a social epidemic and affects many of us.

In Suffolk it affects one in three women and one in six men.

So statistically, the chances are that we all know someone who is experiencing it, or the shadow of domestic abuse is in our families.

Some statistics...

In the year ending March 2019, 2.3 million adults (16-59yrs) experienced domestic abuse in the UK. This was 1.6 million women and 695,000 men. (1) Domestic abuse affects men and women however the vast majority of high risk cases are women who are experiencing the abuse. This fact is reflected in the following statistics: Every week 2 women are killed by a partner or former partner, 3 women a week take their own lives and 30 women a day attempt suicide because of domestic abuse. (2).

The total cost of domestic abuse to the UK economy is £66 billion. (3) Many of you may be aware of physical and verbal domestic abuse but domestic abuse also includes emotional, psychological, sexual, financial and coercive control. (4) Coercive controlling behaviour became an offence in December 2015 and Suffolk has seen an increase of 250% of cases in three years (5).

References: (1) Office of National Statistics (2) Refuge.org.uk (3) Professor S. Walby University of Leeds 2016-2017 (4) www.gov.uk/guidance/ domestic-violence-and-abuse (5) EADT 02/03/20

Coercive control is a pattern of behaviours, not a one-off incident and these can include...

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Taking control over aspects of a person’s everyday life e.g. where they go, who they see, what they wear, what they eat and when they can sleep.

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Isolating you from family and friends

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Controlling how much money you have and how you spend it

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Preventing you from working

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Monitoring your activities and movements

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Repeatedly putting you down, calling you names or telling you that you are worthless

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Threatening to harm or kill you or your children

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Threatening to publish information about you or report you to the authorities or the police

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Damaging your belongings, property or household goods

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Forcing you to take part in activities that you don’t want to

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Depriving you of access to support services e.g. medical services or specialist support

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Enforcing rules and activities which humiliate, degrade or dehumanize the victim

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Preventing you from having access to transport

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Constant texting or checking up on the person

The motivation behind coercively controlling behaviour is power and control over the individual and this also helps us understand why it is so extremely difficult to leave an abusive relationship and sometimes the person who is being controlled does not even realise that they are experiencing abuse.

Getting Help Lighthouse, like many other domestic abuse agencies, is very concerned about the impact of social isolating and working from home is going to have on the families where there is domestic abuse. For those in abusive relationships the workplace or school may be their sanctuary and they will no longer have access to that safe place. During this unprecedented and challenging time, please look out for friends, family members or colleagues who may be experiencing domestic abuse and signpost them to the following telephone numbers for advice on domestic abuse:

Lighthouse, Suffolk.

Lighthouse Advice Line: 01473 228270, 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 - 24 hrs | Gallop LGBT+ Helpline : 0300 999 5428

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Supporting your family's emotional wellbeing During the challenging times we find ourselves in, it’s good to know that there is support for the children and young people who are directly affected by loss and grief.

St Elizabeth Hospice which already offers counselling and bereavement support to patients and families, is expanding its emotional wellbeing services and offering support in different ways to respond to the current pandemic. We have produced a range of helpful resources aimed specifically at this age group. It offers information and advice on issues such as sleeplessness, ways to remember someone special and how to talk about the very difficult subject of death and dying with children. We are also able to continue to provide counselling via video link or telephone.

To support the service, a new child friendly section of the hospice website is being developed with age appropriate and accessible materials to help young people cope with difficult emotions.

As well as offering helpful, practical tips on supporting children with grief, there is useful information on how to help children build emotional resilience.

The hospice is also continuing to provide help in schools to teachers and support staff to better equip them to support children affected by long term illness and death of a loved one. We are currently in the process of organising a webinar that will be made available to Suffolk schools on supporting students through bereavement.

More information on emotional wellbeing support can be found at:

www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk

Volunteer for

More than 50 types of volunteer roles available at St Elizabeth Hospice stelizabethhospice.org.uk/volunteer familiesonline.co.uk

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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Living an active and healthy life

At Alpha Physiotherapy, we help children and adults live active and health lives, free from pain and in control of their future. Let’s explore what that means and how we could help you.

Active and healthy lives What does an active and healthy life mean to you? Is there anything that is stopping you or your child from living that life?

For example, a child may want to play with their friends, climb a slide or ride a bike. A parent however may want their child to attend their extra-curricular activities or keep up with their peers. But what if your child is struggling to do some of these things? Or they now cannot seem to walk far without complaining of pain?

And let’s not forget that parents and older family members need to be able to lead active and healthy lives too! If you are unable to play on the floor with your children due to back pain, or a knee injury prevents you from going for a family bike ride, then you are not doing the things you love either.

Free from pain Why do we put up with pain? It sounds bizarre, yet time and again we hear people tell us they wish they’d seen us sooner, and how much time they’ve spent being in pain unnecessarily.

We all do it – “It’ll be better tomorrow” – but tomorrow extends to a fortnight before we consider that it might not resolve without intervention.

We also hear that parents have delayed seeking help for their child as they expected their complaints of pain to soon pass or explain them away as “growing pains”. Both come from a place of love and practicality, however, sometimes pain persists when in fact a lot that can be done to ease their symptoms.

Of course, we have busy lives and commitments to keep, however, consider what your world might look like tomorrow if yours or your child’s pain had gone? Our focus at Alpha Physiotherapy is your end goal – what is it that you love to do, but currently can’t?

In control of your future Maintaining some control over our future is what most of us desire, especially at the time of writing when the world seems upside-down. Gaining some control over the future is achieved by continuing to focus on the end goal; what we choose to do now will dictate how our future looks.

Get in touch If you need some help and guidance – we’d love to hear from you. You can contact us at: info@alpha-physio.co.uk or by calling: 01473 561060 or visit: www.alpha-physio.co.uk.

We look forward to sharing more with you in the next couple of editions of Families Suffolk.

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Five Ways to Wellbeing To slow the spread of Coronavirus, and save lives, the most important thing that we can all do right now is to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel.

This will mean a significant change of routine, which could create feelings of stress and anxiety for children and families. It is important to look after your mental wellbeing in the coming weeks. The five ways to wellbeing is a really useful framework, with practical ideas to support improved mental health. Here are five tips for staying mentally well:

1. Connect with others It’s important to stay in touch with others, however you do it, and sometimes simply talking about how you feel can make a big difference.

Modern technology means we can be with our friend or family member on the other side of the globe, in mere seconds – without even leaving the house!

If you have a friend or neighbour who may need support or a listening ear, spare some time to talk to them.

Do be sure to always follow the social distancing guidance and keep a distance of 2m (that’s roughly twice the length of your arm) at all times.

If I have to go out, how far away should I be from other people? Imagine you and your friend are standing opposite each other, taking a selfie. If your arms don’t touch, you are a safe distance apart.

3. Be active

2. Take notice It’s all too easy to become immersed in the constant and ever-changing media coverage surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19).

Take a break from watching, listening or reading news stories and use the time for the things you enjoy.

Why not read an exciting book, listen to your favourite CD, or simply notice the different things you can see out of the window. Turn it into a fun game with your children and see who can spot the most things.

You could start an appreciation journal or blog – note down each day the things you appreciate and are grateful to have in your life. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

4. Give Giving your time and energy to others is extremely important, never more so than now, and can pay dividends for your mental wellbeing.

Whether it’s looking out for and helping a neighbour, or registering to volunteer to offer support in your community, there is plenty you can do.

Being physically active can give your wellbeing a real boost! If you are indoors, take regular screen breaks and stretch at least once every hour. If you are not self-isolating, try building in a walk or other exercise into your daily routine.

For loads of ideas to keep active indoors and suggestions for your daily outdoor exercise, visit the Keep Moving Suffolk website: www.keepmovingsuffolk.com

5. Learn Take the opportunity to think about learning a new skill or pick up something you have enjoyed doing before. Always wanted to read that book, or learn that language? Now is the time. There are more free classes and courses available online now than ever before.

The ‘Home, but not alone’ campaign is one such example, run in partnership between the East Anglian Daily Times, Suffolk County Council, Community Action Suffolk, Suffolk Community Foundation and the Suffolk Association of Local Councils.

For more guidance, visit: www.healthysuffolk.org.uk familiesonline.co.uk

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1. 48” Pink Bunny Mini Trampoline £75.99 (including delivery) The Bazoongi 48" Pink Bunny Mini Bouncer Trampoline, with Grab Rail is the perfect fun beginners trampoline to get them started. Our fantastic new addition to the starter trampoline family gives little ones the confidence to start bouncing.

This design is the smallest of the Jumpking trampoline range and comes in two different pad styles, one in pink with little bunnies on the surround pad and one in blue with robots on the padding, the ideal kids bounce trampoline encouraging them to develop good gymnastic qualities from a young age. It can be used indoors or outdoors and is ideal for children of 3 years and above, giving an excellent bounce.

2. 48” Blue Robot Mini Trampoline £75.99 (including delivery) The 48” Bazoongi Bouncer Blue Robot Mini Trampoline, with Grab Rail is an ideal beginners trampoline for your little ones, keeping them entertained for hours. The Bazoongi mini trampoline is a fantastic new addition to the Jumpking® starter trampoline family, giving new bouncers a fun first trampoline with a sturdy handle that beginners can hold securely onto, while they build up their confidence.

This is the smallest of the Jumpking® trampoline range and comes in two different pad styles, one in pink with little bunnies on the surround pad and one in blue with robots on the padding.

It is the perfect toddler trampoline, a fun activity for little ones to bounce off all their energy, from the comfort of their own home or garden.

It can be used indoors or outdoors and is ideal for children of 3 years and above, giving an excellent bounce.

VISIT WWW.JUMPKING.EU • 10% DISCOUNT FOR NHS JUST USE CODE: NHS10OFF 14

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

familiesonline.co.uk

Education With families throughout the country now looking at new and creative ways to help educate their children at home we have put together some ideas that may help.

Suffolk Libraries

Suffolk Libraries goes online and interactive to keep you and your family stimulated and entertained.

The libraries may be closed but everyone at Suffolk Libraries is still working hard to make sure families are kept informed and entertained at home.

If you’re missing the fun activities at your local library you can still see the familiar faces of library staff and join them for singing and storytime. Many libraries are regularly streaming or sharing videos via their Facebook pages and they’ll even give you and your children a shout out if you send them a message. You can join in with any of these sessions no matter where you live.

Libraries are also sharing craft activities and Lego challenges for you to try at home. There are over 50 different online activities you and your children can join in with. Full details of these can be found at www.suffolklibraries.co.uk and there is also a recordings section with video highlights from some of these sessions.

Sadly they can’t lend physical books at the moment but there is plenty to discover in Suffolk Libraries extensive free eLibrary service. There are around 60,000 free titles with plenty to offer children and younger readers too. The elibrary offers eBooks, eAudiobooks, top newspaper and magazine titles and you can stream films, courses and music. The Kanopy film streaming service also gives you access to Kanopy Kids – with unlimited access to children’s programmes and films. All these services are free and library staff are still working remotely so you can get help signing up to use them.

Do follow and engage with Suffolk Libraries on Facebook and Twitter too as they are always sharing updates or useful information from other organisations.

For more information please visit: www.suffolklibraries.co.uk

10 Great Online Home Learning Resources

1 2 3

BBC Bitesize

4

Doorway Online

5

Teacher’s Pet

6

Pobble 365

7

Oxford Owl for Home

8

Brain POP

9 10

Daily online lessons for ages 5-14 www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

Book Trust Home Time Free books, games, quizzes and recipes. www.booktrust.org.uk

Classroom Secrets Kids Free resources for teaching English. www.kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk

Interactive games to practice phonetics, numeracy and money. www.doorwayonline.org.uk

Free weekly downloadable home learning packs. Up to age 11. www.tpet.co.uk

Inspiring creative writing every day of the year. www.pobble365.com

Resources divided into primary school year groups. Free ebooks. www.home.oxfordowl.co.uk

Short animated videos to create curious learners. Free access during school closures. www.brainpop.com

Oak National Academy Online classroom, with lessons suitable for Reception to Year 10 children. www.thenational.academy

Twinkl Inspirational lesson plans, schemes of work, assessment, interactive activities and resource packs. Free access during school closures. www.twinkl.co.uk

familiesonline.co.uk

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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Pebbles the school therapy dog keeps pupils cheery and connected during lockdown period Gusford Primary School, based in Ipswich and part of the Active Learning Trust, has a therapy dog which is playing a vital role in supporting pupils and making them feel part of the school community during the coronavirus lockdown.

Whilst schools across the nation are closed due to the ongoing pandemic, Pebbles the therapy dog is continuing to provide support for primary school pupils. The dog has her own email address and pupils are invited to keep in touch by sending her examples of their home learning.

Pebbles celebrated her 1st birthday recently and was inundated with cards made by kind-hearted pupils. Pebbles is also staying active and giving regular updates on her social media accounts.

Claire Claydon, Headteacher at Gusford Primary School who is looking after Pebbles at her family home, said: “Pebbles is fantastic and adored by our pupils, parents and staff alike. She has been amazing during the changes and is helping children at home to still feel connected to our school community and to express their emotions about adjusting to learning from home, new routines and not being able to see their friends. Pebbles really helps our pupils to name and process their emotions and makes them feel listened too and valued.”

Pebbles is a French bulldog and having visited Gusford Primary School since she was eight weeks old, has recently been assessed as a therapy dog with Canine Concern. This came about as

16

part of the school’s work with SWERL (Supporting Wellbeing, Emotional Resilience & Learning) which is a project led by University College London and the Ipswich Opportunity Area.

The therapy dog is also helping to build positive relations with parents as they enjoy interacting with her at key events and speaking with staff. One parent said: “Pebbles is so gorgeous she has been amazing with my child who struggles so much with school and calms him down.”

Within the regular school day, Pebbles supports the wellbeing and mental health of pupils at Gusford as children in distress can sit with and stroke her to calm themselves down. Pebbles also supports children with additional needs and complex and challenging behaviour by going on regular walks with them and taking part in golden time. Canine Concern is also partnered with the Read 2 Dogs kennel club programme, so Pebbles listens to pupils read out loud. This helps them to feel less nervous and can subsequently improve their confidence and reading skills.

Mrs Claydon added: “Now that Pebbles is a registered Cares dog with Canine Concern, when we can return to school, I am keen to make links with

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

local care homes that are within walking distance of the school. I’d like to take groups of pupils and Pebbles out to visit these places as it would be a fantastic opportunity for our children to practice their conversational skills and meet older members of their local community.”

Stephen Chamberlain, CEO of the Active Learning Trust, said: “This is a very testing period for all of us but I have been overwhelmed by the positive, focused manner our schools have approached the change to homeschooling.

“I know Pebbles plays a massive role within the Gusford Primary School community and by giving her this strong online presence for pupils to connect, it plays a significant role with maintaining pupils’ happiness and wellbeing. I expect her social media follower numbers to continue to rise!”

To follow Pebbles’ adventures, follow her on Twitter (https:// twitter.com/PebblesGusford) where she has 240 followers and Instagram (https://www.instagram. com/pebbles_gusford/)where she has 252 followers and her new Facebook account (https://www. facebook.com/PebblesGusford).

familiesonline.co.uk

Motivating children to read during lockdown

By Alex Quigley

Every parent understands the tremendous value of their children reading regularly. Given our current experience of the extraordinary Coronavirus lockdown – without the input of typical school life – reading daily at home matters more than ever.

There are many parents working from home who want to help their children. Even with my 15 years teaching experience, I am finding juggling ‘home school’ with my children a challenge! I know that getting them reading more will prove a huge win.

The evidence clearly shows that children read to regularly by their parents at age 5 perform better in maths, vocabulary and spelling at age 16, compared to those who were not read to at home. Teenagers who read independently are also those students who do best in school. (www.cls.ucl. ac.uk/reading-for-pleasure-puts-children-ahead-in-theclassroom-study-finds/) But we also know that it can be really tricky trying to support your children to read when they are reluctant to do so.

Happily, there are practical insights to help better motivate your children to read more at home.

Here are 5 handy tips to foster reading motivation: 1. Regular reading habits Staying at home with the Coronavirus has changed our family lives. With my children, I feel much more responsibility for managing their day so that they learn, ready to bounce back to school.

And yet, we shouldn’t try and copy the school day with intensive ‘lessons.’ Instead, lots of manageable pleasure-filled reads can happen throughout the week.

There are different options for reading routines. We can encourage reading of tricky school reading in the morning, whilst children have the mental energy, before having free reading in an afternoon slot. Additionally, we can make reading nightly before bed a relaxing, pleasurable way to end the day.

2. Reading choice If your child has a good knowledge of children’s books and topics they would like reading, with lots of access to reading resources at home, the job is made easier. The more reading options the better. However, if the choice is between watching YouTube or reading a fiction book, many children will still choose the former.

One way to offer choice, whilst still nudging our kids to do what we want them to do, is to offer ‘bounded choice.’ For example, I may say to my 8 year old, Noah: “do you want to read ‘How to Train your Dragon’ or shall we read that website about ancient Rome we looked at?” By offering choice within boundaries, children still feel empowered by the act of making a decision – which is crucial for motivation.

3. Reading variety Our children don’t need to be reading daunting academic tomes. Reading variety is the spice of lockdown! Encourage (and celebrate) a range of reading – picture books, comics, website ‘research,’ audiobooks, and more.

Getting in the habit of reading magazines or reputable websites. For example BBC Bitesize (www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize) or BBC Newsround (www.bbc.co.uk/newsround) can help build a reading habit that aids learning. Websites like the School Reading List (www.schoolreadinglist.co.uk) offer parents a comprehensive list of books and magazine reading that will aid home learning in a one-stop-shop format.

Additionally, celebrated children’s authors like Cressida Cowell and David Walliams are now releasing free audiobooks and YouTube videos of reading, so we don’t simply have to use the traditional approaches to book reading either. More information can be found at: www.schoolreadinglist.co.uk.

4. Reading talk So much of the best learning drawn from books comes from talking with your children about their reading. For many parents though, it can be tricky to know exactly how to go about it.

There is some very useful help from the research on rich ‘book talk.’ For example, you could use the 3 P’s – pause, prompt, praise approach. So, pause if they get stuck with their reading and try and let them puzzle it out. Then prompt a clue if they are still stuck. Finally, praise them for taking on some challenging reading and giving it a go.

5. Reading success Finally, nothing fosters reading motivation like reading success! Can you support your child with ‘reading record breaking’ (picking a number of pages a day) and chart their success? Can you make a ‘reading challenge’ to pin on the fridge (we devise a mountain to climb, with each time they read proving a step up the slope), or incentivise a reluctant teen reader with goals and short-term rewards (we try ‘gadget time’ with our kids)?

If you keep setting small, manageable goals they will grow into a sustainable, powerful reading habit.

Alex Quigley is a former teacher and current charity worker who now supports schools. He is the author of the book Closing the Reading Gap (www.routledge.com/Closingthe-Reading-Gap/Quigley/p/book/9780367276881?utm_ source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=post&utm_ campaign=B001906_te1_1au_7pp_d670_9780367276881) recently published by Routledge.

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Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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Inspirational Suffolk teacher launches new YouTube channel Matt Vale-Smith is the Assistant Head, Year 6 teacher and Maths Lead at Long Melford C.E. Primary School. We talk to Matt in this special issue of Families Suffolk about the brilliant YouTube channel he has set up to help support children and families in response to the school closures.

Matt, firstly please tell us a bit about yourself...

I have been teaching for 17 years and have taught in a range of settings and age groups from Year 1 to Year 8 so have experience in teaching in Key Stage 1, 2 and 3. Maths is my passion and get great satisfaction in promoting the subject and hopefully making it fun!

Whose idea was it to create the YouTube channel?

as it is with so many families at the moment. However, we are lucky that we are able to go to work and feel that we can give something back to the community.

Do you miss your pupils?

I miss all the children greatly and especially miss school life.

As a teacher, you become very close to the children and want the best for them. This is the reason for starting my YouTube channel.

When my family was initially in isolation, I realised the need to communicate directly with my pupils. For the last two years we've had a school Facebook page which has been invaluable - using this during lockdown for parents to show work carried out at home and maintain school community support.

My wife then suggested virtual real time teaching through YouTube videos. I hope it adds depth to the teaching/learning experience and is used in tandem with other resources we have made available. I am adding videos daily which, as well as lessons, include strategies, tips and techniques to help parents. As well as English and Maths lessons.

What advice would you give to your pupils?

How did you record the videos?

Firstly, I feel your pain! I am in the same predicament but have found these points useful.

My family and I were initially in two week isolation, so I relied on a combination of my 8 and 10 year old children to be my film crew. The first videos were based mostly in my garden but they have steadily become a little more refined with practise. I presently record them from my classroom as I am involved in caring for key worker children from the local area. I'm trying to create a 'virtual lesson' approach in real time so that children can feel like they are in my class. My lessons include mental warm ups, modelling and activities (just like at school).

What is included in the videos?

Daily English and maths lessons for primary school children (mental warm-ups, subitizing, times-tables, daily spellings, modelling and differentiated activities/questions. it also includes tips and games for parents, and I'll soon be including art lessons!

How are you and your family coping with the lockdown?

It's a strange but busy time in my household as my wife and I are both key workers. My wife works full time at West Suffolk Hospital as a Advanced Nurse Practitioner on the 'front line'.

I admit this has been a concern for us with a young family,

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Create some routine to your day. Set daily manageable goals.

Keep in touch with your friends, and relax! Don't try and do too much - learning is more effective when done in bite size chunks. Try learning or trying new things outside school - see this time as a positive! Learn a new instrument, try to master a new skill ar even take up a new hobby? Life skills opportunity to do and learn things which are difficult to do in a school setting.

What advice would you give to parents?

Don't become too anxious about your child's learning children are resilient and schools will quickly address any gaps in their studies when they return.

This is an opportunity to be involved in learning with your child - perhaps carrying out a child-led project with your child which they are interested in - keep it fun! An example of this: My son, Fred, is currently starting a project about Marvel characters. See the work from school as a guide only - don't feel pressured to complete everything! Pace yourself - we could be in this situation for a while! Play board games as a family - these are invaluable for learning social skills as well as concreting maths and vocabulary skills without your child realising!

Home schooling is not a competition with other parents - social media will show accomplishments but rarely the troubles of the day! And of course...watch my videos!

To view Mr Vale-Smith's YouTube channel visit: www.youtube.com/channel/ UC5Hfqqf1peva1x2iuyoQs5Q

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

familiesonline.co.uk

The importance of

Financial education

By Ipswich Building Society

It’s been a tough few months for all of us as we did our bit by staying at home to beat coronavirus.

And while many of us will be grateful for the extra time spent with our children, there’s no doubt that trying to keep them occupied indoors for weeks on end would test even the patience of a saint!

Financial education With parents up and down the country downing their tools and becoming stand-in teachers during the lockdown, we wanted to highlight an area often left lacking in the national curriculum – financial education. The ability to save, spend and manage money is one of the most basic skills we rely on in our day to day lives – and yet, for many kids this world is often one they have little or no experience with.

At Ipswich Building Society we believe in the importance of financial education which is why we’ve designed bespoke programmes for Year 2 and 10 students which our staff deliver in schools and colleges across Suffolk. And while school’s out, you can run your very own workshop from the comfort of your own home for kids of all ages.

At Ipswich Building Society we have a range of savings accounts for children, some of which enable them to manage their own money (with the watchful eye of a parent, of course!).

And with the government recently announcing an increase in the Junior ISA and CTF annual limit to £9,000, there’s never been a better time to put cash away for your children’s future.

Visit our website for more info: www.ibs.co.uk or pop into a branch*. *Subject to coronavirus restrictions and social distancing measures currently in place Ipswich Building Society’s savings are available to existing members or new applicants resident in postcode areas IP, NR, CO, CM, CB and PE. See product terms and conditions for further information.

Managing your money By far the best way children learn about money is by managing it themselves, whether it’s weekly pocket money or a birthday bonanza.

Our top tips on how to teach your tots about money •

Open a ‘shop’ in your own home – assign prices to items and get them to add up the cost of their basket before counting out the correct change. As well as developing their mental maths skills, you can teach them about the cost of certain foods or other good.

•

Get creative and make some flashcards with different professions, before getting them to guess how much people earn for doing different jobs

•

If your children are a bit older, why not have a chart about tax, spending and different forms of borrowing like loans and credit cards. Understanding borrowing early can stop them getting into financial trouble later down the line.

Ipswich Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered on the Financial Services Register. Firm Registration Number (FRN) 104875.

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Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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What’s onLine @ Suffolk Museums May - June 2020

All About: The Museum of East Anglian Life The Museum of East Anglian Life is making the most of the current situation to use everyone’s time at home to update and research its collections.

We would usually be highlighting all the brilliant days out and activities available at Suffolk Museums over the next few months.

Although sadly at the moment that is not possible, there is some great news, as we have a list of all the fantastic online resources and virtual activities that are now available:

Aldeburgh Museum – Make Mice and Carry On www.aldeburghmuseum.org.uk Great War Huts – Cut out Huts www.greatwarhuts.org/events Ipswich Museums – Museum from Home www.cimuseums.org.uk/museumfromhome/ Ipswich Transport Museum – Virtual Tour www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk/whatshere.html Making Waves Together – Captain Crabbe’s Favourite Crafty Makes www.great-yarmouth.co.uk/making-wavestogether/whats_on_upcoming_events.aspx Moyse’s Hall Museum – Horrible Histories

Search for the Stars is a volunteer-powered project to catalogue the c.40,000 object records online, making the collections at MEAL accessible to everyone. The project has been running for 2 years with over 250 people digitising 15,000 objects so far, but in the last few weeks the programme has experienced a significant surge of new interest. Since then, the museum has been able to catalogue twice the amount that they usually can, and people from all over the world, of all ages and nationalities, have given their time to help.

Be A Historian The Museum has also launched a new project, Be a Historian, to give audiences the chance to delve deeper into the collections. Children and families can choose an object from the catalogue via MEAL’s website and work together to uncover fascinating stories. They have also put together a help sheet to help new participants to get started and once finished, the work will eventually be added to the records for everyone to benefit.

These exciting remote opportunities offered by MEAL play an important role in keeping people mentally active during these challenging times and also enable people to access and engage with some of the museum’s fascinating collections.

How to get involved You can find out more by visiting the website at www.eastanglianlife.org.uk or contacting Curator, Kate Knowlden on kate.knowlden@eastanglianlife.org.uk.

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Lockdown Competition www.facebook.com/moyseshall/ Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum – The Great Paper Plane Chase www.facebook.com/NASAMFlixton Palace House – 30 Things to Try at Home www.palacehousenewmarket.co.uk/getinvolved/30-things-to-try-at-home Suffolk Archives – Remote Volunteering www.suffolkarchives.volunteermakers.org/getinvolved/remote-volunteering/ The Red House Mini Music Makers Sing Along Songs www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlbn21LXtYDnWIl QJsFvMbTBJ-WjYPcnz Mildenhall Museum – Virtual Tour www.mildenhallmuseum.co.uk/video-tour/

www.suffolkmuseums.org

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

familiesonline.co.uk

Stay Home

Stay safe

As people have been instructed to stay at home, here is some advice from Suffolk's Fire & Rescue Service to help keep you and your family safer: Smoke alarms: Ensure you have working smoke alarms in your home. If not, purchase alarms which should be installed on each floor of your home. Also replace batteries to ensure your alarms are working.

Night time routine: Follow a night-time routine

by turning off/unplugging as many electrical items as possible before you go to bed, shutting doors to reduce fire spread should an incident occur. Take a mobile phone, keys and torch to bed with you at night in the event that you have to evacuate.

Unattended appliances: Do not leave kitchen

appliances such as washing machines and tumble dryers running unattended. Most fires start in the kitchen.

Escape route: Plan an escape route out of the home with all family members to ensure no time is wasted if the smoke alarms activate.

Don’t forget, if you smell smoke or your smoke alarms activate: GET OUT, STAY OUT, CALL 999.

Become an on-call firefighter On-call firefighters are a vital part of the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service. They provide an efficient, effective service that gives emergency cover across the country.

In Suffolk, on-call firefighters make up 66% of the workforce and are generally located in rural communities, small towns and villages.

Now recruiting in...

• Brandon • Bury St Edmunds • Clare • Debenham • Elmswell • Eye • Hadleigh • Haverhill • Holbrook • Ixworth • Leiston • Long Melford • Lowestoft South • Mildenhall • Nayland • Needham Market • Newmarket • Orford • Reydon / Southwold • Saxmundham • Stowmarket • Stradbroke • Sudbury • Wickhambrook • Woodbridge • Wrentham. familiesonline.co.uk

Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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Just One Child Inspiring Children to care for the Planet

T

he massive media interest in environmental issues has grown in recent years.

Competition Debbie Bartlett the author of Just One Child has teamed up with Families Suffolk Magazine to launch a competition to find a local environmental hero who may have inspired others to help the planet.

Many have been inspired to get involved whilst others have felt overwhelmed by the scale of the problems.

Debbie Bartlett who runs a community group ‘Litter-Free Felixstowe’ has recently written a book for children to encourage them to take positive action, however small.

Lesley Dolphin From

Just one child is the outcome of Debbie’s concerns. First published in January this year, it is the tale of a young boy who talks to ships about the plastic waste found in our seas and rivers. The inspiration came from Debbie’s town of Felixstowe, home to the UK’s largest port.

A special ‘Just one child’ trophy has been created and will be awarded to the winner along with 7 signed copies of the book, 1 for the child to keep and 6 additional copies for their school, Debbie will also visit the school and give a class talk about her book.

will also be helping judge the competition.

Visit: www.facebook. com/PlanetSuffolk/

The competition is open to children aged 3 - 11yrs.

To enter: Simply tell us in 200-500 words how you or a child you know has encouraged others to care for the environment. You can email your entry to: editor@familiessuffolk.co.uk

by Friday 31st July 2020.

The winner will be featured in our Nov / Dec issue.

Inspiring young children to help the planet

JUST ONE CHILD Starting a plastic free and litter free journey

‘A beautifully illustrated, poignant book introducing big themes to little people’ /JUST ONE CHILD

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Families Suffolk: Issue 53

familiesonline.co.uk

Spot the difference

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Families Suffolk: Issue 53

23

Coronavirus in Suffolk Update #Covid19Suffolk

For more information, visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus 24

FREE

Herts

Lockdown Issue 1

Win ÂŁ100 Amazon Vouchers!

To enter, sign up to our FREE digital magazine Delivered directly to your inbox!

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FREE

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Lock Down Issue 2

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April/May 2020

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familiesonline.co.uk 25 April/May 2020 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

STAYING SAFE & WELL

Here are some great printables to help you and your family stay safe, well and sane during lockdown!

Hand Washing Song Infographics

Covid-19 Parenting Tips

Encourage the whole family to wash their hands for 20 to 30 seconds! You can get printable handwashing infographics for each family member based on their favourite song lyrics.

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have come up with these great printable sheets covering topics like encouraging good behaviour, managing stress and talking to your child about Coronavirus.

Covid-19 Time Capsule Journal for Children

Families Magazine Colour-In Reward Chart The Grrreat Colour-In Reward Chart

ALL ABOUT ME I AM

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

STEP 1 STEP 2 Tell your Fill in daily child when to Explain behaviour rewards your colour in the targets animals! child will receive

Colour YEARS OLD

I AM

Animal

MY 2020 COVID-19

Food Show Movie

METRES TALL

I W EIGH

Book Activity

TIME CAPSULE

Place Song

KILOS

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MY BEST FRIENDS

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THEM

WIN Family Tickets for a day at a UK Zoo or Wildlife Park of your choice!

Tickets are valid for two adults and two children.

How to Enter: Email an image of your child’s completed chart to info@familiesmagazine.co.uk with your child’s name, age, your postcode and up to 50 words from you or your child explaining how the chart has helped them achieve their targets. You have until 30 June 2020 to enter.

I will...

✹ ✹ ✹ Reward

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 1

Day 2

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Day 4

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I will...

Reward

BY:

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Name:

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When I have coloured in all my animals, we can enter the competition to go to the zoo!

Email info@familiesmagazine.co.uk for extra copies of the chart!

Competition T&Cs at www.bit.ly/37LNg7w reward chart landscape.indd 1

We are living in challenging and difficult times. It may help your child to document their experiences in this journal.

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15/01/2020 16:44

Set “lockdown” goals and encourage your children to behave well with our printable colour-in reward chart.

There’s even a competition to enter for when we are allowed out again!

Families Suffolk: Issue 53 2 April/May 2020

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Welcome Welcome to the first “surviving lockdown” issue of Families magazine!

We can’t get our print magazine out to you right now. So we’ve gathered together the best of all the resources available for parents at this time and put them in one place to help you get through the next few weeks.

We are centralising enquiries right now, so if you want to get in touch, please email info@familiesmagazine.co.uk

Contents 2

Staying Safe and Well - Fun Printables!

4-7

Home Learning

8-9

Pre-School Play

10-11 Family Health 12-14 Best Virtual Tours Zoos, Natural Wonders, Space 15

16

Bear Grylls #TheGreatIndoors

17

Best Art, Craft, Games Activities

18

Community and Helplink Directory

19

Birthdays in Lockdown

20

Best Printable Colouring Sheets

Nature and Outside

Win £100 Amazon Vouchers!

FRE E

TAKE

ME H

OM E

Lock ckdo Dow n Issu suee 2

2

T&Cs apply

To enter, sign up to our FREE digital magazine

We're all in this together

Delivered directly to your inbox!

Magazine

Late Spring 2020 FC Families Lock

Down issue 2 with

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27

Families Suffolk: Issue 53 3 April/May 2020

HOME LEARNING

Best Home Learning Resources Our guide to the best FREE online learning resources

BBC Bitesize

Daily online lessons for ages 5-14 starting on 20 April. Also on TV.

Book Trust Home Time

Classroom Secrets Kids

Free books, games, quizzes and recipes.

Free resources for teaching English,

Doorway Online

Teacher’s Pet

Pobble 365

Interactive games to practice phonetics, numeracy and money.

Free weekly downloadable home learning packs.

Up to age 11.

Inspiring creative writing every day of the year.

Oxford Owl for Home

BBC Teach

Brain POP

Resources divided into primary school year groups. Free ebooks.

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Advice for teaching at home, video resources for kids up to 16. Free interactive live lessons.

4 April/May 2020 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

Short animated videos to create curious learners – free access during school closures. familiesonline.co.uk familiesonline.co.uk

HOME LEARNING

Supporting Home Learning Supporting your child to learn at home probably feels daunting.

Leslie Saffron is a member of The Otherwise Club, a community of families choosing to learn together without school.

Leslie advises: “To prepare for the jobs of the future, we need curious, creative, flexible people, with a strong sense of self. You can build your child’s sense of self just by listening to and working alongside them, and showing them that their thoughts are valuable.”

Mike Wood from Home Education UK says: “The strength of home learning is the freedom for children to follow their own interests and learn naturally. Real learning is driven by intrinsic curiosity. The trick is to encourage your child’s curiosity and use it as a basis for them to develop learning skills. Knowing how to learn can help motivate them to fearlessly harness new skills in later life.”

SEN Resources London Grid for Learning Inclusion resource centre.

Nessy

English help for dyslexia.

Busy Things

Learning through play.

Helpkidzlearn

Games/resources – some free.

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For people who learn differently.

We're all in this together

TES Special Needs

Free learning resources.

TES Autism/ Tess Dyslexia Free learning resources.

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April/May Families Suffolk: Issue 532020 5

HOME LEARNING

Best Subject-Specific Home Learning Resources

Teach Your Monster to Read

Wow in the World Podcast For curious kids interested in science, tech & innovation!

Games testing knowledge of countries, flags and more.

Duolingo

Big History Project

Numbots

An award-winning game that makes learning to read fun.

Learn 30+ languages for free! Access via website or app.

Free online social studies course for secondary school kids.

World Geography Games

A fun robot game for addition/subtraction.

Free via web or app.

Credit: Autodesk Tinkercad

History Hit TV

Interesting historical videos from World Wars to creepiest toys in history.

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Tinkercad

Children’s Classic Books

Free easy to use app for 3D design, Wow! Loads of free electronics and coding. children’s classic books to read/listen to.

6 April/May 2020 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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HOME LEARNING

Lockdown School Day Timetable 8.00-9.00

Plan the Day. Get out school books/resources.

9.00-9.30

Get Moving. PE with Body Coach Joe Wicks. Check out these options too.

9.30-10.30

Expand your Mind. Try Maths with Carol Vorderman.

10.30-11.00

Fresh Air. Skip in the garden or scoot to the local park!

11.00-12.00

Expand your Mind. English with David Walliams.

12.00-1.00

Lunch! Your kids can help make it.

1.00-2.00

Chill Time. Read/listen to a podcast.

2.00-3.00

Art & Culture. Draw, do Lego or learn about different cultures.

3.00-4.00

Get Active. Play football in the garden, or go for a walk/run.

4.00-5.00

Let’s Cook with Theo Michaels or Jamie Oliver.

5.00-6.00

Have Dinner! Clean up together. s

Story Podcasts All Ages BBC School Radio Storytime

Motivating your Child to Read During Lockdown

Stories from popular picture.

Bedtime FM

Stories to help children relax.

CBeebies Radio Podcast

Stories with favourite characters.

Little Stories for Tiny People

Original audio stories and poems.

FunKids Story Quest Stories for of all ages.

Circle Round (4-10 years) International folktales.

The Creeping Hour (8-12 years) Horror anthology series.

Every parent understands the tremendous value of their children reading regularly.

Given our current experience of the extraordinary Coronavirus lockdown – without the input of typical school life – reading daily at home matters more than ever.

READ MORE

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April/May 2020 7 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

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PRE-SCHOOL PLAY

Structuring the

By Daisy Upton Day

Example of a dinosaurthemed day: 9.00 Musical phonics. Every time the music stops, children jump on a letter on the floor and make its sound.

9.30 Write the word dinosaur as large as possible on a big piece of paper. Children can colour in the letters, adding shapes and patterns.

10.00 Snack and fresh air.

For some of us, having a loose structure for the day can really help with little ones at home. It’s not something I would stick to rigidly. If a child is happily playing independently, then I’d sneak off for a cuppa! But having a rough plan means I always have ideas ready to go. I am currently doing a theme a week to keep things interesting.

10.30 Make holes in empty shoe box. Get kids to post dried pasta through holes. Great for number recognition and learning to count!

11.00 Read dinosaur book/act out with toys.

11.30 Lunch/play.

12.30 Make a dinosaur jungle with sand/earth in trays, leaves, rocks and twigs. Add in dinosaurs and play!

Tips

1.30 TV and clean up time.

• The activity doesn’t always have to fill the time slot.

• If you’re sharing childcare, do shifts.

• If you’re overwhelmed, take a few minutes alone, somewhere where you can see but not hear the kids.

• Do ‘tidy up time’ at the end of an activity before introducing the next.

2.30 Outside play/walk.

3.00 Snack.

3.15 Jigsaw puzzle and board game 4.15 Film e.g. The Good Dinosaur

More great ideas from Daisy at Five Minute Mum in her book Give Me Five.

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PRE-SCHOOL PLAY

Home-Based Fun for Under 5’s Mum to Martha (3) and Freddie (2), Families Editor, Rebecca Lewis, shares ideas for playtime in lockdown.

Pocket money jobs

10p is the daily going rate for odd jobs in our house: weeding (AKA pulling up lawn daisies), bagging up old clothes for charity, sorting the recycling into the correct coloured bags. Bargain!

Big bug watch

Naps are a distant memory, so this is our version of ‘quiet time’. I’ve repurposed the wooden pallets my magazines arrive on as a creepy-crawly sanctuary. Fortunately for the woodlice, my two are finally getting the hang of ‘be gentle!’

Virtual gardening

Martha’s a keen gardener, specialising in growing dwarf beans. She’s planted them for her nursery buddies, decorated the cups with their names, and showed them off over FaceTime. Her friends love seeing how they’ve grown.

Storytime for Under 5s Oliver Jeffers reads:

The Day the Crayons Quit Rob Hodgson reads:

The Cave

Emily Gravett reads:

Cyril and Pat

Malachy Doyle reads:

Big Pig

Benjii Davies reads:

The Storm Whale Chris Haughton reads:

Shh! We Have a Plan Zanni Louise reads:

Archie and the Bear

Win a Copy of Give Me Five!

Over 150 easy and fun activities for guilt-free parenting created

by Daisy Upton in her new book.

Each game uses objects and materials available in any household and takes just five minutes to set up and tidy up.

WIN!

Enter here before 31 May 2020.

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April/May 2020 9 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

FAMILY HEALTH

Best Family Health and Wellbeing Resources

NHS Every Mind Matters

Jump Start Jonny PE with Joe Wicks The Body Coach Exercise/dance work

Ten tips to help if you are worried.

outs for children.

PE/work out sessions for children.

The Little Gym at Home

Headspace

Mind

Fitness for primary and pre-school children.

Anxiety UK

Coronavirus support resources.

Audio guided meditation/relaxation for all.

Resources for wellbeing.

Nuffield Health Wellbeing Journal

Fegans Online Counselling

Downloadable daily journal for children.

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Therapy for children (year 7+) and 1-1 parent support. familiesonline.co.uk familiesonline.co.uk

FAMILY HEALTH

Talking to Children about Coronavirus It’s understandable if your child is feeling anxious about Coronavirus (Covid-19). The British Psychological Society (BPS) stresses the importance of being truthful and giving children factual information, but adjusting the amount and detail to suit their age.

For example, you might say: “we don’t yet have a vaccination for Covid-19, but doctors are working hard on it” or “lots of people might get sick, but for most people it is like a cold or flu and they get better.”

Download full BPS guide Families also recommends the following blogs from Understood.

• How can I calm my child who won’t stop talking about the virus?

• What to do when your child WON’T talk about the Coronavirus.

• What to do when your child is anxious about Coronavirus.

And this great blog from Hand to Hand Parenting.

Dealing with your Coronavirus Anxiety

Your Child’s Mental Health: Spot the Signs

Perhaps you find yourself obsessively checking the news for fresh information on Coronavirus? Maybe you are constantly symptom checking, washing your hands, feeling consistently fearful or tearful, and playing potential scenarios through in your mind?

READ MORE

Would you recognise the signs?

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week between 8 and 24 May and since March, large numbers of families have been dealing with much more anxiety than usual: about their health, their jobs, their finances and their futures.

READ MORE

By Anna Mathur

By Ian Soars

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April/May 2020 11 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

ENTERTAINMENT

Best Virtual Zoo and Aquarium Tours!

Chester Zoo

San Diego Zoo

Cincinnati Zoo

Learn surprising animal facts and download fun activities

Animal art & craft.

Baboon, Polar Bear & Penguin live cams.

Enjoy home activities or watch a Home Safari Facebook Live

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Watch fishes, penguins and sharks on webcam

New England Aquarium

Hosting daily virtual visits.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Zoo Atlanta

Smithsonian National Zoo

Ouwehand Park Polar Bear Cubs

Check out the Pandacam for some cute furry creatures!

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Live webcams of naked mole rats, elephants and lions.

12 April/May 2020 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

Meet the koalas of the world’s largest sanctuary.

Watch cute twin polar bear cubs live from the Netherlands! familiesonline.co.uk familiesonline.co.uk

ENTERTAINMENT

Lockdown Family Fun It’s a tough time. So, try to make sure you have something to look forward to each day. Here are some ideas: • A kitchen disco burns off lots of energy! Lots of DJs are live streaming on social platforms like Facebook and TikTok. Defected Records are hosting regular live events and mini ravers can go to a midday party hosted by Big Fish Little Fish every Sunday.

• Plan a games night or classic movie-thon with popcorn.

• Host a virtual quiz night with friends/family over Zoom. Everyone loves Bingo and you can make your own cards.

• Host a ‘Come Dine in with Me’ night where each family member cooks or designs a meal and the rest of the family gives it a score.

• All out of ideas? Try the random idea generator, the brainchild of 11 year old Sam Bennett from Birmingham.

Explore the World Take your family on a global tour of famous sites and natural wonders.

Machu Picchu Mount Rushmore Buckingham Palace Pyramids of Giza

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The White House Visit the Colosseum

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The Great Wall of China Head inside the heart of a volcano

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April/May 2020 13 Families Suffolk: Issue 53

ENTERTAINMENT

Best Virtual Space Experiences Learn about the solar system, build your own rocket and wander on Mars – all without leaving your living room!

Hubble Space Telescope

Interactive Solar System Tour

International Space Station

360 degree virtual tour at NASA.

Explore the solar system like an astronaut.

Free exciting game simulation.

Mars Surface

NASA at Home

NASA Exoplanet Exploration

NASA Kids Club: Rocket Builder

National Geographic Videos

Twinkl Space Activities

Walk along the real Learn about NASA with surface of Mars with these virtual tours and Explore planets outside NASA’s Curiosity Rover. apps. of the solar system!

Build your own rocket with this free fun game.

The solar system, the universe and black holes

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Worksheets and colouring pages. Plus special offer. familiesonline.co.uk familiesonline.co.uk

NATURE & OUTDOORS

Making the Best of Outdoor Time By Claire Winter Getting fresh air is vital, so make sure you make the most of your garden (if you have one) and daily exercise outings.

Walk ideas • Go on a rainbow hunt and count how many you see in people’s windows; • Ask local friends to put soft toys in their windows for children to spot; • Give your children a list of things they need to find/take photos of; • Develop a nature trail, where your children have to look up and identify the birds/flowers/insects they see; • Change it up by taking bikes, scooters, skateboards and skipping ropes.

Garden ideas • Plant a mini veg patch/herb garden if you can find some seeds; • No garden? Make a cress head; • Go on a mini-beast hunt and build a plush bug hotel; • Little ones will enjoy painting the shed/fence with a big brush and bucket of water; • Invest in chunky coloured chalks for patio or pavement drawing; • Enjoy a night under the stars.

Tent share is encouraging families to dust of their camping gear and hold a mini-festival in their garden!

Play-at-Home-Fest on 23/24 May is another virtual family festival packed with children’s characters, celebrities and brands, and funds raised going to the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal. You can register free.

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INDOOR ACTIVITIES

Five Ways to Make the Most of #TheGreatIndoors

By Bear Grylls, Chief Scout Before you climb a mountain or sail an ocean, you need a plan. The same is true for getting through the next few weeks. Families are spending more time together than ever, and without a plan, getting to bedtime may be as tough as climbing Everest.

That’s where #TheGreatIndoors comes in. It’s a collection of over 100 fun, free activities from the Scouts that your family can try at home. And you don’t need to be a Scout or an expert to deliver them!

Families has chosen its favourite ideas from #TheGreatIndoors collection and you can find these on the next page (page 17)

Make a daily plan Do this the night before. Choose activities for the morning and afternoon.

Start the day with something active Take part in a family work out. You’ll find plenty online or you could just do some gentle exercises together.

Don’t forget to warm up and give each other plenty of space.

Keep learning It’s a great time to learn a new skills, whether improving your French or learning to play the ukulele. What can you teach each other?

Get some fresh air If you have a garden, make the most of it. Eat your lunch outdoors. If you don’t, try to get out into some open space while respecting the rules, social distancing and staying safe.

Be kind Respect each other’s personal space and make an effort to do nice things for each other. Why not think about making a thank you card?

Good luck and stay safe.

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INDOOR ACTIVITIES

Art & Craft The Imagination Tree

Activities using sensory play.

Red Ted Art

Easy crafts for all ages.

Facedrawer

Become a budding artist.

Activities & Games 10 Nature Activities

Bring nature into your home or garden!

Earn Blue Peter Badges!

Get a famous badge.

PawPrint Family

Hundreds of challenge packs.

Hello Wonderful

Roll20 - Virtual Games

Art for Kids Hub

Board Game Arena

CBeebies

Highlights Kids

The Artful Parent

Activity Village

Best of #TheGreatIndoors

Win ÂŁ100 Amazon Vouchers!

Activities using household items.

How to draw‌videos for kids.

Making and colouring activities.

10 things to do at home.

Be a Blackout Poet

Try this alternative style of poetry.

Best Concert Ever!

Design posters for best concert ever.

Got it Covered

Create a cover for your favourite book.

Show your Art to Grow your Art

Something for the older kids.

Play board and card games.

Games, jokes, science, activities.

Downloadable activity packs.

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Create/exhibit masterpieces.

Storm in a Teacup

We're all in this together

Understand energy by creating your own tornado.

Leaf Animals

Use leaves to make an animal collage.

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April/May Families Suffolk: Issue 532020 17

COMMUNITY

We’ve Got this People!

Five ways of pulling together until the world starts turning again.

• Good-hearted souls across the country are volunteering help to those in need. Two excellent co-ordinating resources working at local level are: BBC’s Make a Difference Campaign and Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK • Share this Families magazine link with other parents, via email, Facebook, WhatsApp. Like and Follow your local Families magazine on social too so you can share the tips and good news you find.

• Thank supermarket and home delivery staff who are working their socks off – show them they’re appreciated.

• Phone friends/relations to chat, particularly those who are living alone.

Ask how they are, recount a heart-warming anecdote. You’ll both feel better for it.

• Smile at people on your essential outings – spread simple cheer across the 2 metre safe space!

Helplink Safety

Latest Government Advice

Domestic Violence/Abuse National DA Helpline Women’s Aid Men’s Advice

Giving Community Support

How to Help Safely Do-IT Local Volunteer Centre Finder Helping Elderly People

Seeking Help

Care and Essential Supplies Lockdown Tips and Advice Your Local Delivered

Helplink Financial

Claim Universal Credit Working Families Help Coronovirus Finance & Bills Help Self-employed and Employment

Family Disputes

Family Mediation Child Law Advice Family Breakdown Advice Co-Parenting During the Crisis

Parenting Advice

Dad.info Fegans Family Hub Free Parenting in a Pandemic email course

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BIRTHDAYS

Celebrating Birthdays in Lockdown

By Rebecca Lewis

Movie and bowling night Download a movie and a bowling app game, and hey presto your home becomes a makeshift entertainment complex. Google cinema ticket template and popcorn box template

Hold a teddy bears’ picnic

From teddy bears’ picnics to neighbourhood poster parties, a birthday under lockdown can still be special.

Turn their bedroom into an escape room Create your DIY version with clues to help them unlock their birthday gift. Google easy riddles for inspiration.

Involve your local community Ask members of your community or school’s Facebook/WhatsApp group to create a happy birthday poster or put up a balloon in their window. See how many you spot on your daily walk.

Invite your child’s favourite soft toys to a special picnic at home!

Decorate with bunting and balloons; draw paw prints in chalk; hunt for the ‘missing’ bear; end with a calming game of sleeping bears.

Water lot of fun!

Create an aqua park in your back garden! Use dunked sponges for a water fight; play skittles with open bottles of water; run a hose along a sheet of tarpaulin for sliders; fill the paddling pool with warm water and bubbles for an outdoor Jacuzzi.

Tips Invite your child’s family and friends to a virtual celebration via Zoom or similar! Make sure you prepare beforehand by reading the Zoom Help Guide.

Consider a virtual party.

Google virtual birthday party entertainers kids uk

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ART & CRAFT

Best of Colouring Printables We’ve assembled a great range of colouring pages for all ages and interests to help keep your children busy and stimulate their creativity.

Just click on the title of the image to download.

Asiatic Lion

Baby Woolly Mammoth

Cinderella & Fairy Godmother

Dinosaur Hatching from Egg

Mary Queen of Scots Crown Scotland

Paxi Space Explorer

Raptor

Unicorn Friends

06/04/2020

Rainbow with Clouds and Sun - Coloring Page (Nature)

Rainbow Support the NHS

Families is a registered trademark of LCMB Ltd, Remenham House, Regatta Place, Marlow Road, Bourne End, Bucks SL8 5TD. The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright and none of the editorial or photographic matter may be reproduced in any form without prior consent of Families Print Ltd. Every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine but Families Print Ltd, its distributors, franchisees and LCMB Ltd cannot be held response for the claims of advertisers nor for the accuracy of the contents, or any consequences thereof

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