Fostering self-care and wellbeing through the world of reading

Nicola Schofield
A teacher sat outdoors with young students looking at a book togethr
Reading time: 6 minutes

Growing up is an exciting time. Children are curious and open-minded, and every day welcomes a new thing to learn. They are constantly exploring and discovering themselves and the world around them. But children also have to face many challenging times too as they get older. It is, therefore, important that we teach our young people to be aware of their own wellbeing and self-care, what they can do to lead a balanced and healthy life, and give them the tools they need to help them in difficult times, both mentally and physically. Ìý

Boosting children's wellbeing with reading
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What are theÌýkey factors to a child’s wellbeing?

Have a look at Ìýbelow. ItÌýdescribesÌýpeople’sÌýbasic needs for good mental and physical wellbeing.

Self-actualizationÌý– Children need to be aware of their own feelingsÌýand understand how to process them.

Esteem –ÌýChildren need to growÌýinÌýconfidence, feel valued and receive praise for their achievements. Having hobbies and interestsÌýtoo is key.

Love/belonging –ÌýChildren need to develop meaningful relationships or feel part of a community. This could be friendships, family, a class,ÌýaÌýclubÌýorÌýschool.

SafetyÌý– Children must feel safe in their surroundings.

PhysiologicalÌý–ÌýChildren must have a home and access to food, water, sleep and exercise.

However, do childrenÌýknow how to look after their wellbeing?Ìý

Ask them to make a list and share your ideas together as a class or as a family.ÌýWhat do they do to look after their mental and physical health?ÌýAre there any things thatÌýtheyÌýdo lots of or don’t do enough of? What can they start doing or try to do more of?

Alternatively, you could also ask themÌýtoÌýput the followingÌýitemsÌýin order of importance. Ask them,Ìý‘What makes you happy?’,Ìý‘What is important to you?’Ìý

  • Food
  • Water
  • House
  • School
  • Friends
  • Family
  • Exercise
  • Sleep
  • HobbiesÌý

HowÌýcanÌýDisney Kids Readers help children’s wellbeing?

Let’sÌýrefer backÌýto the hierarchy of needs and see how they can link into reading.

Self-actualizationÌý–ÌýDisney Kids ReadersÌýcan help increaseÌýempathy and self-awarenessÌýthrough reading about other characters’ emotions and putting ourselves in their shoes. It can help us to understand and process our own emotions too. For example, in Inside Out, we see Riley struggle with her emotions when her family moves to San Francisco. Through the characters of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, we can see how normal it is to feel a range of emotions and not feel happy all the time.

Esteem –ÌýDisney Kids ReadersÌýalso help children to develop confidence and self-esteem as they progress through theÌýlevels. By completing the wide range of activities at the end of the books, children can see that they are learning and improving their English skills as well as havingÌýfun reading a book.Ìý

Readers can also help us navigate difficult moments in life and teach us resilience and strength in challenging times. When we read the stories, we see how the characters overcome obstacles and deal with their problems. This can teach children key lessons and help them tackle their own problems in the real world.

For example, many of the charactersÌýgo through difficult times to which children can relate. InÌýThe Jungle Book, Mowgli is scared but then his friend Baloo comes to help him.ÌýIn Frozen II, Elsa goes on a difficult journey to restore justice for the people of Arendelle andÌýThe Enchanted Forest.Ìý

Love/belonging –ÌýReading Disney Kids Readers as a class, in pairs, or as a family can really strengthen relationships and a sense of belonging, which is such an important part of children’s development.ÌýSharing a book is something specialÌýthatÌýcanÌýallow people toÌýdevelop common interests andÌýthereforeÌýmake children feel that they are part of a wider community.

SafetyÌý– ChildrenÌýcan feel safe and more secure when a parent or a caregiver reads to them before bed.ÌýDisney Kids ReadersÌýare perfect bedtime stories and help children to fall asleep listening to theirÌýfavoriteÌýDisney characters on exciting adventures.ÌýAlso, in times of stress,Ìýreading can help reduceÌýanxiety,Ìýallowing children toÌýenjoy the presentÌýmomentÌýand escape the real world for a little while.

PhysiologicalÌý– Reading exercises your brain. In addition to physical exercise, reading isÌýanÌýexcellent mental workout which is so important to children’s health. Ask the children toÌýmemorizeÌýsome pages from the reader and recite it without looking or ask them toÌýmemorizeÌýthe phonics rhyme on the phonics page. You could also ask them to memorize the key words from the glossary list and see how many they remember.

Explore our range of readers and get inspired

Activity ideas

Now try out some of the activities below which can be linked to the Readers which will help your children/young learners focus on their wellbeing.

1. Paint a scene

This activity is calm, relaxing and mindful for the children to complete. The world is a busy place, and this activity links in with the idea of self-actualization and esteem. Painting or drawing keeps our mind focused on one task, and reduces stress and anxiety. It can help us process difficult emotions and can cheer us up when we are feeling down.ÌýÌý

Encourage your young learners to paint or draw a peaceful scene that they can imagine themselves in. It could be a beach, a forest, or even outer space. This activity allows children to express their creativity and imagination while also promoting relaxation and mindfulness.

Need:ÌýSelf-actualization, Esteem

2. Reading emotion diary

Self-awarenessÌýis such a useful toolÌýfor our wellbeingÌý– through this activity, the children take a moment each dayÌýto read a few pages of a book and thenÌýlook insideÌýthemselvesÌýtoÌýthink about how they are feelingÌýbefore and afterÌýreading. This is powerful, as over time the children will understand that reading is a good way to calm the mindÌýand manage emotionsÌý–Ìýsomething that can help them improve their own wellbeing and feel safe.Ìý

Encourage your learner to write down their feelings in a diary after reading and reflect on how the reading has affected their emotions. This activity promotes self-awareness and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for maintaining good mental health.

Need: Self-actualization,ÌýSafety

3. Reading emotions

Emotional intelligence is suchÌýanÌýimportant part of life. Understanding how someone is feeling through body language, such as facial expressions, gestures and body movements, can be useful when someone is sad, angry or upset. It can help us decide what they need and can help them feel listened to, loved and valued. In this activity, the children practice this by analyzingÌýthe characters’ emotions.ÌýIt will help children build confidence when dealing with difficult or sensitive topics with family and friends.Ìý

Choose a Reader with a diverse range of characters and ask your learner to identify and describe the emotions shown by each character. This activity promotes empathy, communication skills and social-emotional learning.

Need: Love/belonging, EsteemÌý

4. Guess the scene meditation

This activity is a great exercise for the brain. It helps children toÌývisualizeÌýand picture different surroundings in their minds and imagine different smells, sounds and textures, and bring them to life. As the children’s minds are focused on one thing, they begin to relax and feel calm. This activity can be a great tool to use before bedtime to help children fall asleep peacefully.

Guide your learners through a guided meditation where they imagine themselves in different peaceful scenes. You can also ask them to create their own scene and describe it in detail. This activity promotes relaxation, mindfulness and creativity.

Need: Self-actualization, Safety

5. Develop resilience

In every story there is a lesson to be learned, and through this activity childrenÌýlearn how to deal with difficult situations through the characters.ÌýIt teaches children thatÌýalthoughÌýthere are hard times in life, if we are patient, work togetherÌýandÌýshow resilience, then weÌýcanÌýwork through our problems.ÌýÌý

Choose a Reader with characters facing challenges and discuss with your learners how the characters handle the situation. Encourage them to think of ways they can apply this to their own lives when facing difficulties.

Need:ÌýBelonging, EsteemÌý

6. Create an exercise routine

This activity is creative and fun and will get the children moving and laughing at the same time. Physical exercise is so important to our wellbeing,Ìýso what is better than doing a workout with yourÌýfavoriteÌýDisney character?ÌýThe children can do these workouts in small groups, with family or as a class.ÌýThis activity promotes physical health and social bonding.

Choose a few Disney characters and create simple exercises for each one. You can also use props or make it into a game by having the children take turns being different characters.

Need: Physiological

Read our blog post 'ChoosingÌýthe right gradedÌýreadersÌýfor young learners' and 'How to motivate reluctant readers' for more reading tips and ideas.

Explore our range of readers and get inspired

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    6 tips for planning your first English classes

    By Nicole Kyriacou

    You are nervous, yet excited. You want to appear relaxed and fun, but still be taken seriously. Most of all, you are keen to make an excellent first impression.

    With all that in mind - planning your first English classes of the year can be a daunting experience.

    Here are six things to consider when planning your first classes:

    1. Set clear aims

    Whether you are teaching young learners, teenagers or adults, it’s important you discuss the aims and objectives of the course from day one. You’ll need to learn more about your students' needs to do this. Why are they learning English? Do they want to prepare for an official exam? What activities do they enjoy? What things do they need to improve the most?

    The way you do this will depend on the age of your learners. For example, with adults and teens, you could get them to interview each other and write a report about what they found out. With younger children, do a survey they can complete using smiley faces.

    2. Find out students’ interests

    Although you should understand your students' needs and why they want to learn English - to help make your classes relevant and engaging - you should also discover what they enjoy doing outside of class.

    To do this, get students to write mini bios you can stick around the classroom. Or have them prepare presentations where they share something they are passionate about with the rest of the class - using coursebooks. As a class, go through the contents page, vote on which topics students find most interesting, and start with those.

    3. Break the ice

    You want your first class to be fun so that students are motivated, and associate English language learning with something they can enjoy. Ice-breakers can also be an excellent way to get to know each other and learn about your students' current level of English.

    Activities where students have to ask each other questions work well.

    4. Provide a comfortable environment

    Young learners and teenagers tend to be shy at the start of a course - especially if they don’t know each other. Develop a rapport and break down boundaries by including team-building activities in your first class.ÌýYour aim is to have all the students feeling more comfortable with each other before the end of the lesson so that there are no awkward silences in future lessons.

    5. Manage expectations

    Managing expectations is an essential part of a teacher's job. Make sure in the first class you are clear about what you expect from your students and what they can expect from you.

    Have students brainstorm the rules for the class and then make a big poster or ‘class contract’ which all students have to sign. Display the poster on the wall so you can always refer to it if someone misbehaves.

    Try to keep the rules as positive as possible. Instead of writing: 'Don’t speak your first language', write: 'Try to always speak English and ask if you don’t know a word'. If you are feeling really brave, you can even get your students to devise a list of rules for you which you can display on the wall next to theirs.

    6. Make it challenging

    It’s great making your first lesson fun - but there’s nothing more motivating than leaving a new class and feeling like you’ve made a good decision and you are going to learn lots (and you aren’t wasting your time or money). This is especially important for adult learners.

    So, as well as getting to know each other and finding out their needs, teach them something new. This could be 10 new pieces of vocabulary, how to structure a letter or report, or a list of resources they can use at home to practice their English.