Story Massage is a method of story-telling using both words and touch and provides a relaxing and engaging way of telling stories to your child. The element of touch helps to create a special moment for you and your child to come together and enjoy a story in a way which is both calming and relevant to them. It is a good idea to create a calm space to share the story and repeat the same story several times over a few weeks so that they become familiar with the activity. Some children may even be able to take part in doing the story massage for their siblings once they remember the strokes for the story.

There are 10 key ‘strokes’ that make up the Story Massage programme, and you are able to make up your own stories using these strokes, which you can then use to create periods of calm and relaxation with your child throughout the day.

Here Jack demonstrates two massage stories which you can follow along with at home and there are some additional stories with text and instructions.

For more information and story ideas, go to www.storymassage.co.uk. They also have storytelling sessions which you can join on their Facebook page.

Meditation or relaxation activities are a great way of connecting to a range of senses and providing time for your child to calm and focus on a shared activity. In this video, Blanca explains some of the techniques and resources we use in school to create a multisensory meditation experience. If you have some relaxing scents, massage creams and lights at home, this is a simple activity to share with your child.

Yoga is an excellent activity for increasing body awareness, supporting emotional and sensory regulation and increasing focus. At school, we use regular yoga sessions combined with calming relaxation and these sessions take place during PE and PSED lessons. At home, try using yoga as a way to wake up the body in the morning or to stretch and calm ready for bed in the evening.

It is often a good idea to follow a set yoga routine so that your child can learn the positions and actions and become more confident in moving their body purposefully and calmly. It is best if you join in and model the correct positions so that they can see the movements their body should be making. It is a great activity for the whole family!

Here is our movement teacher Nicola with some yoga sessions which can be adapted to a range of needs:

Below are two yoga stories which we often use in school. The story element helps to give your child an easy to remember structure to follow.