Mental Health Awareness Week | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Mental Health Awareness Week. For official information, themes, and resources, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk.

Understanding Mental Health Awareness Week in EYFS & KS1

Let's talk about our feelings and learn how to look after our amazing minds! 😊🧠 Mental Health Awareness Week happens every year in May. It's hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, a charity in the UK. This week is all about helping everyone understand that our minds need just as much care as our bodies! It's a special time to talk about our feelings, whether they are happy, sad, or worried. The purpose is to show everyone that it's okay to feel all sorts of emotions and to ask for help when we need it. This week helps us all learn how to be kind to ourselves and to others, and to know that we are not alone with our feelings.

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this week provides a vital and nurturing theme for exploring emotions and feelings, mindfulness, self-care, kindness and friendship, and personal, social & emotional development (PSED). It's about giving children the words to describe how they feel, teaching them simple ways to feel calm and happy, and building a foundation of emotional resilience. This week offers wonderful planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about mental health and well-being both essential and wonderfully supportive!

Why Is Learning About Mental Health Important for Young Children?

Integrating Mental Health Awareness Week and themes of emotional well-being into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) begins to give them the tools to understand and manage their feelings.

• Develops Emotional Literacy: Gives children the vocabulary to identify and communicate their feelings.

• Builds Resilience: Teaches simple coping strategies to help children deal with big, difficult emotions.

• Fosters Empathy: Encourages children to be mindful of how others are feeling and to show kindness.

• Combats Stigma Early: Normalises the idea that everyone has feelings and that it's okay to talk about them.

• Enhances Social Skills: Helps children understand how their emotions and actions affect others.

• Promotes a Healthy Foundation: Lays the groundwork for lifelong habits of self-care and seeking support.

Engaging Mental Health Activities for EYFS & KS1

Let's take a deep breath and look after our minds for Mental Health Awareness Week with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on understanding emotions, practising kindness, and finding ways to feel calm and happy! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated 'Mental Health', 'Emotions and Feelings', and 'Mindfulness' resources.

Here's some inspiration for celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• Understanding & Expressing Emotions:

  • Use our 'Mental Health - 'Healthy Minds' Poster' to start a discussion about what a "healthy mind" is.

  • Set up an 'Emotion of the Day' display using 'Emotions - 'Emotion of the Day' - Display’.

  • Use our 'Emotions - 'I Am Feeling...' - Emoji Cards' to help children identify how they feel. The 'Emotions - 'I Am Feeling...' - Emoji Colouring' sheets are great for a calm-down activity.

  • Use our 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Sad?' Activity Pack' and 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Happy?' Activity Pack' to discuss different feelings in a gentle, accessible way.

  • Use the 'Emotions - 'What Happens When You Feel...' - Prompt Cards' to explore the physical and emotional reactions to different feelings.

• Mindfulness & Relaxation:

  • Set up a calming area with our 'Mental Health - 'Sleeping Area' A4 Sign' and a display of the 'Mental Health - 'Sleep' Banner' and 'Mental Health - 'Amount Of Sleep' Poster'.

  • Introduce mindfulness with our 'Mindfulness - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Mindfulness - Activity Cards'.

  • Go on a mindfulness walk! Use our 'Mindfulness - Mindfulness Walks Poster' and 'Mindfulness - Mindfulness Walk Cards', or nature-themed free samples like 'Beach - Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt Sheets' and 'Woodland Wildlife - Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt Prompt Cards'.

  • Use our 'Garden Birdwatch Mat' and 'Minibeast Search Checklist' to encourage quiet observation of the natural world.

• Movement & Connection:

  • Use our 'Mental Health - Mood Booster Activity Cards' and the 'Let's Get Moving' resources to explore the link between exercise and happiness. Use movement cards like 'Dinosaur Activity/Movement Challenge - Cartoon', 'Fairies - Activity/Movement Challenge Cards', 'Exercises - A4 Cards', and 'Jack And The Beanstalk - Activity/Movement Challenge Cards'.

  • Promote social connection with our 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Cards'.

  • Reinforce kindness with our 'Let's Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Cards'.

• Creative & Sensory Expression:

  • Explore how music makes us feel using our 'This music makes me feel...' resources, including 'This Music Makes Me Feel...' Emoji Cards Activity' and 'This Music Makes Me Feel...' Playdough Mat'.

  • Encourage children to express their feelings through mark-making with 'Emotions - 'This Music Makes Me Feel...' - Mark Making' and 'Emotions - 'This Story Makes Me Feel...' - Mark Making'.

• Explore More: Please visit our dedicated ‘Mental Health’ page for an extensive catalogue of resources. You may also like to explore additional pages covering relevant and/or connected themes such as ‘All About Me’, ‘Emotions and Feelings’, ‘Exercise’, ‘Families’, ‘Kindness and Friendship’, ‘Music and Sound’, ‘Stay Healthy’, and ‘Wildlife’.

These activities offer great inspiration for making Mental Health Awareness Week a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering emotional literacy, well-being, empathy, and a lifelong commitment to caring for our minds.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’

Please visit our ‘Mental Health’ page for an extensive catalogue of resources.

Please visit our ‘Mental Health’ page for an extensive catalogue of resources.

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for May

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

SEARCH ‘LITTLE OWLS Resources’ USING THE FOLLOWING MENU BUTTONS…

Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Mental Health Awareness Week'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Mental Health Foundation, which hosts this event. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information, themes, and resources, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk.