Conker the Chameleon

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Find something that comes from nature(being in nature, changing your focus helps to calm and re-regulate). The way we see the chameleons in different colours based on their feelings is fantastic and it really helped the children understand how they were feeling. At the end of the story most of the children said the rainbow was their favourite part and that really showed as they were telling me what each chameleon was feeling before I'd even had a chance to look (and they were right as well!) Often they know feelings in books after working it out a while but with the colours they could tell instantly and this helped them focus more on the solutions Conker came up with and learning from the story. Hug someone you love(scientifically known to soothe,relax, reducestressand trigger the release of oxytocin). I adore rhyming books and Conker the Chameleon has such a gentle patter and flow as you read. It really draws you in further to the charming world of Conker. Conker’s Charm

The children at Sheringham Nursery School enjoyed Cahn’s book. It gives aneat account of how ayoung child’s fascination can support their early learning, when parents, wider family, and nursery staff all work together. This made me think of acouple of possible spin-offs. This delightful book could not have come at a more apt time for us as a family. There have been so many big feelings for us to deal with as adults that I'm amazed at the resilience shown by Floss over these last couple of months. I adore rhyming books and this has such a gentle patter and flow as you read, really drawing you further into the charming world of Conker. Another would be to share the story with parents. It shows how how something which might seem really annoying at first – atwo-year old’s endless attempts to grab and use keys – can lead to signifiant steps in early learning.Does your child find it hard at times to self regulate those big emotions? Do you find it hard to chat about those emotions, or know how to deal with them as a caregiver? Today we are looking at just how important it is to develop our children’s mental health and well-being, especially after home schooling and their worlds being turned upside down. Now more than ever children need to be able to identify, regulate those big feelings.

Emotions don’t come with a guidebook, unfortunately there is no one size fits all model. The best way to know what helps your child is to talk to them and learn together through stories and play. Children tend to openly communicate when they are engrossed in play. Hug someone you love (scientifically known to soothe, relax, reduce stress and trigger the release of oxytocin). When we patiently help children to follow through on something they have chosen to do, we are supporting their developing self-regulation. To use the keys successfully, Umar has to inhibit his anger and frustration, which he manages to do most of the time. He has to screen out other distractions and just focus on what he is doing with the keys. He has to plan and carry out asequence of actions.Her newly released title ‘Conker and the Monkey Trap’ delivers a message about bravery, friendship and kindness with a subtle nod to the importance of connection, teamwork and the 5 steps to mental wellbeing. Find something that comes from nature (being in nature, changing your focus helps to calm and re-regulate). Conker the Chameleon is the same as his siblings in every way except that he can’t change colour like they can. At first, he is upset that he can’t change but he soon learns that as he can’t show his emotions by changing colour then talking about them is actually the way to go and that staying green has its advantages. Conker the Chameleon teachers us, in such a tender way, that no matter how you may look on the outside, there may be more going on inside. Conker the Chameleon is a wonderful adventure story that not only contains a fun, imaginative story but is educational and helpful too.

Conker wishes to be like all his brothers. In the end he learns to accept his differences feel happy with who he is. Here are more structured play ideas you can introduce with Conker and the rainbow pebbles. The book could also be used as aprompt for supporting children’s metacognitive thinking. Careful use of questions like ​ ‘what do you think Umar was thinking?’ or ​ ‘how do you think Umar learnt to use keys’ can encourage dialogue about thinking, learning and problem-solving. This in turn can help to develop metacognitive abilities in very young children. The EEF’s Early Years Toolkit comments that the ​ ‘development of self-regulation and executive function is consistently linked with successful learning, including pre-reading skills, early mathematics and problem solving. Strategies that seek to improve learning by increasing self-regulation have an average impact of five additional months’ progress. Anumber of studies suggest that improving the self-regulation skills of children in the early years is likely to have alasting positive impact on later learning at school, and also have apositive impact on wider outcomes such as behaviour and persistence.’The story has abeautiful flow, with aconstant rhyme and hints of alliteration – this makes an ideal storybook for helping children to develop their phonological awareness. There is no better way than communicating with children than through stories. When researching and writing Conker the chameleon I have communicated with wonderful teachers, parents and caregivers who are leading the way in social and emotional development, however sadly this often depends on the individual early years setting. Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens was chosen as the perfect location for the trail, as woodland gardens provide a calming and restorative effect on the mind for both children and adults. Studies have shown that cortisol levels decrease when walking in nature, and outdoor activities can reduce the risk of poor mental health. At Sheringham Nursery School, where Iam the SENDCO, Iwill plan this book into our core book offer. This means that we will read the book over the course of afortnight and plan arange of activities related to different themes featured in the book. We might focus on the rhyming aspect during agroup time and create nonsense rhyming strings. On another day we might discuss the emotional states featured in the book such as feeling red, what that looks like in ourselves and how we can self-regulate in such scenarios. We may use an emotional dial to help children with limited language to understand and enjoy the book.

It’s certainly a book I’d recommend for your book shelf to have to hand when big feelings come. As I say it’s been so valuable for us as a family while we have been dealing with poorly family members and me needing to spend more time taking care of others giving rise to some separation anxiety and grief.Conker the Chameleon teachers us, in such a tender way, that not matter how you may look on the outside, there may be more going on inside. Conker isn't like the other chameleons who show how they are feeling by the colour their bodies turn. He wants to be like the other chameleons and show how he is feeling. However, he soon learns that his special gift is to help others share how they are feeling by talking. He soon feels much better himself once he's spoken to a friend. Whilst some of the aspects of the book are quite deep and complex, perhaps too lengthy for some learners, Iwould recommend that it is focused upon as a core book. Allowing children to concentrate on these complex issues and connecting during a story accompanied by open-ended play, will help build the foundation for self -regulation. Many valuable lessons can be learnt, self care strategies all through helping your child discover themselves, in turn you connect with them, learning how you can help them as an individual. Hannah chose Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens as an ideal setting for the launch and an adventure trail. For children and adults alike, a woodland garden has a calming, restorative effect on the mind. Studies show that the level of the stress hormone, cortisol, is lower when walking in nature. Activities in the woods or parks have been found to reduce the risk of poor mental health.