SCARF at Home - Activities for 9 to 11 year-olds
What your child will be learning about
- Celebrating difference - in the family and beyond
- Kindness and the difference it can make to everyone
- Influence and pressure of social media
What your child can think about - or for you to talk about, together
- Do I have to like or enjoy the same things as my friends and family?
- How am I different from my friends?
- How can I make a difference if I see someone in a tricky situation?
- How can I make sure that I am safe and happy on social media?
What your child can do - together with you or independently
Activity 1- Time to Talk
How well do you know the people in your life? Friends and family often have things in common, but we are all unique and individual, so there might be lots of things that are different about you and the other people in your family.
It would be so boring if we were all the same. Find someone you know who you’d like to get to know even better and work through these questions together:
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This activity might spark some conversations or even disagreements between you - so remember, respecting other people’s opinions is really important. Enjoy the differences and practise your skills of being polite and kind to each other.
Activity 2 - It could happen to anyone!
Many of us have had moments in our lives when we’ve done something and felt really embarrassed. It can feel even worse if someone sees what happens. The way these other people react can really make a difference to how we feel at that time. These people are called ‘bystanders’. We are all ‘bystanders’ at some point. We have a choice to make the embarrassing moment better or worse for the person, just by choosing what we do or say.
Have a look at the sheet It could happen to anyone.
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You could copy the different cards onto pieces of scrap paper or print them.
Find someone at home to play with you.
Take it in turns to read one of the embarrassing moment cards and say what might happen. Have a think about the things that could make that person feel worse (laugh at them) and the things that could make them feel better (help them).
Remember! We all have embarrassing moments and we can try to laugh it off or we might get upset. It’s good to remember that these things happen to everyone.
We also have a choice about how we behave when we see someone else in one of those ‘Oh no!’ moments!
Activity 3 - Acts of kindness
Being kind to other people helps them to feel good and it makes us feel good, too! You might have noticed sometimes, when you’ve done something kind for someone - perhaps helped them or paid them a compliment - you might have felt good inside.
Some people call it a ‘warm, fuzzy’ feeling. Well, that good feeling comes from chemicals that our brains make and it’s good for our health to feel that way. Have a think about some ways that you can help other people. Draw or write them on this poster (or do both!)
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Maybe you can display the poster somewhere that you and others can see it and it will remind you to carry out those acts of kindness!
Activity 4 - Social media: staying safe and happy
Social media can be a really great way to stay in touch with friends and family. We also know that sometimes there can be problems when people chat in this way - just as there can be when people chat face-to-face.
This Social Media Activity Sheet - click here to view, has some fun ideas for helping us to think about the positives and negatives of social media, including how to stay safe and happy!