# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Looking for information about coronavirus (COVID-19)? Our articles and videos explain what the virus is, ways to prevent it from spreading, how to talk to kids about it, how to care for someone who is sick, and much more.

# data[].attributes.headline
This is a fantastic book explaining all about Covid 19. 

# data[].attributes.subject
This is a fantastic book explaining all about Covid 19. 

# data[].attributes.body
https://nosycrow.com/blog/released-today-free-information-book-explaining-coronavirus-children-illustrated-gruffalo-illustrator-axel-scheffler/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Playing is central to children's physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Children learn through play while developing resilience, flexibility and understanding of their world. Play in families enriches childhood. All children and young people have a right to play.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Playing is central to children's physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Children learn through play while developing resilience, flexibility and understanding of their world. Play in families enriches childhood. All children and young people have a right to play.

# data[].attributes.headline
Click this link to a social story about the corona virus from Carol Gray.

# data[].attributes.subject
Click this link to a social story about the corona virus from Carol Gray.

# data[].attributes.body
https://carolgraysocialstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pandemics-and-the-Coronavirus.pdf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Explain Social Distancing to Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The PDST is funded by the Teacher Education Section (TES) of the Department of Education (DE) and is managed by Dublin West Education Centre.
14 Joyce Way, Park West Business Park, Nangor Road, Dublin 12 Email: info@pdst.ie User Login | Teacher Login | Learning for All | Privacy Policy | Cookie…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Greet Someone Without Touching | Greet From 6 Feet | Jack Hartmann Social Distancing Song

# data[].attributes.body
A video where children can explore that it's ok to have a blue day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lucy's In Lockdown - CBeebies style reading

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When emotions become too much, having something to help your child calm down is a great idea. And the actual act of making sensory bottles or calm down jars is in itself a wonderful activity! Discover how you can make different styles of sensory bottles at home with our round-up below.
Don't miss our best content straight to your inbox! Sign up now and get our FREE newsletters packed with fun ideas and things to do with the kids, family-friendly recipes, expert advice, parenting tips and great competitions.
Like all sensory play, sensory bottles are a really useful tool for promoting a sense of wonder and encouraging children to use their senses to explore and discover. They can also help with the development of fine motor skills when children are involved in making the bottles, and language and social skills when shared.

One of the most effective uses for sensory bottles is as a calm-down tool. A sensory bottle, calm down jar or other similar items can offer a valuable focus or distraction to a child while they calm down from an overwhelming emotional experience.

They also make a great craft activity and are simple to make. The best bit is that the overall purpose of a sensory bottle is entirely open to your child to determine. They can explore textures, colours and contents by shaking, rolling and up-ending the bottle. Or, alternatively, use it to calm down and as a meditation tool. How cool is that?!
You May Also Enjoy 7 Simple Sensory Box Ideas
Make Your Own Sensory Bottles

We wanted to share some of our favourite DIY sensory bottles - all of which offer a unique element for discovery and exploration, which are sure to be a hit with children of all ages.

Some require a little more adult supervision than others, so we have provided ingredients and instructions to get your craft session started!
You May Also Enjoy 21 Awesome Gifts For Children With Additional Needs
Rainsticks

Rainstick bottles use the calming effect of the sound of rain to sooth your child's troubles away, and can be made from a huge array of household items such as dried rice, beads or buttons. Just add your chosen objects to fill around half of your container, secure the lid and be transported by the soothing sounds.

Back to Nature Rainstick

Why not include a nature scavenger hunt or trail in your quest to find items for your rainsticks? Children will love hunting for twigs, cones and small stones - and you can add in bird seed and nuts for effect too, like these rainsticks from Chalk Academy.

Fill the cylinder (e.g. water bottle, cardboard tube with the ends covered, etc) with twigs and sticks, and then carefully pour in your smaller items (uncooked rice or beans, sand, seeds, pebbles, etc). Secure the lid and then slowly tip the rainstick from one end to the other to hear the 'rain' sounds inside.

Scented Rainstick Bottle

Sensory or calm down bottles are typically a visual tool. In the case of the rainstick bottle, a hearing element is added. But what if we could add the sense of smell too? Why not add a few drops of your favourite scented essential oils to some dried rice and add this to your rainstick for a sensory treat?
You May Also Enjoy Awesome Sensory Play Environments For Kids In Ireland
Slow Motion Sensory Bottles

This kind of sensory bottle is a fabulous tool to use with children experiencing big emotions. They can regulate their breathing as they watch items move slowly around the bottle.

This slow motion LEGO sensory bottle from Childhood 101 is a great example - and the LEGO bricks can fall and focus, slow down or calm down, depending upon the moment.

To make this, you will need:

Clear hair gel

Warm water

A tall bottle

LEGO bricks

Fine glitter

Super glue or tape to secure lid (optional)

1. Combine one part hair gel to 6 parts warm water. Leave to cool completely and settle.

2. Pour most of the gel/water mix into the bottle.

3. Add a little fine glitter and your LEGO bricks. Push the bricks below the surface to remove any air bubbles.

4. Fill the bottle right to the very top with the remaining mixture.

5. Put on the lid, shake vigorously and test your bottle. If the bricks fall too slowly, empty the mixture back into a bowl and add a little more warm water. Let cool again and re-test. If the bricks fall too quickly, mix in a little more hair gel. Let settle and re-test.

6. Once you are happy with the flow of your sensory bottle, secure the lid - a waterproof glue or wide, clear packaging tape will help to keep it secure from curious little fingers.

You May Also Enjoy 27 Innovative & Fun Ideas for Water Play
The great thing about these slow motion sensory bottles is that you can swap the LEGO bricks for anything you choose, or something that particularly resonates with your child. We really like this idea for an alphabet sensory bottle from Modern Preschool, or you could use small animal toys, beads, buttons, flowers or loom bands.

Colour Mixing Sensory Bottles

These vibrant oil and water discovery bottles are a safe science activity for preschoolers and older children, but will need some adult supervision. The vibrant results of these colour-changing bottles from Preschool Inspirations shows just how eye-catching they can be.

Aside from the sensory element, this engaging science activity is also effective for teaching the concepts of colour (for younger children) and density (for older children). By using different densities, the two colours are able to mix to form a new colour and then separate again. But beyond the science, they are beautiful to look at and simply mesmerising.

Bottles

Water

Jugs

Baby oil (or another clear oil)

Water-based food colouring

Oil-based food colouring

Spoon or mixer

Super glue

You May Also Enjoy 18 Easy Science Experiments Perfect for Preschoolers

1. Pour some water into the bottle until it reaches the halfway point.

2. Add a few drops of water-based food colouring to the water. Then put the lid onto the bottle and shake it to mix the colour into the water.

3. Pour some baby oil into a jug, then add a few drops of oil-based food colouring. Always use contrasting colours for the best effect.

4. Use a mixer to mix colour into the oil.

5. Carefully pour the coloured oil into the bottle (use a small funnel if you need to), on top of the water. It will sit on top of the water until the bottle is shaken.

6. When the contents settle, seal the lid onto the bottle with super glue or hot glue gun to prevent leakage when shaken.

To make this, you will need:

Ocean Sensory Bottle

One lightweight plastic bottle

Water

Clear glue (or blue glitter glue)

Blue water-based food colouring (if you used clear glue)

Clear, plastic gemstones (alternatively, you could use clear or coloured glass pebbles or even clean beach sand)

Silver glitter

Small sea shells

Silver star sequins

You May Also Enjoy 8 Stunning Shell Crafts for Kids to Make and Keep

1. Add some water to the bottle and squeeze in some glue. Shake to mix and then add the gemstones, glitter, sequins, sea shells, etc and a drop or two of blue food colouring if you used clear glue.

2. Fill the rest of the bottle with water.

3. Secure the lid tightly with a dab of glue from the hot glue gun or by wrapping the top with coloured electrical tape.

To recreate the calming feeling of being under the ocean or enjoying the waves, an ocean-themed sensory bottle, like this one from Little Bins for Little Hands, would be a good idea.

To make this, you will need:
You May Also Enjoy 10 Of the Cutest Winter Crafts for Toddlers to Make
Winter Sensory Bottle

No Time For Flashcards created this really effective 'Blizzard in a Bottle' winter sensory bottle that is ideal for Frozen fans.

A few simple ingredients really can be transformed to make you feel like you're in the middle of a blizzard!

Glitter Sensory Jar

These unicorn or mermaid-inspired glitter sensory jars from Childhood 101 is so eye-catching! Kids will love the way the colours blend together, creating a really magical focus for them during calm down time.

This style of bottle uses acrylic paint and cotton balls, which gives a different look and feel to the final effect - we love it!

Have Some Hands-On Fun!

These sensational sand play ideas are perfect for toddlers, pre-schoolers and big kids to get to grips with!

Water Beads
You May Also Enjoy 8 Simple Craft Ideas for Kid that will Amuse Preschoolers
When it comes to any form of sensory play, water beads are a popular choice and they are incredibly versatile.

Just adding them to water can be a really engaging activity. As they expand in size and suspend in water or oil, the water beads appear to blur and bounce around. It's really quite hypnotic, and lots of fun!

This rainbow sensory bottle with water beads from Ryan & Marsha is another way to enjoy them. Of course you could make any pattern of colours you like, but in this case the rainbow effect is really mesmerising, particular when held up to the light.

Have you ever made sensory bottles or calm down jars at home? Leave a comment below and let us know - we'd love to hear from you!

Emily is a multi-tasking mum of two who swaps a morning aimlessly yelling words like "shoes!" and "teeth!", for the soothing sounds of the keyboard. Relishing her warm cup of tea and unaccompanied toilet trips, she has a passion strong business content, as well lifestyle and parenting blog posts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Make Sensory Bottles and Calm Down Jars

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When emotions become too much, having something to help your child calm down is a great idea. And the actual act of making sensory bottles or calm down jars is in itself a wonderful activity! Discover how you can make different styles of sensory bottles at home with our round-up below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This website uses cookies. Some cookies may have been set already. To find out more about our use of cookies you can visit our Privacy policy. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Time to Come In, Bear: A Children's Story About Social Distancing

# data[].attributes.body
Colouring book explaining about the corona virus

# data[].attributes.headline
This site by St. Patrick's Mental Health services has a variety of resources but I particularly like the mindfulness podcasts provided here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
This site by St. Patrick's Mental Health services has a variety of resources but I particularly like the mindfulness podcasts provided here. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mental health activities for primary school

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download our free mental health and wellbeing activities and resources for teachers and children in primary school.

# data[].attributes.headline
Try some mindfulness colouring to help your child relax.

# data[].attributes.subject
Try some mindfulness colouring to help your child relax.

# data[].attributes.headline
If you would still like more resources on learning about the Corona virus, you will find lots of links here.

# data[].attributes.subject
If you would still like more resources on learning about the Corona virus, you will find lots of links here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Curated resources for those working with individuals who have developmental disabilities. Thanks to all the creators from around the...

# data[].attributes.body
Twinkl has lots of fantastic resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Coronavirus social story sheets to aid SEN children.

Help your children with SEN make sense of the new social situations they could face during the coronavirus pandemic with these Coronavirus Pandemic Social Situations.

Children with SEN may find the current times difficult, as what they are used to has changed. They may struggle to understand why, all of a sudden, school is shut when they have always been told that they must go to school.

These coronavirus social story sheets will guide your child through different scenarios that might occur as a result of needing to stay at home, and give them the reassurance they might need that this new routine is OK.

Can I use these coronavirus social story sheets at home?

Absolutely! In fact, these social story sheets have been designed to be used primarily at home.

All of these social situation guides are in an editable format, allowing you and your child to personalise each story to them.

To use, simply download the file, print the social situations you wish to tackle (or save them, if you would rather go paperless), and go through them with your child.

How to talk to your children about the coronavirus

All children, whether they have special needs or not, might be scared about the coronavirus situation right now.

Here are some useful tips for helping to ease your children's worries:

Invite your children to ask questions and talk about the issue with you.

Explain what is happening in a child-friendly way.

Encourage them to protect themselves by washing their hands and avoiding contact with others

Share stories of people who are being kind and helping each other during the outbreak

Make sure you are taking care of yourself as well, both for your own well-being and because children pick up on their parents/carers responses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Help your children with SEN make sense of the new social situations they could face during the coronavirus pandemic with these Coronavirus Pandemic Social Situations.Children with SEN may find the current times difficult, as what they are used to has changed.