Mental Health Week.

Date: 13th Feb 2026 @ 2:52pm

Mental Health Week 2026- This is My Place.

Children’s Mental Health Week gave us a wonderful opportunity to slow down, reflect, and celebrate what makes each of us feel safe, valued, and connected. In our Reception class, we explored the theme “This Is My Place” — thinking about where we belong, who is important to us, and how we can look after our minds and bodies.

One of our favourite activities was creating a class family tree. As a class we created a 'family tree' where they each left a handprint on the branches of the tree.

This activity helped us to:

• Recognise that we all belong, both at home and at school and that we are all special and always welcome in our classroom. 

To help us look after our mental health, we also spent time practising children’s yoga and mindfulness.

We talked about how our bodies can give us clues about our feelings — for example, butterflies in our tummy when we feel nervous, or a warm glow when we feel happy. Through simple breathing exercises and gentle poses like tree pose and butterfly, the children learned ways to:

• Calm their bodies

• Focus their minds

• Manage big feelings

• Feel peaceful and relaxed

The classroom became a quiet, calm space as we stretched tall like trees and took slow, deep breaths. Many children said yoga made them feel “sleepy,” “happy,” or “calm.” These are wonderful tools they can now use whenever they need a mindful moment. 

Children’s Mental Health Week reminded us that mental wellbeing is just as important as physical health — and that even our youngest learners can begin developing skills to support it.

By exploring “This Is My Place,” we helped the children understand:

• They are valued

• They belong

• Their feelings matter

• There are ways to help themselves feel calm.