The Sensory Trolley - Emotional literacy at Happy Tots with Jacqueline Davies

What did we do?

We spoke with Jacqueline Davies the artist and told her about our setting and she visited, she showed me her work and we talked about what would suit our setting, she had the idea of a trolley which would be based around the book the colour monster which explores children s feelings and emotions. It would also have resources to support children inside for sensory and emotions. Jacqueline visited us many times were we explored the childrens senses, touch, and sight and smell.

All of our children took part (75), all of the staff (18) took part and many children will be benefiting in the future

Summary of impact

The project has helped the children who attend Happy Tots to explore senses and also to use the trolley to complete work to support children s feelings and emotions. This has been measured by the children s knowledge and observations of the children when taking part in the project

The project met the following “Hullaballoo22” outcomes:

Outcome 4: Providers support young people to develop creative skills for life, especially supporting mental health and resilience

Outcome 5: Providers support young people’s attainment in creative subjects

The project worked with children to understand feelings and emotions and support them with interventions to support self esteem and well being, also giving them the chance to be creative in different ways using their senses.

Were young people involved in co-producing this activity?

Yes the children were involved all the way meeting Jacqueline and talking about the project and how they wanted to do it, they were also involved in preparing the cabinet ready for the project.

Are there parts of the project you will continue to develop and deliver?

We will continue to use the trolley improving resources and also updating each term to suit the children who we have at the time.

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