The Restorative

        Playground Originale    Bjorn Lie Playtimes, Football Chants and Vagal Tone Cat Jolleys       www.catjolleys.com Hear the whistle blow, freeze, it blows again. Calmly stop the Y6 FA cup final at 89 minutes and walk to the line, harmoniously, alongside your biggest rival who's just outrageously fouled you and said something about yo mum. S tand silently in register order, then walk inside peacefully, feeling completed self-regulated and calm. Then sit down, ready to learn. Easy peasy. Only, for the vast majority of Primary aged children, we know it isn't that easy, yet this is still how a lot of playtimes end. The transition from running, screaming, wind in their hair and heart beating at 200bpm to absolute silence, stillness and full self-regulation, would be a big ask for most of us, yet we often expect that from young children and feel frustrated when they just can't do it. I remember being at my wit's end a few years ago, afte...

  Tuesday 4th April 2023 Don't ask why - how to avoid shame, develop emotional literacy and get useful answers. Cat Jolleys   catjolleys.com When a recent, peaceful      sit in the garden alone, for 5 minutes and pretend it's Spring in Manchester     was interrupted by the primal scream of my 11 year old, swiftly followed by the urgent hushed tones of   DON'T TELL HER from his regretful and panicking 14 year old brother, my pre frontal cortex did not behave itself. Decades of teaching, acres of training in Restorative Practice and parenting for a long 16 years went out the window and my informed response to the 14 year old was a screeched WHY DID YOU DO THAT? Yep. I asked him that. Yep. You guessed it, he didn't know. Yep. You guessed it, it was the 11 year old's fault. Yep. You guessed it, I got no useful information. Yep. You guessed it, a harmonious repair and return to my garden relaxing, was a long way off. for a great il...