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Welcome to Cups of Calm and More -The home of totally unique and effective mental health and wellbeing resources for children !
💙Thanks for dropping in - I'm Mitch, a former teacher with a passion for designing engaging resources that equip children with the confidence, tools and knowledge they need to express and manage their feelings and emotions ... and help to restore calm.
💙 My resources are available as Classroom Wellbeing Kits or alternatively, available to order as separate items. Click on my shop (in the menu bar above) or carry on reading for more details !
💙 For extra support, wellbeing activities, advice, resources, news and updates I also run a very friendly Instagram page @cups_of_calm-and_more ... where I promise you a warm and friendly welcome and a treasure trove of inspiration that you can try at home, school or work to help you through the Ups and Downs of life.
💙More about me, my resources, the journey and my mission below !
All about my resources ...
From my long career working with children, I know that they learn new information best when their senses are stimulated, they can physically handle the information and it is presented in a clear, captivating and concise format. These are the key factors behind my designs . Read on ! ...
I am passionate that my resources are 3-dimensional, sensorially engaging, hands-on and interactive ... to ensure that the new information is absorbed as enjoyably and memorably as possible.
My resources offer clear, concise information to
avoid information overload
as well as ensuring the
advice is as memorable
and as manageable as possible.
I aim to turn the abstract and invisible concept of feelings and emotions into a logical , concrete experience.
My resources are also excellent communication aids and rich in emotional awareness and literacy skills.
All information used is
well-researched and offers science-backed,
evidence-based theories
and strategies.
They have been used and highly approved by
teachers, SENCOs and Play Therapists.
My mission is to equip children with effective tools and strategies to manage their emotions and learn effective and positive self-regulation skills..
They also equip parents and teachers with effective and valuable teaching aids to support their children through life's challenges.
Many of my resources come with lesson plans and guidance and are ready-to-use with no prep required.
Ideal for homes, schools, 1-1, PSHE lessons, Circle Time, Calm Corners, Nurture, Thrive and After School Groups.
A bit about me ...
🤍I trained as a Nursery Nurse as soon as I left school. Since then I've had a rich and varied career ; from a Nanny, Children's Holiday Rep overseas, Senior Management in Nurseries, Qualifying as a Montessori teacher and managing a beautiful Montessori Nursery ... through to Class TA and working 1-1 with SEN children in primary schools. I feel truly privileged to have played a part in so many children's childhoods and remain in contact with many of them , and their parents to this day 🤍
🤍 I left the classroom in 2009 to be Mum to our long-awaited baby boy. With my passion for teaching, nurturing and all things creative, it wasn't long before I was in my element - making him all sorts of play-based activities to aid his all-round development.
It was during this time that I realised he would benefit from some activities to nurture his emotional awareness, development and regulation skills ; things that would help him to understand and manage his big feelings of overwhelm, frustration and anxiety.
However, when I was searching for inspiration, I was surprised (and shocked !) to discover that although the market was awash with resources to support children's academic, physical and creative development ... there was a startling shortage of resources on the market that I could use to help me support my son with his emotional and mental health development.
What I also find equally alarming is that not only do teachers and parents have few resources to teach emotional wellbeing ... they often have very little training, guidance or preparation time in this field either ... which simply exacerbates the situation. If we feel ill-equipped to teach this crucial area , how can we possibly hope to support our children effectively ?
I strongly believe that if we can help children feel confident, articulate and in control of their emotional wellbeing, then they are far more likely to thrive, enjoy and reach their potential in all other areas of their development too.
So, after much thought, research, conversing with experts and with all my teaching and creativity skills firmly in place ... I began designing my own little range of activities for my son that would teach him all about his feelings, emotions and coping techniques. Little did I know that it wasn't to end there ...
What happened next ?
Friends and family loved my homemade creations and urged me to get them professionally produced. I shrugged the idea off, but then Lockdown came and I needed a project ...
After months of even more research, sourcing components and suppliers ... and many more fields completely out of my comfort zone ... in November 2021 I proudly (and slightly nervously !) launched my first product 'A Cup of Calm' at a very wet and windy Farmer's Market !
The Journey Continued ...
Then it was time to learn how best to spread awareness of my mission ... Another steep learning curve ! From leaflet dropping and pitches at local fairs to building websites and learning how to make reels on social media ... the latter of which unexpectedly unleashed my childhood ambition to be a Blue Peter Presenter !! 😆
I absolutely love sharing ideas and activities, and enabling more and more parents and educators to deliver engaging and effective mental wellbeing activities.
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Then in the summer of 2022, I entered Blenheim Palace's New Start-Up Business Competition. It was a mini version of Dragon's Den and was one of THE most petrifying things I have EVER done !!
I was absolutely overjoyed and slightly stunned to be announced the winner ... and was rewarded with my Cups of Calm being stocked in the Blenheim shop , plus a year's worth of their business expertise and support ! Incredible ! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine something as amazing as this could happen to me and my homemade creations !
A few months later, a chance conversation at my routine check- up at my local Specsavers branch led to them sponsoring me to supply a bundle of my resources as Classroom Wellbeing Kits to 10 local schools ! An absolute dream !
The amazing partnership and support I have since received from Specsavers has been key ; not only in enabling me to fund and produce 6 more of my designs and offer a broader range of much-needed resources ... but also and more importantly ... rolling them out to schools who so desperately need them but do not have the budget.
The Small Print ...
While I have had over 30 years nurturing and teaching young children and strive to assist parents and educators in providing effective resources and well-researched advice and strategies - I have no mental health qualifications and my resources and opinions SHOULD NOT replace professional and specialist Mental Health opinions, advice, diagnosis or interventions. Please always seek the advice of a trained and professional Mental Health Practitioner in the first instance if you have any concerns regarding your child's mental wellbeing and are seeking support.
Please note that all resources stocked in my shop (bar My Little Bag of Calm) are my own unique designs, have been registered with the Intellectual Property Office (formerly the Patent Office) and have their own official design number.
I am more than happy for you to share or reproduce my ideas for educational or personal purposes, but please do NOT reproduce, modify, distribute or sell as your own work or without my permission.
If sharing on social media/publicly please give full credit by clearly including/ tagging/mentioning www.cupsofcalmandmore.co.uk as the original source.
