Newsletter 2025:6
'Playing with Heart around the Globe'
Dear Members and Followers,
So now, we at the start of the chaos of summer! The stop / start of holidays as we approach the stop / start of the summer breaks. Always difficult to negotiate stopping with clients, especially with younger children who have a very hazy time concept. At least with schools, there are much clearer time boundaries, and woe betide parents who break those boundaries and take their children on holidays at other times. Of course, the two-month summer break was for the farmers, so the whole family could help with the harvest; if it wasn’t the hay then it was the apples together with the blackberries.
Therapeutic Stories and Metaphors
I didn’t develop an interest in snooker until recently, well, say 20 years ago! I find it quite fascinating, calm, at times even sedate. Every time a match starts, and the players make their opening moves, with all the balls on the felt, it feels like a new family story is about to unfold. All these reds that crowd together, with all these individuals who have so much value! Who will end up close to whom? Who escapes irretrievably? Who comes back, time and time again!
We can never anticipate what therapeutic metaphors our clients may use, and some may be so obscure we just have to float with it. I remember some years ago when a client entered the room, sat down heavily, and said, ‘The Saracens had a word for it’ and then promptly started to talk about her husband’s infidelity! I never did work out the connection with the Saracens. Now, my approach is different, and I am less ‘non-directive’. I prompt people to explore issues, I ‘wonder’ with children on their experiences, without imposing my ideas. Generally, the whole process is more interactive, with the client leading the way, and maybe I have a guidebook or a map!
Talking of maps! Part of the assessment for the NDP Diploma is that people must create a map that explains NDP to a child under the age of six. I find so many children have no idea why they are seeing a special person and often align us with teachers. By having a simple map means that the child can grasp the basic concepts of what NDP (or any other therapeutic intervention) is about.
My eventful life!
Of course, the long summer break was originally in place because everyone was needed at harvest time. I remember as a child, being involved in haymaking and making sure ‘all was safely gathered in’, and the fun of having picnics every day so we didn’t have to traipse back to the house for lunch. I have many happy memories of farm life, and the various delights it brought - keeping my own bantams and the joy at the first egg; two orchards absolutely brimming with apples and walnuts. We used to colour our fingers with walnut juice and pretend we were smokers!
And I had a special willow tree that I could climb and hide behind the branches. It was my very special safe place. I had to temporarily relinquish it, when a blackbird built a nest in a crevasse in the trunk. I was able to observe from a distance, the hatching of these five sky blue eggs, the fledglings and their eventual departure. However, it wasn’t mine again for very long. My father had reared a shorthorn bull and began to tether it in the orchard. One day it slipped its chain and was wandering loose when I approached my safe tree. I was terrified, initially frozen to the spot, then working out safe staging posts to reach the gate again. First the walnut tree with its huge trunk, then the hiding bushes where I played with my sister, then the five-bar gate that I could climb over, rather than open it. Phew! I made it. Very slowly and silently. I went to report the bull’s escape to my parents who were completely nonchalant. I knew better! A bull is a bull.
Who has scary stories to share? Do write in with your own experiences!
Until next time.
Thank you so much for being a part of my network – it feels as if I have lots of friends who are willing to hear about new ideas and contribute their own.
With Love,
Dr Sue
Forthcoming Courses
Don’t forget that if you’re one of my Substack subscribers you can attend these webinars for FREE - see details in the Subscribers’ section below.
We have some more of our new popular ‘Whistlestop’ Webinars coming in June and July – just the right thing if you are looking for extra CPD or only have time for brief encounters, wherever you are!
NDP and Social Anxiety in Children & Young People
Monday 23 June, 1200-1400 (UK time)
Friday 27 June, 0900-1100 (UK Time)
Dr Sue presents this webinar and introduces a new approach for working with anxious children and young people to help them develop social skills and reduce stress. This 'Whistlestop' webinar will be of interest to teachers, teaching assistants, care workers, clinicians, therapists, parents, and all professionals involved in the support and development of children and young people.
NEW COURSE! Developing Positive Thoughts & Feelings
Price includes FREE book
How to turn around a negative self-image or world view…
Children and teenagers need to resolve their emotional distress in order to discover their self-esteem and their potential for their futures. This Whistlestop Webinar gives examples of NDP application where there has been a remarkable turnaround in both children and teenagers to a positive view of themselves and their world.
Changes in self-confidence and a positive attitude towards learning, can bring about changes in learning achievement and behaviour. However, if a young person regards themselves and their work as ‘rubbish’, disruptive behaviours or other symptoms will take over. One of the methods for changing behaviour is through the careful application of dramatic activity. Learn more in this interactive webinar.
Included in the price of this webinar is a copy of Dr Sue Jenning's book '101 Activities for Positive Thoughts & Feelings' (Hard copy for UK customers only; overseas customers will be sent an eBook version.)
Please do request new webinars from me if there is a special topic you would find useful.
Remember that you can study for the NDP Diploma as a Self-Guided course, in your own time and at your own pace. There are optional ‘live’ tutorials. The elements are the same as the live training and so are the assessments.
Just a little nudge – please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Not only does it help me as a writer, you also gain more, with additional article, stories and techniques, 4 free webinars each year, and 10% discount on any UK training. As a paid subscriber you are supporting new things that I am creating and are closely involved in the process. Just £65 per year or monthly instalments. Thanks and a hug. Deluxe membership is £120 per year and gives free monthly consultations, 6 free webinars per year and 15% off UK training.
Miss Penny-Weather’s Country School
And finally, our bed-time story. This time it is the next section from our story about life at a rural school after WW2.
The Story of Jimmy Swift, the Boy from Somerset:
Miss Penny-Weather’s Country School story is based on events that the author experienced or that she heard about as a child in post-war Britain. It creates the atmosphere of the rural school and is a useful addition to lessons about social history. It will eventually be published as a book, but meanwhile look out for the recording on YouTube.
Episode 14
The two children stood very still, looked at each other and then looked in again through the window – this house was supposed to be empty. They were moving into it as soon as some repairs had been done and furniture obtained. Something was very, very wrong…
Jimmy said to Mathew that they should go into then house and see what was going on, he thought it was very cheeky that someone was in their house. Well, it was almost theirs. Mathew was more cautious, ‘I think we should wait, and find out a bit more first, it might be dangerous.’ Before Jimmy could answer, there was another crash, and an angry voice shouted, ‘Not again! Can’t you do anything right?’ A very soft and hesitant voice whispered, ‘Sorry, it is a bit heavy, I will try again.’ ‘Oh no you won’t, give it me, let me do the lifting, you are just weak.’ The quiet voice said sorry again several times. There sounded as if there was heaving and pushing, with grunts and groans. Jimmy and Mathew looked at each other, and Mathew put his finger on his lips, in case Jimmy was about to say something.
They both felt stuck now that they knew there were people in the house, who might come out at any moment and see them. Which door would they use, the front or the back? Jimmy realised that they would probably use the front door as none of the path and grass had been disturbed at the side or back. Just then, the front door opened, and the two boys sank into the overgrown grass in the back garden, which completely covered them when they were crouching. The quieter voice said, ‘Can I go and play in the back garden? It looks fun there.’ Jimmy and Mathew froze with something like terror at the thought of them being discovered. However, the loud voice said, ‘We have to get back for another delivery, there’s no time for you to have fun. Chop, chop.’ The two boys lifted their heads just slightly to see if they could catch a glimpse of who might be using their house, and they just managed to see a boy about their own age, and a tall burly man, going through the gate and on to the tow path.
‘We had better go home and tell somebody,’ Mathew whispered. ‘Oh no!’ said Jimmy. ‘We are going to find out what is going on.’ And he went to see if the front door was unlocked. It did not have a proper lock when he had visited with his dad, so they had wedged a piece of wood through the hasps of where a padlock must have been. The wood was still in place and Jimmy manoeuvred it out and pushed open the door. He beckoned to Mathew to follow him as he went inside. Mathew was nervous, scared the people might come back and catch them. But he admired Jimmy’s bravery, and was determined to join in. The boys went inside where it was quite dark as there were curtains on the front window – there at the side were several wooden crates. What on earth were they, and what were they doing in their house? Jimmy wanted to break one open, but Mathew cautioned him, ‘We don’t want to leave any traces for them to find when they return. And it might be dangerous stuff.’ ‘Dangerous? What do you mean?’ said Jimmy, ‘What sort of stuff could be in those boxes?’
Mathew thought for a moment, ‘Well, they could contain explosives, and they are very dangerous.’ Before he could say any more, they heard some shouting and simply froze on the spot. ‘Quick! Out!’ said Jimmy, and they made a dash for it, out of the back door, and hid again in the long grass. They had closed the front door, but the wood was not back in place. Too late for that now, and Mathew was pulling faces as he had stung his legs on some stinging nettles.
They peered through the grass and could see a boat slowing down on the canal, just before the lock. There was the same man and boy, but now a woman also accompanied them. The boy tied up the boat, and they all walked towards the house. ‘This will make a very nice hideaway for us,’ said the man. ‘It’s been empty for ages and looks completely abandoned.’ The boys looked at each other in horror. So these people were planning to stay! The man looked a little puzzled at the piece of wood on the ground, but the boy had already pushed open the door and they all went inside.
‘Run!’ said Jimmy, as the boys made a dash for the towpath, hoping they would not be seen. They kept running in the direction of the barge, praying that they had not been seen by these strangers. Phew, at last it was in sight! Jimmy suddenly stopped in his tracks. ‘That’s not our boat,’ he whispered to Mathew. ‘Something is going on. We’d better not be seen.’ They crept towards the hedge that bordered the field and climbed over the wooden fence that kept the cows from straying. ‘Something is not right,’ said Jimmy. Mathew could only nod, his eyes very wide and staring.
How could they discover what was going on?
Find out what happened in the next episode!
(If you prefer to listen to these stories, they will shortly be available on YouTube ‘NDP Storytime with Sue Jennings’ and ‘Stories of Mouse and Mouse’. The ‘Moose and Mouse’ stories are available in the paid section below and are written for children under the age of 6 years. They address important issues in child development such as attachment, loss, playfulness, adventure, safety and fears. See our website here.)
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Hello everybody, and welcome back!
Well-tried methods: Playsheets 3
Let’s try and think positively! It is not easy with so much that seems negative. But we have at least had some warm weather. What else? This newsletter’s new playsheets (see download links below) give you some opportunities to think positively; they are taken from my book, ‘101 Ideas for Positive Thoughts and Feelings’ in the series from Hinton House. The first is called ‘Happy Colours’ and encourages you to think about colours you like and then colour some balloons. There is no doubt that certain colours do change our mood. For me it is Mediterranean Blue – it is a very dynamic colour and when I am wearing it, it can shift my mood completely!
The second play sheet is called ‘Happy Colours 2’ and is all about butterflies and their beautiful colours. There is no doubt that the healing colours from nature are very sustaining and bring about changes of mood and attitude. Institutional colours give out a pall of gloom and doom, and can make us feel even more depressed than we were before!
Members of The Nest (paid subscribers) can use the links below to download the Playsheets. Each comes with both a page with a suggested activity and a worksheet.
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