Every year the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare runs a ‘Resi Rocks’ professional development day for residential care workers in Victoria. This year, Innovative Resources was invited to launch our recently-published resource called POSTCARDS from me to you by running a series …Read more
At Innovative Resources we never tire of hearing about new and creative ways that Picture This is used. Why is it so useful, and so popular? Possibly because of the large number and variety of photos within the set, or maybe because there is …Read more
Scaling is a simple, highly visual and easily understood way of measuring and evaluating anything. Look around and you will see scaling being used in countless ways every day. A wall of a hospital might show a big temperature gauge to measure how fundraising …Read more
When conversations turn to tricky subjects, our hands are often clear indicators of discomfort. Whether it is hands thrust deep into pockets in defiance, or nervously rearranging hair, or biting fingernails, or any other kind of flicking, tapping, picking or squeezing we may be …Read more
If you are a youth worker, counsellor, mentor, teacher, chaplain or welfare coordinator in a school, chances are you’ve come across the Reflexions cards somewhere along the line. You may even have a set kicking around in your tool bag of resources. A new …Read more
‘If you could imagine one resource you would most like to have when working with young people, what would it be?’ This is the question we asked a group of people working in residential care at Anglicare Victoria. They all agreed that they wanted …Read more
Becoming an independent individual is a complex and sometimes difficult journey. Who am I? What am I feeling? What is important to me? What choices and changes do I want? Where am I at and where am I heading? Reflexions can help young people …Read more
‘A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.’ (https://www.grammarly.com/blog/metaphor/) Once upon a time, in a land far away (to use a metaphor to …Read more
Every step we take follows another. Every step we take precedes another. The smallest shifts—doing some dishes, putting something away, stopping something, starting something, taking a shower—can all be significant events on a continuum of ‘next steps’, representing our unique pathways through life. ‘A …Read more
Some situations can be particularly strong triggers for anxious thoughts and feelings in children such as on the way to kinder or school and when the parent leaves (separation anxiety) or when a routine is interrupted (such as a change of teacher), or …Read more
Children thrive when their strengths are valued. Often, the weight of a ‘problem’ can lift considerably when we think of it as a strength yet to be developed. For these reasons many family counsellors, welfare coordinators and support workers encourage parents and carers to …Read more
How easily we can forget that each person’s world is unique and even in the closest of relationships there will be differences in perspective, taste, reactions and desires. This is especially so within the world of home. Parents, partners and children can forget that …Read more
One of the consistent complaints by youth is that adults do not listen to them—they don’t mean passive hearing, but active listening and understanding. Youth discern very quickly whether people are genuine. If they are listened to and responded to with respect they …Read more
Central to all models of life coaching is the belief that people have a capacity to change their own lives. This capacity can be diminished or constrained by many factors, both internal and external to the person. Change can come from many different places, …Read more
‘The value of Reflexions is found in its ability to build … conversations in new and existing directions.’(Reflexions booklet, p8) Innovative Resources’ cards can act as ‘conversational prompts’. That is, when used in conversations with other people, they can suggest pathways of communication that …Read more
‘We are surrounded by symbols. They are present in every facet of our existence. At a practical level, they point us in the right direction, they issue caution, they give us choices, and they limit our choices. Symbols are necessary to navigate …Read more
Now in its third edition, Strength Cards for Kids features a mixed bunch of raucous, funny, serious, quiet, loud, big, small and rather outrageous animal characters. They get up to all kinds of antics, most of which you will never see when you are …Read more
In March I had great pleasure in attending the inaugural Wellbeing Australia conference in Cairns. What made it special was the inspiration and passion shown by so many teachers and wellbeing officers towards the children—and extending further to the parents and the broader school …Read more
For most people, feelings of worry or anxiety happen every now and then and are part of a healthy emotional range. Such feelings can serve us well by warning us of potential danger and helping us ‘gear up’ for performance. However, sometimes these feelings …Read more
‘Everyone benefits in cultures where their strengths are appreciated and noticed. Children, in particular, blossom when they are held in positive regard by the people around them.’ We are surrounded by many different cultures—not only the obvious cultural differences between countries and peoples—but also …Read more
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