Come and see all of our families. They are different, just like you and me. See how we live together happily. It's fun to be part of our family. Our family. Our family.
Hi, I'm Ivy and I'm seven years old. Come and meet my family. This is my puppy, Ginny. She's the best dog in the world. We live in Liverpool, and I have a little brother called Freddie. Freddie is three years old. We like to draw and play together. Me and Freddie have a family with Mummy…
Does it tickle?
…and we also have a family with Daddy, because my mama and dad broke up. This is our family! Well, one of them!
My favourite thing with Mummy is all our pets. I like doing crafts and going on bike rides, and I love huggies! My mummy cares for me by cooking our tea and…
Running your bath?
Running a bath, cooking our tea, making up stories to get us to sleep. I'm drawing all the dogs, the park and the house.
Shall we draw the sun? Does the sun always shine on our house? Yay! Right, what other house shall we do?
Daddy's house.
Daddy's house. Let's do his front door. Does he have a front garden?
Not really.
A little one. Shall we do that like that?
I go to my dad's every Wednesday and every weekend. He makes us a bath, he makes us lunch, he makes us breakfast, and we go to the skate park.
Where do you drive to?
Daddy's house!
And then we come back to…?
Mummy's house!
The best thing about having two families is I get two beds, two kitchens, two tables, two birthdays, and two Christmases!
What are you drawing, Freddie?
Nana, Poppa and Freddie.
When my dad moved away, my nana and poppa moved nearby.
MUM: Why did they move? Because we were too far away and they couldn't reach us all the time.
They wanted to help us, help look after you and Freddie. Nana and Poppa, they have a driveway, don't they? Shall we draw a driveway like that? If I'm working late, they look after you, don't they? What do you always get at Nana and Poppa's when you go there?
Sweets.
And?
Ice cream.
Lots of treats.
What shall we pack to go to Nana and Poppa's?
Um, we should pack this book.
A book. OK.
I think we should pack the HappySelf Journal. Some pens.
Yeah, you want those to write in the journal, don't you?
IVY: I think…
My dog teddy.
Oh, you want to pack your teddy. Freddie's packing his teddy, so do you want to pack a teddy?
I'm going to pack Willow and Monkey.
I'm not sure Willow's going to fit, is she?
IVY: She is.
MUM LAUGHS
MUM: Do you know what else we should pack?
What?
Toothbrush.
Yeah.
Need to clean your teeth, don't we?
When we're not staying at Mummy's, sometimes we stay at our grandparents' or my daddy's.
MUM: And remember, what can you do if you miss me?
Call you.
You can give me a call.
When I'm missing my mum, I send her a picture.
MUM: You and Freddie sent a selfie, and who did I send you a picture of?
Ginny.
Ginny!
I sent you a picture of Ginny back!
You don't need to live with your family, cos somehow you're all connected with this invisible string all round the world. Let's play catch the slipper!
MUM LAUGHS
I hope you enjoy meeting our family.
ALL: Bye!
Video summary
Meet 7-year-old Ivy. When Ivy's parents broke up her Dad moved out and Ivy stayed living with her mum and little brother, Freddie.
Teacher Notes
Note: this video is about a child whose parents have split up.
When Ivy's parents broke up her Dad moved out and Ivy stayed living with her mum and her little brother, Freddie. Ivy introduces us to her network of care-givers and shares how her dad and grandparents help to look after her and Freddie even though they don't live together.
The Notes below are taken from the full Teachers' Notes document.
Learning objective###
To show that there is a network of family members who love and care for you, beyond your own home.
Key questions
Before the video:
- Does everyone in a family always live together?
- Are there people in a family who don’t live in someone’s home?
- How do we know that these people are also part of someone’s family even if they don’t live with them?
- Why might these people not live together in the same home?
During / after the video:
- How does Ivy’s mum show love and care for her and her brother?
- Who is in Ivy’s family who doesn’t live in her home?
- How do we know these people are part of Ivy’s family too?
- How do these people show love and care for her and her brother?
- What does Ivy do if she’s feeling worried or misses her mum when she is not at home / with the other people in her family?(You could use Ivy’s description of people being joined by 'invisible string' as part of the questioning about how families are linked).
After the video:
- How do you know that people in your family love and care for you / How do people in your family show you love and care?
- Are there people in your family who don’t live with you in your home? (eg aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.)
- Who are the people that you are joined to with 'invisible string'?
- If you are feeling worried or sad, what helps you to feel better?
Suggested activities
- Create a family display showing how different family members are joined together (eg using string to connect pictures, connecting pictures like a jigsaw).
- Children create a trophy / medal / top trump card, etc, to celebrate a family member who cares for them but doesn’t live at home. The award could include words or sentences about the things that person does to show them love and care.
- Discuss the scene in the video where Ivy packs some special things to take to her grandparent’s house. Ask children to create their own suitcases of special objects that they would take if they were going somewhere else. If appropriate, discuss feelings around these objects, and how the objects would help children with good feelings.
- At the beginning of the video there is a shot of a heart with things on it that Ivy loves. Children could make something similar, listing family members or aspects of family life.
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