KATIE PIPER TEACHES KIDS ART OF WELLBEING
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“You can say positive messages to yourself or your children while doing it as well.
“I also discuss how to make conscious effort to acknowledge your strengths, and encourage the children watching to think of some affirmations for themselves, that they can read out loud.
“It was nice to make it personal and share the way I help myself and my own family with their wellbeing.
“It’s also been nice to see my children take an interest in my work and be excited that
I’ll be on CBBC, as they watch it.”
Katie, 36, will also have one expert to impress with her teaching skills.
She laughs: “My mum is a retired teacher and thought was it
a■ quite funny that
CBBC lesson!”
Katie and husband Richard have been homeschooling Belle during lockdown and have come up with ways to keep all the family looking on the bright side.
She says: “I get somebody in the family to write a list of positives down and pop it in a jar. Then if they are struggling or having a difficult day – which has happened a lot in lockdown – they can take them out and read them to gain a bit of perspective. It’s a really good way of helping children be reflective.
“I’ve also tried to look at the positives of the situation. For example, this period was a bit like the maternity leave I never had.
“A lot of the time I would miss bedtime with the kids because I was working in London, but the past few weeks I’ve been able to put them to bed myself every night.” During lockdown, the former Strictly star has been running online events for her charity The Katie Piper
Iwas doing the
Foundation, and offering patients medical, physiotherapy and mental health appointments remotely.
She’s also been recording her podcast Katie’s Extraordinary People at home – which was tricky at times. “My podcast is in-depth so I didn’t want to record and not connect with my guests properly,” she says.
“I did video so I could see them and make eye contact and read their emotions.
“I was homeschooling all day, then after putting the kids to bed I did my hair and make-up at 9pm, then went online with the producer and the guests to record the whole episode.
“With everything going on, there’s an appetite from people wanting to hear positive stories and hear about people who have had a difficult experience and come out of the other side.”
Once lockdown is over, Katie is looking forward to having real-life social connections again.
She says: “I’ve seen a lot of people on social media talking about missing nightclubs or going on holiday.
“It’s making me feel very boring because I don’t have a desire to do either of these things. But I’d love to have an adult evening out in a sushi restaurant with Richard or my friends.” ●Celebrity Supply Teacher airs weekdays at 9.25am until July 3, with Katie’s episode showing on June 23 on CBBC and BBC iplayer.
OTHER celebs are joining Katie in proving they’re real class acts – by educating kids specialist on their subjects.
Today’s Celebrity Supply Teacher features wacky chef Heston Blumenthal, above, who will be teaching Food Science. If your child offers to make you breakfast, check it’s not Heston’s famous snail porridge!
Say hola to Gary Lineker, below left, on Monday as he shows young viewers how one to count from to 10 in Spanish, while doing keepy-uppies in his garden. He became fluent in the language while playing for Barcelona.
It’s a numbers game for The Chase brainbox Mark Labbatt who is teaching maths, while former politician Ed Balls is taking American on history. singer and chef Kelis is teaching cookery, Kaiser Chiefs star Ricky
Wilson, below right, is taking on art while Darcey
Bussell, above, teaches dance and Glee star Matthew Morrison gives a turn in musical theatre.