The Hare-Shaped Hole

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Make a memory box together and use art and crafts to make it special. Ask children to add all the things they want to remember about their person or pet. The box could represent the hole and they are filling that hole. Hertle and Bertle were always a pair, though one was a turtle and one was a hare. They were utterly buddies, and best friends forever and whenever you looked, you would find them together… until quite unexpectedly… the end came. Draw some cloud shapes to represent memories and ask the child to draw their memories of the person or pet that has gone. Acceptance– when Gerda helps him with his memories of Hertle and those memories help him fill the hole and he can take those memories with him. Activities you could use after reading the book Open Communication: Encourage children to express their feelings. Let them know it’s okay to talk about their loss and that their feelings are valid.

When I work with adults who are living with the grief of children, perhaps over a sibling or parent, they always ask me ‘what should we say?’, ‘what can we do?’ - and Jacinda Ardern’s words always come to mind as a starting point: ‘We cannot know your grief, but we will walk beside you every step of the way’. Gerda the bear, Bertle’s new, wise friend gets this exactly right, not trying to placate, not trying to make Bertle better – just being by his side. ‘She cuddled that small turtle-child as he cried and let him feel all he was feeling inside’.We believe in providing resources that support children’s emotional well-being. Our grief worksheets, coupled with these tips and recommended reading, aim to bring a gentle guidance to children navigating the complex journey of grief. What do our grief worksheets for kids look like It helps children to accept these emotions and learn to understand we can ease the sadness by remembering special things about whatever, or whomever we have lost.

VisitStroud enables you to find businesses, food, accommodation, places to go and local events - all together in one place. Make their hole out of playdough. How big is it? Bertle’s was ‘Hare shaped’ what shape is theirs? Can they make the shape? Did you feel despair when your person or pet disappeared? What did you do? Is it good to cry? Do you think letting out your feelings is good? Do you feel better after a good cry? How do you feel having a big hug? Does it help you to feel better? What else makes you feel better?This 5 stages of Grief resource is an adaptation, for pupils, of the Kubler-Ross model and was inspired by the book ‘The Hare-Shaped Hole’ where all 5 stages are clearly identified. Then another character appears called Gerda the kindly bear and she waits until he is ready and she cuddles him and lets him feel all his feelings. She then encourages Bertle to fill the hare shaped hole with all the wonderful memories of Hertle. Bertle gradually starts to feel better.