Chatterbox Chums!

Deepen your relationship with a friend in this fun classic art and drama activity

What you’ll need: One other person, paper, scissors, and coloured pencils or pens

What’s it for? This activity is great for making introductions and developing relationships. It allows a space to share information about yourself in a fun and safe way.

Check In:

Notice how you’re feeling right now. Close your eyes and notice what’s going on inside your mind and body.

• How are you feeling?

• What are you thinking?

• How does your body feel?

Method:

• You might need to get an adult to help fold the chatterbox, but once you’ve folded one, it will become easier. Here are some instructions from Vintage Toys Blog (https://bit.ly/3Dq90W5):

• Or you can use this template:

• Discuss with each other the topics that you’d like to include in the chatterbox. These should be things that you’re happy to talk about with another person. You’ll need eight topics, for example:

  • Family

  • Friends

  • Pets or favourite animals

  • Hobbies and interests

  • Hopes and dreams

  • Fun things to do

  • Things I’m grateful for

  • Something that makes me laugh

• Once you’ve folded, coloured, and numbered your chatterbox you can start playing with it.

• The person holding the chatterbox should:

  • Ask their partner to choose a colour; open and close the chatterbox to spell out the colour

  • Then choose a number; open and close the chatterbox that number of times

  • Ask the partner to choose one of the numbers

  • Read out what conversation topic is uncovered and discuss together

• Switch around so that both partners have a turn using the chatterbox and answering the questions.

Extra Activity: Make additional chatterboxes to explore different topics. If you are playing with someone you really trust, you can use the chatterbox to explore your feelings. Why not choose a different emotion as each of the topics, and share an experience when you felt that way?

When you’ve finished, spend a moment reflecting on the activity and ask yourself the following questions:

• Did you learn anything new about yourself while you did this activity?

• Did you learn anything about your partner?

• How did it feel to explore your topics?

• Did you feel closer to your chatterbox partner after completing the activity?

Conclusion: This activity helps you to develop and deepen your relationships with others in a fun and creative way. The activity can support communication, relationships, and empathy - and it’s fun!

Take a moment to notice how you are feeling at the end of this activity. Did you discover anything surprising? What can you take away to make you feel better about yourself from this activity?

Reference: Images are taken from Vintage Toys Blog which also has further instructions on how to construct a chatterbox: https://bit.ly/3Dq90W5

If you would like to, share something about your experience with this activity with someone you live with! Ask the person who looks after you to send us an email if you have any questions or comments about the activity, or would like to send us any pictures (info@catcorner.co.uk). Don't forget to subscribe for more fun CAT activities!

Created by Vanessa Reid © November 2021

---

Creative Arts Used: Drama, Art

Psychological Areas Explored: Relationships, Resilience, Communication

If you enjoyed this activity, you might also like:

Wellbeing Pie: use art and words to explore what helps your body and mind feel strong and healthy.

These activities could be done by children of all ages, but some may need the support of their parent or carer to read the instructions or complete the activity safely.

This website was made by CAT Corner to help you explore your feelings through fun creative arts activities. The people using the website and the people responsible for them need to make sure they stay safe (full disclaimer on About page).