*WATCH THE VIDEO* and create a paper chain to notice all the different emotions you feel over time.
What you’ll need: Paper, scissors, different coloured markers, pen or pencil, glue or stapler
What’s it for?
This activity will help you share and express your emotions, and see how they change over time. This will help you identify what makes you feel different emotions.
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:
Think about the different feelings you have during the day. Choose a colour to represent each emotion and write down a key so you will remember them for example, “Red = Angry”)
Cut your paper into strips (you might need an adult to do this safely). These can be any size, as long as they are big enough to write on and long enough to make a loop.
Think about how you were feeling yesterday. You might have felt lots of different feelings, but which one comes to mind first? Choose a strip of paper and write down what made you feel that way. Decorate the strip of paper in the colour that matches that emotion. If you can’t pick just one feeling you could use more than one colour. After you have written down what happened, stick or staple the ends of the paper together so you have a ring.
How are you feeling today? Follow the same steps to record your emotions and what made you feel that way.
Put today’s strip of paper through yesterday’s ring, and then attach the ends so they are looped together like a chain.
Keep the rest of your strips of paper and add to your chain each day. You might like to decide how long you are going to keep adding to your chain. At the end of that time, look at your colours and see all the feelings you had and how they stayed the same or changed over time.
Extra Activity: You could also use your chain to mark the time to something you are waiting for, like a birthday or the return to school. Each day, write down how you are feeling about the thing you are waiting for and add it to your chain.
When you’ve finished adding the link to your chain each day, spend a moment reflecting on the activity and ask yourself the following questions:
What made you feel that way?
How did you act when you felt that emotion?
Is there anyone you trust who you would like to talk to about what happened?
Conclusion:
This activity helps you to identify your emotions and how they make your body feel. This can help you to express your feelings and manage big or difficult emotions.
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?
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 Heather Dingle © April 2020
Creative Arts Used: Art
Psychological Areas Explored: Emotional Wellbeing, Self-Exploration
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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.
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