This is one of my favorite activities when teaching kids (or adults) about emotions. Emotional Animals Dice is a simple game that requires kids to think about different emotions then act them out for you or the rest of group. The fun part is that they act those emotions out as an animal. We originally found this idea on the Sweeter than Sweets blog. Here’s how it works:

1. Find or make two dice. You can find solid wood dice at places like Hobby Lobby. We used dry erase dice which allows us to change the animals and/or the emotions on the fly. So, for example, if there is a particular circumstance or emotion a child is dealing with you can add it to the dice to make sure it comes up while you’re playing. You can find the ones we used on Amazon.com.
2. Write the names of six animals on one of the dice. Options may include:
   • Sad
   • Happy
   • Angry
   • Afraid
   • Loving
   • Stressed
   • Confused
   • Nervous
   • Lonely
   • Disgusted
3. Write the names of six animals on the other dice. Options may include: Continue reading

You might think that the anger and target practice probably shouldn’t go together. However, when it comes to kids taking some target practice can be an effective way of both venting anger and discussing a child’s anger with them so they can explain it better. Here is how this great idea, which we found originally on Little Birdie Secrets, works:

1. Draw a series of concentric circles on a large sheet of paper or white board to create a target. You can have the child make their own target if you have some time and let them decorate it however they want.
2. Have them write or draw things on the target that make them angry. As they do, talk to them about each item and how they’ve dealt with that anger in the past.
3. Have the child throw something at the target. Anything soft will do – you don’t want to break anything, but the physical activity of throwing something also helps to alleviate anger. Foam balls are a great option. I use the puffer balls shown below. I got a dozen of them on Amazon for around $10 and use them for a variety of activities.

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One idea for helping kids deal with fear and anxiety is to create a Worry Bot. The idea is simple and provides a way for kids to both talk about their fears and to track them.

Here’s how it works:

1. Build a Worry Bot (or Worry Warrior or Worry Monster). Use can use any sort of boxes or containers so long as the child can put small pieces of paper in the Worry Bot and retrieve them later. We wrapped the lid on both the body and head of Worry Bot separately so it can be removed to insert and remove the papers.
2. Have the child write (or draw) things they are worried or anxious about on the pieces of paper and put them inside the Worry Bot.
3. As the child is recording their fears, talk to them about each one.
4. Put the worries inside of Worry Bot. As you, talk to the child about ways they can deal with their anxiety.
5. Revisit each fear with the child from time to time. As they express that they have moved past an item or overcome that worry, remove that slip of paper from Worry Bot and have the child throw it away.

This idea was originally inspired by Crayola and their Worry Worrier.  You can find other examples by searching for Worry Monster. Use your imagination and work together to make your own Worry Gobbler.

We opted for a Worry Bot, and here’s how we put him together:

• The boxes for the body and the head (as well as the four “legs”) were craft boxes we bought from Hobby Lobby. We bought them for ease, but you could easily re-purpose some empty shipping boxes or anything else you have around the house.
• We used textured paper (also from Hobby Lobby) to give our Worry Bot more of a three-dimensional look. Originally, we had intended to wrap the boxes like gifts, but in the end used decoupage to attach the paper to the boxes.
• The arms were rectangular piece of paper folded with hands cut out of the black textured paper we used for the hat.
• The lettering was a cheap package of stickers which seemed easier than cutting them out individually.
• Add a face and a couple of wiggly eyes, and your Worry Bot comes to life.

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Feelings Glasses is a great game to use to teach a group of kids, teens or adults what it looks like when we express emotions. In fact. one of the keys to teaching kids about emotions is helping them to recognize how those emotions make them look and act. Like any good “role-playing” exercises, Feelings Glasses mixes exaggeration and fun with learning. Here’s how it works:

1. Buy a few pairs of different colored glasses. I got mine at a party store around Halloween for a couple of dollars each, but I’ve also seen them at various dollar stores and Hobby Lobby in a variety of colors. I purchased six different colors (orange, blue, green, red, yellow and purple). You can definitely get by with fewer pairs, but if you want to do the exercise with more kids or multiple groups, it’s nice to have more choices.
2. Select kids to come up on put on each pair of glasses. You may want to participate as well to “keep things moving along.”
3. Explain to the kids that each pair of glasses represents a different emotion (start with basic emotions, but feel free to mix it up as the kids get older and as they learn more emotions). Sticking with the theme of the movie Inside Out, let’s make
   • Blue represent sadness.
   • Yellow equals joy.
   • Red for anger.
   • Green can be disgust.
   • Purple equates to fear.
   • We’ll leave orange out for purposes of this example, but you could keep it for yourself and let it represent sarcasm (which is not an emotion but can be helpful for keeping the exercise moving). Other ideas include, “Orange has to copy whatever emotion the last person who spoke had.” or “Orange is not allowed to speak but has to physically express the emotions of the person who is speaking.” Use your imagination!
4. Explain the rules of the game
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It’s important to teach kids ways that they can calm down when they are angry or anxious or stressed out. In the heat of overwhelming emotions though, it’s easy for kids to forget the methods you have taught them. That’s why if you work with kids, it useful to have a jar full of cool down cubes, and it’s simple too!

1. Just buy some plastic ice cubes. I got mine from Five Below after the Fourth of July.
2. Write various calm down techniques on the cubes (one per cube). Permanent marker works best. We’ve included a list of the techniques we put on the cubes below.
3. Put the cubes in a jar. We used an old peanut jar, but anything large enough that a child can reach their hand in will work. Decorate the jar however you want.
4. Whenever the child you are working with upset, encourage them to go to the Calm Down Jar, pick one cube out and use the technique on the cube to calm down. If that doesn’t work encourage them to pick another cube.
5. Feel free to engage in the activity with the child, and when they have calmed down use the opportunity to talk about what’s bothering them.

Here are some of the calm down techniques we put on our cubes (feel free to make up your own):

• Go for walk
• Eat
• Move
• Do a puzzle
• Draw
• Throw ball
• Shower
• Blow off steam
• Ride a bike
• Close eyes
• Laugh
• Write it down
• Paint
• Karate
• Talk it out
• Count to ten
• Use computer
• Call a friend
• Play with sand
• Ask for help
• Jump rope
• Tell someone
• Walk away
• Play a sport
• iPod
• Journal
• Go outside
• 3 deep breaths
• Stop and think
• Sing
• Tell a joke
• Color
• Hug a pet
• Blow bubbles
• One happy memory
• Positive self talk
• Stress ball
• Read a book
• Seek out help
• Mold clay
• Jump
• Play memory
• Count clouds
• Play with legos
• Drink water
• Take a timeout
• Dance
• Talk to a friend

We originally found this idea in a number of places including: Continue reading

Anxiety is a very real problem for many kids and teens, and there is no “quick fix.” However, there are techniques you can use to help a child struggling with anxiety and some of them are quite simple.

This paper airplane technique requires only one piece of paper (almost any type will do), some sort of writing utensil and time to talk to the child dealing with anxiety.

Here’s how it works.

1. Sit down with the anxious child and talk about the things that are causing them anxiety. You can guide the conversation, but make sure to allow the child to lead the conversation and discuss their own anxieties.
2. As you discuss each item which causes anxiety, have the child write it (or draw it) on the piece of paper.
3. Take the opportunity to talk about different breathing techniques and other things the child can do to help when they feel themselves getting anxious.
4. When you are done listing things on the paper, make a paper airplane. If you’re not a paper airplane aficionado, you can find instructions here.
5. Have the child throw the paper airplane across the room or, ideally, into a trash can.

Although a very simple exercise, the Anxiety Paper Airplane has numerous benefits. They include: Continue reading

Kids these days are stressed. There are a multitude of different ways to help kids deal with stress, but there is one very simple stress reliever that you’ve probably all tried at one point or another – packaging bubbles. Despite Amazon and many other online stores abandoning this joy inducing packaging in their boxes, it’s still pretty easy to get you hands on the old-fashioned bubble wrap (check out your local office supply store, do it yourself moving store or big box retailer).

I like to have a little fun with it and make a label for the bubble wrap. I keep a handful on hand to pass out to stressed out kids (and adults). Here’s a picture of the stress reliever we put together (I printed the labels; my son and daughter cut the bubble wrap and stapled the labels to the bubbles).

Here’s what our label says:

STRESS RELIEF

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Getting kids to talk about their emotions plays a huge part in helping them to process those emotions, get past them and move on with their lives. When you can combine that process with candy, well that just creates an all-around great situation. That why we were so excited to come across the M&M emotion game at Living a Rad Life.

In this game, you use snack sized bags of chocolate covered candy (M&M’s) in order to get kids talking about their emotions. You and the child (or every child if you are working with a group) starts with one fun-sized bag of candy. On your turn, you pull one candy out of the bag and share an emotion/experience based on that color. Only after sharing do you actually get to eat the candy.

In this version of the game, you have to do one of the following depending on which candy you pull out of the bag:

• Red: Share something the makes you Happy
• Brown: Share something that makes you Sad
• Green: Share something that makes you Angry
• Yellow: Share something that makes you Excited
• Blue: Share one poor choice you’ve made today and what you could have done different
• Orange: Share one good choice you made today

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The Superpower Game is simple game that doesn’t require any preparation or materials, but it can tell you a lot about what a child is experiencing. You ask one simple question:

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

As the child answers, listen for clues to what they are feelings and what they are going through. Think about why the child might want a particular superpower and/or what emotion it might help them to deal with. For example:

• Invincibility or Super Strength could be an indication that the child is anxious about something or someone.
• X-ray vision might mean the child is struggling to understand what is going on and wants to be able to “look inside” of his/her parents to figure it out.
• Flying can signify that the child is overwhelmed and just wants to get away from it all.
• Power of Healing might suggest that the child is worried about their parents or someone else and what they are going through.
• Time Travel could suggest that the child is dealing with regrets or guilt that they want to go back and fix or a desire to have things “the way they used to be.”
• Telepathy and Mind Reading can indicate that the child feels “left in the dark” or insecure and wants to know what other people are thinking.
• Precognition or Knowing the Future could relate to anxiety about what might happen next in the child’s life.

Of course, these are just guidelines.  It is possible that a child just wants a certain super power because it seems cool, so you may want to take the conversation a little further:

• Why would you want to have that power?
• Would you have a superhero name? If so, what would it be? If not, why not?
• If you had that power, what is the first way you would use it?
• What are the positives and negatives of having that power?
• Would you want to have a superhero costume? If so, what would it look like?
• Would you have any superhero gadgets? If so, what would they do?
• Would you want your friends and family to know that you had the superpower?
• Would having a superpower change how you think about yourself? If so, how?

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