Monster emotions posters

Download Monster emotion posters from here.

Animals are good for children

Click here for free resources to teach children about animal welfare.

Superhero emotion fans

Please visit this link to download a set of feelings fans

Practical activities for emotional literacy

I have just published my Kindle book and it is available today for free.

The book is a collection of 50 activities for teaching emotional literacy to children.

If you download it please please will you review it for me.

Circle time agreement

This is a circle time agreement which can be used at the beginning of each session. This is something I am always really strict with. The children soon get into the routine and follow the rules. The only one that I tend to do a bit differently is the right to pass. I have found that some children will pass because they don’t want to speak and the whole purpose of circle time is for everyone to have a voice. I let them pass but go back to them so they say something or anything really.
Download Circletime agreement

Visit www.elsa-support.co.uk for more emotional literacy/pshe ideas and activities

I am a ...

I am a..  – I saw this idea on Pinterest and have had a go myself on my IPAD. I have included a download for you to use but depending on the age of the child they could draw their own letter shape. I think it would look fabulous if it was decorated and either filled with words or pictures. They could draw the pictures or even cut out pictures from magazines.  I know when I did it I really had to think about all the things I could do. A really positive exercise for children to do and a real self esteem booster. If you are working with a group or a class I would do a circle time first. It could be a game. Keep going around the circle with ‘I am a… ‘ until all ideas are exhausted. As a group activity you could use the letters ‘WE’ are and children work together in a group to come up with all the things that they ‘are’. This would be great for getting them to find things they have in common. We are ‘artists’, ‘musicians’, ‘friends’, ‘listeners’, ‘happy’, ‘sharers’ etc.
Download: I am a …
Visit www.elsa-support.co.uk for more emotional literacy/social skills activities

Feelings hunt

Feelings hunt – this would be a good class activity and also an activity that could be taken home. Give each child a sheet and allow them to go around their class mates asking how they are feeling. Be prepared for noise but it is a good warm up activity and allows the children to learn feelings vocabulary from their class mates. Emphasis that the feelings written down need to be different. They can’t put sad in every cloud. This will encourage the children to think of different feelings rather than just the usual sad, happy. This sheet can also be used at home. The child can be encouraged to ask the question ‘How do you feel?’ to their mums, dads, grans, sisters, brothers etc. The more children talk about feelings and learn new vocabulary and what it means the more emotionally literate they will be.
This activity could be extended once the children have collected their words. Who has got the most words? Are there any words you don’t understand the meaning of? Choose one of the words and write about a time you felt like that? Choose one of the words and draw a picture of yourself with that feeling. Draw a cartoon strip of a time you felt like that. Choose one of the words and write down words around it that mean the same. How many of your words mean the same?
The list is endless of how you could use this activity.
Download Feelings hunt class

Emotional literacy site

I have added lots to the ELSA support site so please visit and pick up lots of ideas and resources for teaching emotional literacy.

Smartie emotion bingo

Click here to download this emotions game. Great for encouraging expression of feelings. Please don't blame me if the children are hyperactive with the smarties!!

Cyberbullying workshop

I have written about a Cyber bullying workshop I did with year 6s and thought you might want to look at it.

Click here

Cool it Busy Bags

After the last post I started thinking about children who are upset/angry and are sent to time out. I thought that perhaps they could do an activity in a busy bag which might help refocus the negative behaviour with something positive. I have come up with these ideas

Click here to download PDF

All about me

A super little worksheet downloadable from here. The many pieces of me. Could be used as a self esteem activity or a back to school activity for a new class display.

www.elsasupport.co.uk

Emotional Literacy conference in Southampton

Emotional Literacy conference in Southampton. The details can be found on the ELSA website
It sounds very exciting if you live in that area.

Friendship game - emotional literacy

This will print over 2 pages. Stick together and laminate. Child throws a die and follows the foot prints. If they land on the 'best friends' square then they must take a card and answer the question. If correct they can move forward 1 space. If incorrect they must go back 1 space. I am sure it will promote lots of discussion on what friendship really is.

Click here for the board game

Click here for the cards

Happiness emotional literacy

Here are a few resources for working on the feeling of being happy.

Click here for the poster

Click here for the writing frame

Click here for the worksheet

Emotions tree (large poster) and leaves

Here is a large emotions tree which will print over 9 sheets of A4. Laminate and cut out then piece together to make a large tree for emotional literacy type activities. Also there are some leaves. Children could draw their own emotion, write their emotion or you could write emotions on for the child to choose.

Click here for the tree

Click here for the leaves
 
 

Worry dolls

Worry dolls (Spanish: Muñecas quitapenas, "Dolls [that] remove worries"),[1] or trouble dolls, are very small and colorful dolls traditionally made in Guatemala.[2] A person (usually a child) who cannot sleep due to worrying can express their worries to a doll and place it under their pillow before going to sleep. Some medical centers use them in conjunction with treatment for disease in children.[3][4] According to folklore, the doll is thought to worry in the person's place, thereby permitting the person to sleep peacefully. The person will wake up without their worries, which have been taken away by the dolls during the night. Parents may remove the doll during the night, reinforcing the child's belief that the worry is gone. Some parents involve the child in making the dolls to further increase the psychological benefits of releasing worries, and instructions may be found online.

This could be a nice PSHE/Seal activity.

Here are some instructions I have found to make them...




 (Wikipedia)

Friendship bracelets - craft

I have found a very simple fun way of making friendship bracelets. Excellent for pshe or seal activities as well as craft, fine motor skills etc.

Click here for instructions

I know I will be definitely be using it with my friendship group. Will be a lovely activity to begin the sessions. They can all make a bracelet for each other.

Emotion game for small group work

This game is very simple but very effective. We all know children love to talk. They throw a die and which ever number they get they have to describe a time when they felt like that.

Emotional literacy - words

Click here for emotional literacy words