Where Are You Feeling? Art Activity

A great way to keep learning about emotions with the child/student is through identifying where in the body we may feel them! Emotions manifest for everyone differently and it is important to know where your child feels to pair effective calming strategies. This art activity is one of my students favorites and is also great

Feelings Pie

I found some children I worked with struggled with the “What’s In My Heart?” activity due to its more abstract, non-directive aspect. This is an alternative I found to be just as effective and can be fun to customize around the Thanksgiving holiday. I have recently updated the Feelings Pie worksheet – I’ve included both

Building Emotional Vocabulary

Have you ever had the thought “I don’t know the word for exactly what I’m feeling.” Words are powerful because they give the ability to express what we are experiencing. Building an emotional vocabulary when young aides us in conveying what we are experiencing to our caregivers, coaches, teachers, doctors, etc. Here are a few

End of School Year Check-Ins Worksheet

The school year is quickly coming to a close and it is important to take the time with your student to reflect on all the strange, good and bad from this past year. Here are my check-in prompts I use with my students. You can use them in conversation with your child or have it

My Favorite “Getting to Know You” Games for Children & Adolescents

When I first started off as a therapist I was so eager to jump into “fixing problems” it would quickly make my students uninterested in meeting with me pretty quickly. I have completely changed my approach (after a quick learning curve) and focus my first few sessions building rapport with students FIRST & FOREMOST. Relationships

School Check-Ins

Are you tired of hearing the same response to “How was school today?” Here are my favorite top 10 check-ins with my students.

Icebreaker Activity: Thumball

Kids have to sit in a classroom for hours at a time sometimes so I like activities that are movement-based to get them engaged and also have fun! Thumball has been a lifesaver for me especially when I used to run student groups at schools. There are many thumballs to choose from or you can

Finding Fairies: Play Therapy Activity

Finding Fairies is a top favorite amongst the kids I work with! It is such a helpful activity I always keep with me when I feel stuck in what to do next or to just take the pressure off of being in “therapy.” This play therapy activity is so great because kids start communicating without

Toy Story Feelings Game (Spanish & English)

“Can we pleeeease play a game now?” With the switch to telehealth I have had to get creative in how I build emotional literacy with the children I work with! Here is a fun one using Toy Story characters that is always a hit!

What’s In My Heart?

We often wish we could know EVERYTHING that is going on inside of our special human’s heart; this tool helps you get a glimpse into the big feelings they experience! Literacy Level: 4+ Goal/Objectives: Build emotional literacy, identify triggers for emotions, practice appropriate alternatives to expressing emotions Materials Needed: Crayons, color pencils, pastels, markers, Worksheet