Goal: Encourage children to identify and express their emotions in a safe and creative way by drawing "emotion monsters" that represent different feelings.

Instructions:

  1. Introduce the Activity:

    • Ask the child: What do you think feelings look like?

    • Explain that today, they will create their own Emotion Monster to show how they’re feeling.

  2. Draw the Emotion Monster:

    • Provide crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

    • Encourage the child to pick a feeling (happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, etc.).

    • Guide them to draw a monster that matches the feeling.

      • Example: A happy monster might have a big smile and bright colors, while a sad monster might be small and blue.

  3. Talk About the Drawing:

    • Ask open-ended questions:

      • What does your monster feel like?

      • Where do you feel this emotion in your body?

      • What helps this monster feel better?

  4. Coping & Comfort Strategies:

    • Help the child brainstorm ways to comfort their monster when they feel this way.

    • Relate this to real-life strategies (e.g., deep breaths, talking to someone, hugging a toy).