Emotional Intelligence is a wide range of skills that children of all ages can develop and improve. These skills are critical for emotional well-being and life success. This Activity Guide is designed to give you additional age appropriate resources that are helpful in teaching your child about emotions. The emotional and social skills that are presented were written in order to help you grow your child.
Seeds of Kindness
Do a coloring sheet with kindness words on a card. Cut out the words and paste them on construction paper to give to someone. Here are some examples to start with: Love, thoughtfulness, joy
Collect words of love, kindness, happiness, caring, appreciation from family members, friends, classmates, teachers. Write the words you have collected around a pciture. Then try to make it a habit of saying something kind to at least one person everyday.
1. How many words were you able to write by yourself?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. How many “seeds of kindness” did you collect from other people?
____________________________________________________________________
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Keep a list for one month of whom you said something kind to each day.
How Do I Feel About Myself?
Everyone has feelings. Sometimes I am happy, or sad, or mad, or excited, or scared. Look into a mirror. Make faces showing how you feel when:
a. you are eating an ice cream cone
b. your friend can’t come over to play
c. you go on vacation
d. you play with your pet
Feeling Left Out
All of us have been left out of a game or conversation when we really wanted to be included. What if your brothers/sisters went to the movies and you couldn’t go because you were sick? Answer the following questions and share your thoughts with an adult.
Circle your answer:
How did you feel when you were left out?
a. Sad b. Mad c. Hurt
Nobody likes to be left out. What can you do to make sure that someone is not being left out?
a. play with them on the playground at school
b. invite them to your birthday party
c. ask them to go with you and your friends to a ballgame
Here are some ideas to help you start being a part of the group:
- Let others know you would enjoy doing things with them.
- Invite them to do things with you.
- Show interest in what they are doing
Expressing Myself
It is okay to tell other people what I like and what I do not like. Color the picture below, and then circle your favorite thing to do.
There are times when it’s important to say, “NO!” Make a list of people you should talk with to help you make right decisions.
a. ______________________________
b. ______________________________
c. ______________________________
Making Decisions
Making decisions on our own is an important part of growing up. It makes us feel better about ourselves when we do something useful or do something for someone else. Here is a list of things for you to choose to do. Decide if you would or would not do each thing.
- Call someone a name
- Send Grandma a birthday card
- Blame someone else for something you did
- Ask a friend to lie about something
- Tell someone you don’t like them
- Say “Thank you” when given a gift
- Take the biggest piece of cake
- Do your chores without being asked
I Can Do That!
Being able to do things without help makes us feel good about ourselves. Sometimes it is something we can learn through lessons and practice, like dance or music or sports. Sometimes it is doing things to help others.
Think about some things that you are learning to do by yourself. Write them on the lines below.
EXAMPLE:
a. Feed my pet
b. ______________________________
c. ______________________________
d. ______________________________
e. ______________________________
Always Learning and Growing
As we grow, we learn there are always new things that are interesting and meaningful for us. Trying new skills and learning new talents will help us feel good about ourselves and encourage us to do better. What are some things that interest you that you would like to do better? For example: Reading
Write a Note
It’s nice to make someone you know feel special. Make a card with a one-sentence message on it.
EXAMPLE: Happiness is having you for a brother.
You are a good friend because _______________________
You are special because _____________________________
Thank you for _______________________________________
Happiness is having you for a brother.
How Others Feel
Understanding how others feel helps us get along with others. Before doing something to someone else, we should think about how it would make us feel if someone did the same thing to us.
Circle YES or NO for each question below.
Would you like it if someone…
- teased you? YES NO
- called you a name? YES NO
- pushed you out of line? YES NO
- broke your favorite plaything? YES NO
- laughed when you made a mistake? YES NO
- blamed you for something you didn’t do? YES NO
- took your share of something? YES NO
Playing Your Part
Have you ever been in a school play? Every actor has to practice their part and work along with others who are in the play. It takes lots of practice. Sometimes we make mistakes, but that’s when we take a deep breath and try again. Think of some ways you can practice being nice or respectful or more helpful. Finish each sentence below.
EXAMPLE: I can do better in my town by not throwing trash on the ground.
I can do better at school, if I ________________________________.
I can do better at home, if I __________________________________.
I can do better with my friend, if I ____________________________.
Making Friends
Learning how to get along with others is important. Think of some other words about a good friend and write them on the lines:
EXAMPLE: Bravery
_____________ _____________
_____________ _____________
_____________ _____________
Choose one of the words that you wrote and make a poster about the word. You will need construction paper, crayons or colored pencils.
One of a Kind
Did you know that is what you are? There is no one else in the world exactly like you. That is true for everyone and even for animals and nature. Even though we are all different, there are things we can enjoy and learn from each other. Do you sometimes feel strong like a horse? or brave like a lion?
Make a list of the different feelings you have about yourself:
a. EXAMPLE: full of energy
b. ______________________
c. ______________________
Stretching Our Abilities
Changes will happen as we grow up. We can use those changes to learn new things. What if you and your parents had to move to another country because of their work? Would you feel scared because you will have to go some place where you’ve never been before? Would you feel unhappy because you’ll have to leave your friends? You may have these feelings, but they don’t have to last. Think of the interesting things that could do. You could learn a new language, like “Welcome” in French, You could make new friends. You could see new places. The important part is that we are willing to learn and grow,
Think about moving to a new place and finish the sentences below.
I would feel __________________________________________
I would want to see ____________________________________
I would want to write a letter to____________________________
I would learn_________________________________________
Changing Times
There are times in our lives when our experience will change.Maybe you and your family will move to a new home and you will need to change schools and leave your friends. Change is not easy, but if we think about making new friends and learning new things we will have a much better experience.
Think of ways you can make a new experience interesting:
a. EXAMPLE: Write a letter to your friends at your old school.
b. _________________________________________________.
c. _________________________________________________.
d. _________________________________________________.
e. _________________________________________________.
Resolving Conflict
Have each child make a hand puppet. Once this activity is complete—have them role-play using the puppet. Examples that they may role-play:
- Responsibility: Brother/sister picking up their toys.
- Sharing: One puppet says this is my toy and pushes the other puppet away.
Group Activity: Have the puppets take turns talking about what is happening between the two puppets and emphasize the listening skill for the other puppet. Ask that each puppet come up with an answer. Then choose which one is best.
Staying on Top
Do you ever feel like you do not want to get up in the morning? Do you sometimes feel you do not want to go to school? When we feel sad or happy there are things we can do to make us feel better. It always helps to think of things that make you feel good and happy. Put a check mark by the things that would make you feel better:
- Riding your bike
- Drawing a picture for a friend
- Making a card for your parents
- Playing with friends
What are some other things that you can do to feel better?
a. _______________________________
b. ______________________________
c. ______________________________
Dancing the Blues Away!
Do you feel gloomy and in a bad mood? Are you upset about something that you can do nothing about? Sometimes when you feel down or upset you can get in a better mood and feel better if you turn on the music and dance. You can dance silly, or fancy, You can even see if you can get others to join in your fun.
Like with Dad, Mom, brother, sister, grandparents, pets, or friends.
Treat Yourself
This is a story about three brothers who, as a treat, got to go to the store and each one was allowed to buy his own bag of candy. The youngest, Christopher, is excited about the candy he receives and begins eating it right away. Before long, his candy is all gone, and then he is upset that his brothers still have candy and he does not. It is always fun to get “treats,” but the “trick” is to eat only a little each day so that the “treat” will last. What do you think Christopher could have done to make the candy last?
Put a check mark beside the answers that you feel are right.
a. Keep the cat away from the candy.
b. Allow himself to eat only one piece of candy each day.
c. Learn to control himself when he is tempted to eat too
much.
d. Follow his brothers’ example and make his candy last longer.
Making Lemonade
Have you ever tasted a lemon? It is sour! But if you squeeze lemons into a pitcher of water and sweeten it, you have lemonade. You can even open a lemonade stand! Optimism is a big word that means we can think of good things even if something seems terrible. Can you think of two good things you could do if one of your parents had to go away because of their job? Maybe you could make a bag of goodies to give them or make a special picture for them to take.
What else could you do?
a. ___________________________________
b. ___________________________________
Let the Sunshine In
All of us have moods that may change from time to time. Sometimes we feel happy and expect good things to happen. Those are good feelings as when the sun rises and shines brightly. Sometimes we may feel sad and not so happy. Sad Happy
Don’t forget, the sun always comes out from behind the clouds and shines brightly again. So, we know there are things that will make us feel happy again. Make a list of things that you can do or think about that will help you feel better when you are feeling down:
a. EXAMPLE: My parent comes home from a trip.
b. _______________________________________.
c. _______________________________________.
d. _______________________________________.
e. _______________________________________.
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