Objectives:
1. To be able to identify pleasant and unpleasant feelings.
2. To build a vocabulary of feeling words.
3. To identify the feelings produced by the parent's remarriage and
their blended family
Materials:
* Cards with feelings on them
* A Feeling faces handout (sheet of paper with various facial
expressions of
pleasant and unpleasant feelings).
* Crayons
Activity 1: Who I Admire
Go around the circle and have each participant tell the name of someone
they admire and why. This will help the children get to know each
other better and identify qualities they value.
Activity 2: Charades
This activity will help children recognize what different feelings look like (Richardson & Rosen, 1999).
Procedure:
1. Prior to the session, make cards with a feeling written on each one (e.g. happy, sad, angry, surprised, disappointed, etc.)
2. Distribute a card to each child.
3. Have each child get up in front of the group and act out the feeling that is written on his or her card. The other participants will attempt to guess what the child is feeling.
4. After the feeling has been identified, discuss if it is pleasant or unpleasant. Also, ask the children when they feel that way.
5. Prepare enough cards so that each child can have two or three turns.
Activity 3: Feeling Faces
Give each child a Feeling Faces handout. After they have time to look over the different faces and feelings, ask them to color in some of the faces they can identify with when thinking of their blended family. Discuss what these feelings are like.
Processing Hints
These activities may become emotional. While it is important to address
the children's unpleasant feelings, the counselor will want to remember
to include pleasant feelings as well. Also let the children know
that they should respect each other.