Emotional Awareness: Activity Center

Help your kids get to know themselves better with these fun kids games and activities.

Summer Picnic - For Dinner!

Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

Starting school again can be stressful on a lot of kids. So grab a picnic blanket, throw it over your dinner table, and delve into your favorite summer memories with this simple activity.

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    Finding Your "Flow"

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    "Flow" occurs when you are fully immersed in an activity. We can help children experience "Flow" by identifying activities that require them to use their strengths, skills, and talents to the max.

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    • All Ages

    Be the Change!

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Summer is a great time for a family service project to teach social responsibility. To get started, use the “Be the Change” worksheet to brainstorm and identify an appropriate project.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Keeping Summer Learning

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    We do things to keep learning from fading during the summer, but have you ever thought of doing the opposite - helping your kids keep their “summer learning” from fading during the school year?

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    • All Ages

    Four Types of Savoring

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

    An activity that helps your children identify and use positive experiences to build emotions like happiness, gratitude, and awe.

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    • All Ages

    I Spy Spring

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience

    Savor spring and relish in positive emotions with this family-fun, easy game.

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    • All Ages

    Good News Stories

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Help your children focus on the good in the world with this optimistic, family-fun activity.

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    • All Ages

    Set a Strengths Goal

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    To build a strength, you have to practice! Pick a strength with your child, then make a few weekly goals to improve it.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Strengths-in-Action Bulletin Board

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    This is a great way to help your kids recognize their strengths, and help them notice strengths in others, too!

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Love List

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment

    Make a "Love List" with your kids. Decorate it with words, drawings, and photos that represent all the different ways you and your child love each other.

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    • Pre-K and Younger
    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5

    Create a Family Ritual

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Here are some ideas for creating family rituals and traditions. Include your children in so that everyone enjoys them!

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    • All Ages

    End of Year Reflections

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    An End-of-Year family ritual for your family to reflect and build upon Fishful Thinking skills.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    School Year Poster

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Reflect on accomplishments of the past school year and make goals for the next one with this simple poster activity.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Joy Multiplier vs. Joy Thief

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Resilience

    You're likely very attentive when your child comes to you with a problem, but what about when they come to you with good news?

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    • All Ages

    Controlled Breathing

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Emotional Awareness

    Build this simple, daily breathing activity into your schedule to feel more relaxed, resilient, and rejuvenated.

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    • All Ages

    Getting A Growth Mindset

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment, Resilience, Goal Setting

    An End-of-Year family ritual for your family to reflect and build upon Fishful Thinking skills.

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    • All Ages

    Create an Awe Wall

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism

    Create an Awe Wall in your home to teach your children to value being awe-struck and that feeling connected to something larger than oneself.

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    • All Ages

    Bored Games

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    A great, family-fun way to keep your kids busy with things they enjoy that will also enrich their lives.

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    • All Ages

    Empathy Role Playing

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Goal-Setting/Hope, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Help your children develop empathy through these simple, family-fun role-playing games.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5

    Laugh Night

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

    Teach your children to value and savor positive emotions by creating a ritual that spotlights a positive feeling.

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    • All Ages

    Create a Strength Family Tree

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Goal-Setting, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Giving children knowledge of their strengths is a great way to empower them. Create a Strength Family Tree together.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Creating Your Joy List

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Encourage your whole family to create and display a list of activities that bring them joy.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Pause for the Positives

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

    Help your child discover as much as they can about the good things happening in their lives by using open-ended questions that encourage long responses.

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    • All Ages

    Creating Your "Enough List"

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment

    Rather than always focusing on the "ers," like better, stronger, healthier, create a list of items that you and your family already have in abundance.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Bag It Up

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Hope, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Help your children to take stock of and clean out the "mental clutter."

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    What would you do?

    Ingredient: Empowerment, resilience, emotional awareness, hope/goal setting, optimism

    Learning how to make good decisions and to problem solve is a way to build mastery skills.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Inspire an Attitude of Gratitude

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Empowerment, Optimism

    Leading by example is a great way to help make expressing gratitude a part of your family's daily life.

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    • All Ages

    Letting go of Grudges

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment, Resilience

    Help your child communicate and work through a grudge with a set of simple circles and a positive attitude.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    If You Feel It, Talk About it

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Resilience, Empowerment

    You can help your child to develop the skill of emotional awareness by showing them that you are interested in how they feel—and by talking about your own feelings as well.

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      Beauty Detours

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      At least once a week, take a 5-minute "beauty detour" with your child in this family-fun activity.

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      • All Ages

      Emotion Charades

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      Write down feeling words on pieces of paper. Take turns picking a slip of paper and then acting out the word written on it.

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      • All Ages

      Feeling Collages

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      Pick a feeling and work with your child to make a collage that illustrates that feeling.

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      • All Ages

      Make a "Grateful Sayings" Poster

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      Get a piece of poster board and write "For This I Am Grateful" in big letters across the top.

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      • All Ages

      Building with Blocks

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      You can use everyday wooden blocks to help your child learn how to cope with frustration in this family-fun game.

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      • Pre-K and Younger
      • Kindergarten - Grade 2

      Colorful Things

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      Find colorful objects around the house, such as Goldfish® Colors crackers, jelly beans, colored blocks or beads.

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      • All Ages

      Mood Music

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      Music and dance are great ways to help express feelings in this family-fun game.

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      • All Ages

      Nature Sense Walk

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Pick a park or street in your neighborhood and go on a 15-minute nature sense walk.

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      • All Ages

      Savoring Food

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Select various food/snacks, such as Goldfish® crackers, yogurt or fruit. Eat one of the items you selected and notice all the different tastes and textures.

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      • All Ages

      Savoring Party

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Invite a few other moms and their kids to your house for a "savoring party."

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      • All Ages

      Happiness Scavenger Hunt

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Create a list of simple items or experiences that make you and your child laugh, smile, or that bring a sense of pleasure.

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      • All Ages

      Shake Off the Frustration Dance

      Ingredient: Emotional Awareness

      It doesn't feel good to be frustrated, and sometimes the feeling of frustration is so strong that it makes it hard to continue with the game or task.

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      • Pre-K and Younger
      • Kindergarten - Grade 2

      Treasures Box

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Work with your child in this family-fun activity to decorate a box that is kept on the table you eat at regularly.

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      • All Ages

      Favorite Photo

      Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness

      Find a photograph that captures a happy experience.

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      • All Ages

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