As children are growing and learning how to express themselves, they may have a hard time communicating to others about how they’re feeling. While it’s important to teach your students about different feelings and what they mean, you can also teach them to channel their feelings through art. Here are some tips:
- Suggest Students Draw or Paint Their Emotions
Because of children’s limited vocabularies, they often cannot express their thoughts and feelings. Encourage children to describe what they have seen, heard, or experienced by creating art. By doing so, children are able to communicate without using words. - Explore Puppet Therapy
Your students may feel embarrassed describing how they’re feeling to others, especially if they’re sensitive. Try creating a puppet play area and have children act out scenes that make them upset. - Work With Children to Create a Collage
Help your students find pictures of things that make them happy and create a collage together. They can use real photos, pictures from magazines, newspapers, etc. Once the collage is created, hang it in a special place in the classroom so they are constantly reminded of things that make them smile.