Hope · Activity

Hope is an Open Heart

Pre-K & Kindergarten

Activity: Reread the story prior to the activity, emphasizing that hope means many things. Explain that this activity will focus on how we experience hope when we feel understood. In order to help others understand us, we need to know the right words for our feelings. When someone can relate to how we feel, then we know that we are not alone - we feel cared for and loved.    Show pictures or drawings of children that illustrate different kinds of feelings, and invite students to identify the emotion and match the picture with a word on the “Feelings” word wall. Conclude with a message on how important it is to be able to use the right words to identify and understand our own feelings and those of others.    Materials needed: A chart or set of pictures (photos are especially good for this activity) of facial expressions that show different emotions: loved, angry, afraid, confused, frustrated, sleepy, hungry, happy, excited, sad, surprised, worried, disgusted, embarrassed, grateful, proud, shy, guilty, lonely; a “Feelings” word wall that has words that match the pictures   Directions: Introduce the activity: “Today we will read this story again and talk about the word hope.” Read the story, and ask students to share about what hope means to them. Explain: “The activity we do today will be about how we experience hope when we feel understood. When someone can relate to how we feel, then we know that we are not alone - we feel cared for and loved. Here’s what the book says about this kind of hope: ‘Sometimes hope feels far away, but hope is always there…Hope appears when we are able to feel our emotions of sadness, fear, or anger, and share them with those who love and understand us.’ “    “It’s important to be able to use the right words to talk about our feelings, so we’ll practice. I will show you pictures of children’s faces and you will guess what they are feeling. I have a word wall that has lots of words about our feelings or emotions. We’ll use that when we’re looking at the pictures and try to match the words with the pictures.”   Wrap it up: Remind students that it’s important to use the right words when they want to talk about their emotions. To help with that, the word wall and some pictures will be accessible in the classroom. Encourage students to use the display’s  “emotion words” when they want to share their feelings. Explain that they will feel more hopeful, understood, and cared for when they can talk about what’s going on using the correct words. Repeat this exercise on a weekly basis for at least a  month so that students become familiar with the emotion words. Provide circle time opportunities as much as possible so that students can practice talking about their feelings.    Note to teachers: These websites have lots of information about children’s emotions:  Unlock Emotional Intelligence: A Free Emotions Chart for Kids - Uplift Kids  and  Kids' Emotions Chart (Free Emotions Chart Printable) - Printable Parents
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