Our partners at Art With Heart have relesased a series of learning videos that explain the effectiveness that creative expression can have on managing emotions.
Shaking our bodies lets some of the big waves of energy move through our bodies and can be a “reset button” for our bodies and minds. We enourage you to use this video as part of the Body Mapping Activity.
Grief can show up in our bodies in different ways and places. Just like you would follow a treasure map to find a treasure, you can make a map of where you feel your grief in your body. This map helps you and other people see where you are hurting and give extra love and attention to these areas.
A safe place is extremely important, especially when it comes to children who may feel as though they have no control over their environment. A safe place can be described as anywhere a child feels comfortable. It could be the beach, their room, playing their favorite sport, or even a place they have always dreamed of visiting. Help children identify their "safe place" wtih this art therapy excercise.
Sometimes, we get upset over things that we cannot change or control, no matter how much we want to. Telling ourselves to “let go” of those things can help relieve stress and negative feelings. This activity invites you to consider what things are worthy of “letting go” of because it is completely out of your control.
This activity can be beneficial by creating a fun, safe environment for children to discuss emotions that may be hard to process. Emotions can be experienced separately or, as the movie shows, more than one emotion can be present at the same time. This can be confusing for children. Sometimes a happy memory can trigger missing someone. Both Inside Out 1 and 2 do a good job illustrating how all of our emotions work together to build the memories that are important to us.