The Colour Monster

Emotions is a topic we can all struggle with... How many times have we woken up in the morning in a strange mood, and found it hard to find out what is making us feel that way (or how to let that feeling go…)?

It is one of my main topics with the kids, as some of them find it difficult to express what they have inside. They might have their emotions a bit mixed up, or they might not know how to get out of an emotional loop that doesn't let them enjoy their day.

Lately we have been working with an amazing book called ‘The Colour Monster’, by Anna Llenas. It's a really visual way to start labelling emotions with colours instead of words because - sorry - words are too abstract! We’ve been talking about how we are feeling every day, what colour we can feel inside, if there is one or more than one, what we can do to change it and "go back to green" to feel calm, how to not be scared of less positive emotions like anger or fear...

I decided that I didn't want them to only be able use this knowledge of emotions at school, so we created some felt colour monsters that they could take home. They came out really nicely and I was really happy with them. They were so cute! I though I was enjoying this even more than the children until I heard one of them saying “I sleep with you then I feel better”.

And another of the kids saying: “I’m a bit nervous, can I have green so I can feel calm?” before hugging the teddy. A few moments later he changed the teddy for another colour, saying, “I want yellow because I am happy now.”

And another: “The pink is love, it's for my sister because I love her.”

But I won't forget this one: “I want lots of them so I can sell them and buy something else”. Well, if that makes you happy, go for it!!