Sometimes I Have Big Feelings: A Child's Guide to Understanding and Expressing Emotions

by Poppy O'Neill, Amanda Ashman-Wymbs (Foreword by)

Overview

Does your child struggle to control their emotions? Perhaps they get upset easily and find it difficult to calm down? Do they feel out-of-control at times and want to understand why? These are signs that your child is ready to learn more about big feelings and the physical sensations they experience as a result.

This practical guide combines cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness methods with simple activities to help your child develop the skills to articulate their feelings and regulate their moods. It’s aimed at children ages 8 to 12 because a lot happens in these years that can impact a child’s emotional well-being, not just now but for years to come.

Sometimes I Have Big Feelings is full of great information, fun activities, and top tips to help your child feel happy and balanced. Activities include:

• A whole rainbow of feelings
• Match the feelings to the faces
• Mood tracker
• Draw your feelings
• Flip your thoughts
• Mindful meditation
• When someone else is feeling big feelings
• Seeing the other side
• Five senses check-in
• Positivity word search
• and more!

Your child will be guided, with the help of Pop—a friendly and supportive character they can identify with—through fun and engaging activities interspersed with useful tips, inspirational affirmations, and practical information for parents, grandparents, teachers, and caregivers of all sorts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510773226
Publisher:	Sky Pony
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Series:	Child's Guide to Social and Emotional Learning , #7
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	84,946
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Poppy O'Neill runs a writers’ retreat in Portsmouth. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies, and her flash fiction has been long-listed for the Bath Flash Fiction Award and the Bristol Prize. She is the author of Sometimes I'm Anxious, Believing in Me, I Love Being Me, I Can Be Brave, Sometimes I'm Shy, and Sometimes I'm Sad. She resides in Chichester, England.

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Introduction: A guide for parents and caregivers 8

Talking to your child about feelings 9

How to use this book: For parents and caregivers 10

How to use this book: A guide for children 11

Introducing Pop the monster 12

Part 1 My Emotions and Me 13

Activity: All about me 14

Activity: My feelings 16

What are emotions? 17

Activity: Listen to your thoughts 20

All emotions are okay 21

Activity; A whole rainbow of feelings 22

Activity: Match the feelings to the faces 23

Part 2 Expressing Your Feelings 25

Why talking about feelings helps 26

How would you feel 27

Listen to your body 29

Activity: How do you feel right now? 30

Activity: Mood tracker 32

Activity: Draw your feelings 35

You are not alone 37

How to talk about feelings 38

Activity: People I can talk to 39

Activity: I can talk about my feelings 40

Pop asks for help 41

Why it's okay to feel negative emotions 42

Calming words for when you're worried 44

Activity: Triangle breathing 45

Activity: I like myself 46

Part 3 Understanding Your Feelings 49

Thoughts, feelings, and actions 50

Activity: Get to know your feelings, thoughts, and actions 52

What is self-talk? 53

Activity: Get to know your self-talk voice 54

Thoughts are not facts 55

Activity: Flip your thoughts! 57

Activity: Pick and mix! 59

What you can and can't control 60

The worry mountain 62

Activity: Throw away your worried thoughts 63

Activity: Get plenty of exercise 64

Calming-down tricks 65

Pause to reset 66

Breathing exercises 67

Grounding yourself 69

What is mindfulness? 70

Activity: Mindful coloring 71

Activity: Mindfulness rocks! 72

Activity: Mindful meditation 74

Activity: My feelings cards 75

Part 4 All About Empathy 78

What is empathy? 79

Activity: In their shoes 80

Everyone is different! 83

Activity: Understanding emotions 84

Activity: When someone else is feeling big feelings 85

Become an expert listener 88

Activity: Spread positivity 89

Activity: Seeing the other side 91

Activity: Make a story with a friend 92

Standing up for yourself 94

Activity: Help Pop the monster feel better 95

Part 5 Make Time for Calm 97

Activity: Find your happy place 98

Activity: Five senses check-in 100

Activity: Mindful scavenger hunt 101

Activity: Get creative 102

Finding your flow 104

Activity: Doodling for calm 106

Switch off your gadgets 107

Activity: Snail mail 108

Activity: Positivity word search 110

Activity: Time to stretch 111

Calming toolkit 113

Part 6 Taking Care of Yourself 115

Activity: When do I feel best and not so good? 116

Activity: I am brilliant 118

How to be your own best friend 119

Activity: Gratitude journal 121

Sleep chart 124

Activity: Exercise 126

Eating healthy 127

Activity: Design a healthy menu 128

Part 7 Celebrate Yourself 130

Big feelings, golden rules 131

Stories of big feelings 132

My feelings every day 134

The end 135

For parents and caregivers: How to help your child understand their feelings 137

Further advice 139

Recommended reading 140

Editorial Reviews

"A great place for a child to start to understand the different feelings that they may be experiencing and learn how to talk about, accept and process these emotions in healthy and positive ways." —Amanda Ashman-Wymbs, counselor and psychotherapist, from the Foreword

From the Publisher