Duration: 20 minutes
SPIRIT Skills:
- Emotional awareness, regulation and communication
- Empathy
- Creativity
Brief Description:
After the exploration, children return to a central area. They use their collected natural objects to create “emotion maps” or “emotion faces” on a large sheet of paper. Leaves, stones, twigs, petals, etc., are arranged to represent emotions visually — for example, a smiling face for joy made with yellow leaves, or a tangled spiral of sticks for confusion.
How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills
- Emotional awareness – by transforming abstract feelings into concrete visual representations
- Creativity – by using found objects symbolically to communicate inner states.
What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?
- Strengthen symbolic thinking and self-expression
- Develop emotional articulation through non-verbal mediums
- Promote ownership and reflection of emotional experiences.
Academic/Curriculum Objective connection
- Art – composition, colour, shape and symbolism
- Science – natural material identification and categorization
- Social-emotional learning – emotional vocabulary and self-expression
Materials and tools needed for implementation
- Large paper sheets (one per child or pair)
- Natural materials collected by students
- Optional: glue, markers or pencils for drawing additional elements.
Preparation notes
- Provide space for students to spread out and work without crowding
- Encourage multiple interpretations — no right or wrong creations
Guided Questions
- Why did you choose this object for that emotion?
- If your face/map had a story, what would it be?
- Does your creation show only your emotions, or could it reflect someone else’s too?
Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)
- What emotion was the easiest to represent visually?
- Did you learn something new about your feelings while creating this?
Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges
- Offer prompts or examples for students who feel stuck
- Allow combinations of drawing and natural objects for more flexibility
- Celebrate all creations equally to promote confidence