Feelings faces

What it is for

Asking a child how they feel usually gets “fine”. Faces give them something to point at rather than something to explain. The sheet names ten — happy, calm, excited, worried, angry, sad, tired, shy, confused and proud — and then leaves a blank one, which is where the useful answers tend to turn up.

It is the most downloaded worksheet on Pebble, and the reason is probably its range. It needs no reading age, no preparation and no particular setting. It works at a kitchen table and it works in a contact centre.

Using it in a session

• Let them circle before you name it. The word can come afterwards, or not at all. A child who circles “worried” has told you something whether or not they can explain it.
• The blank face is the important one. The ten printed faces are a starting point, not the list of feelings a child is allowed to have.
• The sheet asks for one — let them circle three. Feelings do not arrive one at a time, and a child who picks several has said more than a tidy page would.
• Use it twice. Once at the start of a session and once at the end. The difference between the two is often the most useful thing on the paper.
• Say the line that is printed on it. “There are no right or wrong feelings” is written there for the child. It carries more weight said out loud.