Fishing for Emotions: Feelings Activity

This fun and interactive fishing for emotions activity gives children a playful way to recognise, name and talk about different feelings.

The resource includes simple fish that can be cut out and used to create your own feelings fishing game. Attach a paper clip to each laminated fish and use a simple fishing rod made from a stick or chopstick, string and a small magnet. Children can then take turns fishing for an emotion and talking about the feeling they have caught.

This is a lovely way to make conversations about emotions active, engaging and fun, particularly for children who may find it easier to explore feelings through play rather than sitting down for a more formal discussion.

When a child catches a fish, you could ask them what the feeling means, when they might experience it, what it feels like in their body or what might help when they feel that way. You can also encourage other children to share their own experiences of the same emotion.

The activity can help children to:

• recognise and name different emotions
• develop their feelings vocabulary
• explore what different emotions mean
• talk about times when they have experienced particular feelings
• recognise that other people can experience the same emotion in different ways
• develop confidence when talking about emotions
• build emotional awareness through play.

The simple fish are designed to be easy to cut out, making this an accessible resource that can be prepared quickly and used again and again.

Use it as an emotional warm-up, during an ELSA session, as part of small-group work or simply as a fun way to encourage children to talk about feelings.

A playful way to get children fishing for emotions, developing their feelings vocabulary and talking about how different emotions feel.

Download: Fishing for emotions