

You can expand on this by having them explain how they felt and how they coped with that positive or negative feeling.įor kids who are just starting this game or who are less comfortable talking about their feelings, it will be less difficult if the words are visible because then they can choose to pull feeling words that are easier for them to talk about.Īs they grow more comfortable with the Feelings Jenga game and with expressing their emotions, they may reach a point where they are comfortable pulling out blocks even when they can’t see what the word will be. This is a nice introductory way to play and especially good for kids who don’t have a strong emotion word vocabulary.Īnother way to play Feelings Jenga is to have the person who draws the block to describe a time or experience in their life when they felt that particular emotion. One way to play this Jenga game is to describe the feeling word that you pull out before placing it on top. For kids who are particularly apprehensive of not being able to see the words on the inside, you can have them do the set-up so that they know what even the few hidden words are. You can face the words in so that you can’t see them or you can face the words out so that most of them will be visible during the game. Once the blocks have feeling words on them, set them up as you would in a regular Jenga game.
GAME JENGA HOW TO
Click on the link to download and print > Jenga Feeling Words How to Play Feelings Jenga: In the printables, I have also left some blank so that you can add in any other feelings words that you would like to specifically focus on. You can use a permanent marker to write feeling words on the side of the wood blocks in the game or I have created printable feeling words that can be cut out and attached to the Jenga blocks with double-sided tape or glue. To create this Feelings Jenga Game, you will need a Jenga game. How To Make A Feelings Jenga Game: Things To Write On Jenga Blocks It will also make it more enjoyable for everyone. This will ensure that any learning is effective. The key is to make sure they feel comfortable and relaxed. Some of my kids have an easier time talking about their feelings and past experiences than others, so I have found ways to adapt it accordingly. We have since invented different versions of it. I knew we could easily make our own Jenga game to play at home too. One of my daughters played a version of this Jenga game in therapy.

It means your child can access all of their brain instead of being in their “lizard brain” which happens when they are feeling under stress or for any other reason are in fight, flight or freeze mode. Being relaxed is an important element to learning. Presenting a therapeutic activity as a game is a great way to help your child feel relaxed.

I love finding ways to make teaching feelings fun. This Feelings Jenga Game is perfect for helping kids talk about their emotions and experiences, building their vocabulary of emotion words and improve their communication skills. This is particularly true if you are parenting kids who have experienced trauma, have anxiety or are on the autism spectrum. Giving kids a vocabulary rich in emotion words is one of the best things you can do as a parent.
