Mood Thermometer Activity

Description: This is a great tool for working on emotional regulation and emotional vocabulary.  Start by using this at a time when the child is calm and happy.  Look in a mirror and make smiling faces to indicate that you're happy.  Show the child how the face on the thermometer is also happy so you are "in the green".  Then, pretend to express the other emotions and talk about times when you may feel that way.  Next, you'll want to pull this out periodically.  Ask the child to tell you how he's feeling at various times of the day.  Help him use the correct emotional vocabulary to reflect his mood.  Make sure to bring it out when he's feeling all of these emotions so he can understand what they all feel like.  Eventually, you can move toward using this as a tool to help calm down.  You can help the child identify that he's in the red (or orange) and ask him what he needs in order to feel better.  You can create a whole calm-down kit of activities that calm the child down when he's in this mood.  Then, bring out the mood thermometer again once he's calm and show him how he's gone back to the green.

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