Ghost Feelings: A Craftivity to Teach Social Skills

Recycled Coffee Pod Craftivity to Teach Social Skills

I'm not sure if there is anyone that likes to get social over a cup of coffee, more than I do...but, if you use a single-use coffee maker sometimes, you know how quickly those little plastic cups add up. Rather then sending them to a landfill for future generations to contend with, put them to good use now...and make the world a better place in more ways than one! 

Helping kids learn to identify and deal with feelings is a crucial life skill that supports social emotional development. You don't want to scrimp on talking about feelings every chance you get. 

Below is a quick tutorial on how to make your own recycled coffee pod ghost feelings fellows (phew...that's a mouthful) at home, or in the classroom! 

Make your own Ghost Feelings Folks for Your Home or Classroom

1. Remove the foil lid completely and dump the coffee grounds out. For zero waste, save them to use for compost for your garden/plants. Here's how it's done. Remove the little plastic piece inside and discard (or save for another project). Clean the containers and allow to dry.

2. Grab a Sharpie and free-hand draw the faces on the containers. Allow to dry. 

3. Use in a variety of ways to encourage discussion surrounding feelings. 

          See below for some ideas! 

Suggested Ideas for Use

1. Create doubles of each feeling. Turn the faces around and let kids play a matching game.

2. Have children pick one feeling face up at a time and discuss something that might make them or someone else feel that way. Then, ask them what they can do to manage that feeling.

3. Have younger children pick up one feeling face, identify it and make a face that shows how they look when they feel that way. A mirror can be helpful for younger children. 

4. In a classroom, the above activity can be done in a group format. 

5. If working with more than one child, pair them up. Have one child pick a feeling face, create that face and have their partner guess the feeling. Then have them switch roles.

6. Create sentence strips that evoke feelings of sadness (Joey broke his favorite toy, etc.), anger, surprise, worry, happiness. Read them off (or have the children read them if they are readers) and identify which feeling is attached to that scenario. 

7. Pick a feeling face and ask kids how they would know when a friend felt that way. 

8. Ask kids what they could do to support or help a friend that was demonstrating one of those feelings. 

9. Ask kids if they think someone could have more than one feeling at a time. Why or why not?

10. Hold up a feeling that might be uncomfortable: Sad, mad or worried. Ask kids if they think that feeling lasts forever. Discuss why it's important to remember that when we are having a tough time. 

11. Have kids pick a random feeling face and make up a story about what made the ghost feel that way. 

12. Keep a daily log with kids about how they are feeling. Do their feelings fluctuate during the day, or do they stay the same? How many feelings does the child experience each day? 

 13. Discuss with kids: What's the BEST thing about feelings? What's the TOUGHEST/HARDEST thing about feelings?

You may also like:

Pumpkin Feelings Game

Feelings Aren't Corny (Activity Resource)

Frank's Feeling Worried

Until next time,

Wendy Young, LMSW, BCD, is  the founder of Kidlutions and co-author of BLOOM: 50 Things to Say, Think and Do with Anxious, Angry and Over-the-Top Kids, co-creator of BLOOM Brainsmarts, and creator of The Joyful Parent. She is the author of numerous workbooks and resources to help from the preschool through the teen years. 

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