An activity that the youngsters have been enjoying lately is our Mood Pie Chart. I have asked the kids to select 5-6 different mood states that they recognize they experience regularly. They can call them whatever they like. I have provided them with a piece of paper, with the numbers down the side of the page. Then for each mood state, select an approximate percentage of time that they feel they experience that mood on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis. Then for each of the moods, select colours and create patterns that are symbolic or representative of those moods. Once we have all the information, we draw up the pie chart and work together to illustrate it.
Whilst much of this activity can be achieved in a non-verbal fashion, which many of these youngsters prefer, it’s interesting to see how much the activity communicates, and how it leads to conversations about the mix of emotions in different mood states, and how we would like the Pie Chart to look different in twelve months time.