Managing emotions

Name: ......................................... Date: ............................................

Activity 1: Share the story below and complete the activity.

Butterflies in your tummy

Molly had a part in the Christmas play.

She was going to be Mary.
She worried about dropping baby Jesus.
She worried about everyone in the audience looking at her.
Molly’s friend was called Tilly.
She was two days older than Molly and very wise.
‘I know,’ she said, ‘let’s play butterflies in your tummy. All you have to do is write your
worries on the butterflies and then let them float away. It works for me. Shall we try it?’
Molly agreed and the pair coloured in lots of butterflies made from paper
On the back, Molly wrote all her worries about the Christmas play.
Molly took the butterflies to school in her pocket the next day.
At playtime, she and Tilly threw them up in the air and they floated away.
Molly took part in the school play.
She didn’t drop the baby Jesus and the audience were all clapping for her.
Mrs Maple told Molly that she was an amazing Mary and that she had done really well.
Mum gave Molly a big hug when she got home from school.
‘I thought you had butterflies in your tummy’ said Mum. ‘I did’ said Molly but they all
flew away!’
Molly made a butterfly card for Tilly to say thank you for being a good friend.

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 Managing emotions
Draw, colour and cut out your own butterflies. Write your worries on the back of your
butterflies.
Fold them and let them float away.

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 Managing emotions
Activity 2: catching butterflies
Talk with the child about any worries and anxieties they may have.
Lots of us have ‘butterflies in our tummies’ if we are feeling worried or anxious about
things. Naming them and talking about them can be helpful. Let’s see if we can catch
some butterflies that might be flying around!

We will need:

 a fishing net
 butterfly templates and colouring materials
 scissors
 butterflies with words or phrases written on them around worries and anxieties.

How to play:

Take turns to throw the butterflies up in the air and try to catch them with the net (thin
Origami paper or tissue paper floats well).
When you catch a butterfly, read the ‘worry’ and talk about when the child (we) might
feel this way and what they can do about it.

Extension:

Send home a small net and some butterfly templates so that the child can play this game
if they have worries and / or share with their family members.

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 Managing emotions
Activity 3: name your butterflies

We will need:

 word cards and a pot or bowl (ready-made cards or create your own with the child)
 scissors, paper and pencils
 a mirror.

How to play:

Cut out the word cards and take turns to choose one from a pot or bowl.
Talk about what this emotion (butterfly) might look like.
Use the mirror to make facial expressions for each emotion.
Guess what the other person’s facial expression might mean.

sad happy

frustrated frightened

worried lonely

angry grumpy

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