This is one of the most popular warm-up activities I used in single and group counselling sessions with kids.
Edith Kramer was one of the world’s leading art therapists. She created the Scribble Game as a nonthreatening way for kids to express themselves in the early stages of therapy.
The Feelings Scribble Game is a variation of the Scribble Game that uses a Feelings Chart or Feelings Cards. It’s a fun and easy way to help kids get comfortable with thinking, talking and learning about their feelings.
What You Need
Paper (I like light-coloured recycled craft paper)
Pens, pencils, crayons, markers, whatever kids like
A copy of the Feelings Chart (in a sleeve or laminated so it can be used over and over)
A deck of the Feelings Cards (for optional variation)
How To Play
1.
Player one creates a quick and random scribble on the paper
Decide beforehand if the Scribbler’s eyes must be opened or closed when they create their scribble
2.
Player two makes the scribble into a picture and describes how it relates to one or more feelings from the Feelings Chart
The feeling(s) can be chosen by player two after seeing the scribble or (for a more challenging version) by player one before the scribble is created
3.
The feelings used are crossed off on the Feelings Chart and can’t be used again
To make it more competitive, each feeling used can be counted as a point and totalled at the end of the game to determine a winner
In the example below, the scribble was described as “a day at the park with my dad” and the two feelings chosen were: “excited because I love going to the park” and “surprised because my dad never takes me”
4.
Next, roles are reversed; player two does the scribbling and player one makes it into a picture
5.
The game ends when all the feelings have been crossed off
Variations
Use more feelings
Sometimes kids like starting round one with one feeling, playing round two with two feelings and so on until a player can’t continue or the feelings are all used
Tell a more detailed story about the scribble
For example, require a beginning and an end feeling for the drawing's story or a beginning, middle and an end feeling
Use a deck of Feelings Cards instead of the Feelings Chart
Kids can keep the used cards in a pile and count them out at the end to determine a winner. This variation also lends itself well to having kids put the cards in an order to tell a story about the scribble drawing from beginning to end
Links:
Hard Copy deck of Feelings Cards