Feelings board: free printable PDF

Who it’s for

Children and adults who find feelings hard to put into words: people who don’t speak or don’t speak much, people for whom naming a feeling takes time, and anyone who loses their words when they’re upset. It’s also for the people around them, who see the tears or the shouting and want to know what’s behind it.

When to use it

• In calm moments, every day: after school, at dinner or at bedtime, “How was today?”
• When something changes: a new school, a move, a new baby in the family, or a night like Halloween that is exciting and scary at once.
• After a hard moment, once things are calm again, to talk about what happened.
• At the doctor or the dentist, where scared, worried and hurt matter.

How to use it

1. Practice when things are calm. Name feelings as they happen: “You’re laughing. You feel happy,” and point to happy.
2. Name your own feelings too. “I feel tired,” pointing to I, feel and tired. This is called modeling, and it shows how the board works.
3. In a hard moment, say less. Hold up the board, point and ask one short question: “Mad?” Then wait.
4. Move to what would help. After the feeling, point to the bottom row: a hug, a break, quiet or help.
5. Accept the answer. If the person points to mad, believe them. Say it back: “You feel mad.”

Tired, sick and hurt

Tired, sick and hurt are on the board because from the outside they can look like a bad mood. Someone who seems cross may be worn out or in pain. If a person points to hurt, the where does it hurt board can help find out where; for being unwell, use the I feel sick communication board.

From the feeling to what would help

The bottom row, “What would help?”, turns a feeling into something you can do. Not everyone wants a hug when they’re upset, so let the person choose, and respect quiet. For more ways to calm down, the calm down choices board has 16 choices, and the break card is a one-card way to ask for a break.

Children and adults

The faces are simple and the words are plain, so teenagers and adults can use the board without it feeling childish. With a young child, name feelings for them many times, as they happen, before you expect them to point. With an adult, ask, wait and believe the answer: an adult after a stroke, for example, may know exactly how they feel and only need a way to say it.

What’s on the PDF

One page, headed How do I feel?, with the words I and feel to point to first. The 16 feelings are in a four-by-four grid, and the four things that help are along the bottom.

Feelings

• happy
• sad
• mad
• scared
• calm
• worried
• frustrated
• excited
• tired
• sick
• hurt
• bored
• okay
• confused
• silly
• proud

What would help?

• a hug
• a break
• quiet
• help

Printing tips

• Keep one copy where hard moments often happen, and one in a bag for outings. Most printers can print two pages on one sheet, which makes a half-size copy for a bag.
• Laminate it, or use a sheet protector, so it can be wiped clean.
• Want different feelings? Glue a drawing or photo over a picture and write the new word.