It's another month of newly imposed restrictions, differentiated rules and...now we even have to take our own Covid tests?! With all the many-steps-forward and even-more-steps-back recently, it is no wonder that a lot of us are drained from the back and forth between living in a new normal and going back into another version of a lockdown. As times remain uncertain, it has become important to do regular check-ins with ourselves, keeping track of our mental state and being in tune with what we are feeling throughout these waves of unpredictability.

Here we have 4 ways you can check in with your mental health through engaging printables and storytelling sessions - it's perfect even for the whole family!

1) Identifying and Expressing Our Emotions

(Source: Masterfile)

One of the most important ways to check in with ourselves is to be aware of the emotions that we feel and then being able to express them! When an emotion arrives, we often experience physical signs in our body so that we know the feeling has made its presence known. This often shows up as a deep furrow in your brow, a racing heart, sweaty palms and let's not forget, tears!

We can start identifying what we feel by looking in a mirror and observe how our face changes when we feel the great spectrum of emotions - anger, sadness, surprise, worry and happiness. This quick activity can guide you through the process! What other emotions do you feel? What does your face look like when you feel this way?

2) Pop Your Worries Away (Literally!)

(Source: yiliphotography)

A fun one for the whole family, popping your worries away is going to be a great bubbly time you can have as often as you like! Pen down those worries, big or small, in the bubbles here. Imagine those worries floating away as you blow them into the bubbles. Watch those worries float away and pop into the air!

3) Story time with The Colour Monster

Something the family can do over the weekend is a cosy storytelling session of The Colour Monster! Authored by Anna Llenas, The Colour Monster discusses emotions in the form of colours as he attempts to sort his mixture of emotions into emotion jars.

(Above: Screenshot of Zoom Storytelling of The Colour Monster)

(Above: Screenshot of Zoom Facilitated Session of The Colour Jar activity)

Watch Teacher Levina in a recording of the storytelling sessions of The Colour Monster here. She also takes you through The Colour Jar activity inspired by the story and gives tips on how we can use the emotion jar to sort out our rainbow of feelings - what a great way to incorporate a colouring activity!

4) When I feel...I Can...

(Above: When I Feel...I Can...printable from the Let's Talk Art Series)

Apart from just identifying your emotions, putting those feelings into actions that can help you express those feelings will help your mind and body to manage them better. Try it with these tips from us! What other things can we do to express the emotions that we feel? How have these ways worked for you?

(Source: Freepik)

These suggested methods and activities were inspired by tips from professionals and published in our Let's Talk Art Series last year. Have a go at them as frequently as you like and need and if these tips worked well for you, do keep a lookout for more of such tools on our Facebook page. If you have any tips of your own, share them with us by commenting on this blog post!

About Stacy

Stacy believes that learning can take place any time, anywhere and with a lot of fun! Dedicated to designing artistic experiences, Stacy wants to provide children with unique ways to discover the world around them.