The Colour Monster

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How does music make you feel? Think of different songs/styles of music that make you happy, sad, angry etc. Let’s explore colour some more through messy play! The children might like to experiment with paint or water and food dye by mixing colours to see what new colours they can make. What colours can they create and what feelings do they link with their new colours?

Explain to the children that the color monster is a bit confused. He has only 3 colors, which are red, blue and yellow, but he needs orange, purple and green to try and make sense of all those other feelings he feels. What should he do? Inside: This free, printable The Color Monster Emotions Activity is a fabulous activity for developing emotional intelligence with children in the early grades. It’s not always easy to articulate our emotions, even at the best of times. COVID-19 has stirred them up good and proper (as they say here in Dorset).Make a list of words that the author links with each colour, e.g. yellow = bright and light, blue = gentle and alone. Can you think of synonyms for these words? Talk about feelings and what the kids associate with these. Ask them what color they see when they feel happy etc. Then explain to them that this confused color monster has decided to make his feelings certain colors to make it easier for him to understand. He needs help from them to remember all these colors. So if they could color all the emotions and the colors on the jars the same color as in the story, he would be a very happy monster! Experimenting with and mixing paint is such a fun and concrete way for the little thinkers to learn about primary and secondary colors. What you need: The little girl puts the Colour Monster’s feelings into separate jars. Use the template below to draw things that make you happy/ angry/sad etc. Remember to read The Colour Monster Goes to School and try our related ideas too! Teaching Ideas and Resources: English

So it came as no surprise to read that The Colour Monster’s creator, Anna Llenas, cites her art psychotherapy training as an influence. Llenas ‘currently acts as a teacher and art therapist specialising in art and emotional education.’ Her experience in these fields shines through her work - and makes The Colour Monster a valuable addition for any bookshelf.Llenas’s art is so expressive - childlike in its simplicity and sheer exuberance, with intensely scribbled crayon marks and wild brush strokes. It’s a joy to behold! At the start of the story, the Colour Monster is feeling confused. When have you felt confused? What did you do in this situation? What can we do when we feel confused in the future? It is a fabulous book for initiating social emotional learning activities with children in the early grades and the basis for this fun social emotional learning activity. The Color Monster Emotions Activity: Free Printable Prepare the activity