🧠💖 Feelings Explorers: Big Emotions, Brave Hearts
🎒 An Afterschool Adventure for Ages 5–7
🌈 Curious Minds. Kind Hearts. Calm Confidence.
Even the youngest kids have big emotions—but they don’t always have the tools to understand or express them. Feelings Explorers is a joyful, story-filled, movement-based afterschool program that helps children explore their emotions, build self-awareness, and grow kindness—for themselves and others. Through play, art, music, and group missions, kids learn that all feelings are okay—and talking about them is brave.
🧭 How It Works
Each session is a mini emotional adventure grounded in:
💛 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Helping kids name feelings, build empathy, and practice coping skills.
🎨 Creative Expression: Using art, storytelling, and dramatic play to process emotions and build resilience.
🌀 Mind-Body Connection: Exploring how movement, breath, and rest can help us feel calm and strong.
🧠 Early Mental Health Literacy: Learning that our brains, hearts, and feelings all work together—and it's okay to ask for help.
All delivered in a nurturing space where kids feel safe, seen, and supported.
🛠️ Sample Missions
Feelings Explorers take on fun, heart-growing challenges like:
🧸 Mood Monsters & Calm Critters: Make puppets that show what different emotions look and feel like, then practice ways to calm them down.
🌦️ Weather Check-In: Use weather symbols (sunny, stormy, cloudy, etc.) to describe how you're feeling—then share in a “Feelings Circle.”
🎨 Art from the Heart: Paint or draw “what my brain feels like today” or create “emotional landscapes” based on music.
🌬️ Breathing Buddies: Learn belly breathing and mindfulness using stuffed animals, scarves, or bubbles.
📚 Story Explorers: Read books like The Color Monster, Ruby Finds a Worry, or Breathe Like a Bear, and act out what the characters might do next.
🎉 Feelings Festival
At the end of the program, kids and families are invited to a Feelings Festival, where children:
🎤 Share calming strategies they’ve learned
🎨 Display their art and puppet creations
🎵 Sing a song or act out a story about emotions
💖 Celebrate with “Brave Heart” badges and Feelings Explorer Certificates
🎁 Take-Home Kits
Each child receives a Feelings Explorer Kit filled with:
💛 Emotion Cards + Kindness Tokens
🌬️ Breathing tools (like bubbles or pinwheels)
🎨 DIY "Calm Down Jar" materials
📚 A mini storybook + family conversation cards
🧸 A "Feelings Friend" plushie or puppet
Perfect for reinforcing healthy emotional habits at home.
🌟 What Kids Walk Away With
🧠 Awareness: They can name their feelings and notice how they change.
💖 Empathy: They care about how others feel—and know how to show kindness.
🌬️ Tools: They can calm their bodies and minds when they feel overwhelmed.
🗣️ Confidence: They know it’s okay to talk about feelings—and that it helps.
✨ Because Emotional Wellness Starts Young—and Grows with Support
Feelings Explorers teaches kids that their emotions are important, their voices matter, and their inner world is worth understanding.
💛 Their hearts.
🧠 Their minds.
🌈 Their journey to calm, connection, and confidence.
Let the adventure begin!