Have you ever seen the drama mask that is half happy and half sad? Masks like these are used to express different types of emotions to an audience. Another form of these masks is called grief masks. Grief masks are an easy way for children to express their feelings through drawing and coloring. The goal of this activity is to allow children to feel comfortable expressing their emotions and sharing them with you and their friends.
Using art as an outlet, children feel more comfortable expressing themselves rather than just talking to a parent, friend, or therapist alone. It has been found that children who are allowed to draw while talking about their experiences relay more information compared to children who are only asked to talk about their experiences (Gross & Haynes, 1998). This shows the importance of allowing children to use art as an outlet to express their emotions.
When allowed to color, children will speak out more about their emotions and feel more comfortable expressing how they feel. Parents can have both the drawing and explanation from their child, allowing for further clarification and for the children to feel more comfortable speaking up (Yuen, 2004).
Grief masks will allow children to have fun creating a mask that explains what they are feeling on both the outside and the inside. This activity will be an easy and light-hearted way for your child to have fun coloring, while still working through their grief.
- Materials:
- Print out of mask template (mask template)
- Scissors
- Colored Pencils
- Instructions:
- Choose a mask and print out the template!
- Either cut out the mask to fit your child’s face or leave it on the paper if you do not have scissors available.
- First, color the outside of the mask to match how you are feeling on the outside.
- Next, color the back of the mask to match how you are feeling on the inside.
- If you are with someone, turn and explain the inside and outside of your masks.
- If you are online, explain your mask to a friend over a video platform like Zoom, Webex, or Facetime.
- Parents, you can post pictures of your child wearing the mask using #hopeforthseason on Facebook or Instagram. Just make sure to tag New Hope for Kids!
References:
Gross, J., & Hayne, H. (1998). Drawing facilitates children’s verbal reports of emotionally laden events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 4(2), 163-179. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.4.2.163
Yuen, F. C. (2004). “It was fun… I liked drawing my thoughts”: Using drawings as a part of the focus group process with children. Journal of Leisure Research, 36(4), 461482. Retrieved from https://exproxy.rollins.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2011823accountid=13584
Check out Children's Grief Awareness Day via New Hope for Kids' Social Media Pages!
