The Bears

Talking about feelings is one of the cornerstones of emotional literacy. Here are 48 colourful, loveable cartoon characters - happy, sad, confident, afraid, shy, energetic, tired, noisy, caring, grumpy, and... you decide! Use these cards or stickers to communicate your feelings about your family, your colleagues, your class, or your situation. There are no words on the cards so this resource is very accessible to young children and people with literacy challenges. Used in a myriad of counselling situations and as an icebreaker for groups and meetings.

• Select a bear that illustrates how you are feeling right now.

• Select cards that show how you often/seldom feel.

• Which bears show how you would like to be feeling most of the time?

• Create a family sculpture by selecting a bear for each of your family members.

• Do you ever feel several emotions at once? Choose cards to illustrate these mixed emotions. (Good exercise for grief counselling.)

• Evaluate customer service, ups and downs, workshop success using The Bears.