A Cloud Of Feelings

It's no secret that we counselors LOVE books about feelings and The Cloud by Hannah Cumming is no exception! I've been using it in individual counseling session and it. is. pOwErFuL!  And when I tell you that there are hardly any words, I'm not exaggerating. But that doesn't seem to matter to the kids with whom I'm visiting because there are SO many opportunities to enrich, fill in, discuss, and predict in this little gem. I start with, "What might be your grey cloud?"  Losing a pet?  Your parents divorcing?  Being lonely?  A fight with a friend?  Being the new kid?  The Test? 

A third-grade boy I read it with yesterday said, "If it were a blue cloud, it'd be the shy cloud; a red cloud would be the really angry cloud."  We decided together that the yellow cloud could be a cloud of caution and a yellowish-orange cloud could be the happiness cloud. Kids are SO incredibly intuitive! Borrowing an idea from the book with a first-grade girl, we're each drawing half a picture to bring to our next session. When we meet again, we're going to complete each other's picture; how much fun will that be? Read this little treasure and see where this feelings masterpiece takes you; the possibilities might very well be endless.

Wanna sing about your feelings?  
Check out how this group of Warner Elementary students in Delaware put their unique spin on the lyrics I wrote to My Feelings.