How to Lead Healing Art Activities with Kids
Learning is a direct line to empowerment for both kids and adults. Here, you’ll find resources designed to empower you and help you confidently lead Art with Heart programs with kids.
Learning is a direct line to empowerment for both kids and adults. Here, you’ll find resources designed to empower you and help you confidently lead Art with Heart programs with kids.
"I had the most enlightening conversations about trust - how it's built or broken, who client's trust or don't trust and why. I'll continue to use this activity when I meet with youth."
- Sound Therapist, about using the Safety Net activity in Ink About It
Creative Expression
Try creative expression right now! All you need is a sheet of paper and a marker.
Leading AwH activities with kids is simple and effective! Our basics contains all the ins and outs like tips for helping kids use creative expression, talking about their art, and using art as a meaningful outlet for emotions.
Activities for Home
Understanding the impacts of COVID is a stressful and confusing time for our community. Here are activities to support healthy conversations about the emotional effects of the virus. We also collaborated with Childhaven on a caregiver’s activity guide and community resource sheet to help families.
How do you feel?
Sometimes it’s hard to know what we’re feeling until we stop and think about it. This is a game to help us connect how we feel, with how we express ourselves.
Emotions Map
Use color and pattern to explore emotions and describe how you're feeling right now.
Grief Resources
Art activities and expert video that use creative expression to help kids process their feelings during the grief journey. Generously funded by Safe Crossings Foundation.
Creative Expression For Grief
This expert video provides adults with the tools they need to create a powerful support plan that utilizes creative expression to expand kids’ healing.
Creative Expression For Grief
This expert video provides adults with the tools they need to create a powerful support plan that utilizes creative expression to expand kids’ healing.
Make Your Emotions Move
Sometimes it’s hard to know what we’re feeling until we stop and think about it. This is a game to help us connect how we feel, with how we express ourselves.
Storytelling "That Day"
When you explore your thoughts and feelings in story it can help you feel less confused and visualize your emotions.
Caregiver Guides
Guides to help Caregivers talk with kids about grief and create a supportive environment of healing. Includes activities to explore grief through creative outlets that encourage sharing and expression. Generously funded by Safe Crossings Foundation.
Helping Kids After A Death
Considerations and art activities that can help you talk with kids about death, create a supportive environment of healing, and help a kid explore their grief.
Talking to Kids When
Anticipating a Death
Examples of how to talk with kids about dying with considerations for age, individual strengths, and cultures to support healthy processing during grieving.
Art Extension Activities
Activities from our curricula that each compliment a page from one of our therapeutic activity books. Along with art-making, each video walks through supportive emotional goals, how to lead the activity, and prompt discussion questions to use in practice.
Paper Chain of Support
Encourage kids to identify their support systems and build relationship skills with this fun activity from our Draw It Out workbook.
Feelings Mask
This Chill & Spill activity encourages youth to examine their identity while building empathy and self awareness.
Personal Rain Cloud
Support kids in exploring and developing personal values while reconciling emotional conflicts with this Ink About It activity.
Critter Collage
Explore collage techniques while building empathy, identity, and emotion identification with this Magnificent Marvelous Me! activity.
Art Techniques
Time lapse videos that can help you build technical skills with a variety of mediums.
Blind Contour Drawing
Learn more about the unique parts of you by creating a self-portrait without lifting your marker or looking at yourself.
Collage with Mod Podge
Use a variety of textures and colors, or stick with just one! Collage is low-stakes but can evoke surprising emotions.
Rub on/Rub off Paint
Quick-drying acrylic paint technique to stain collage backgrounds or showcase a color combination.
Continuous Line Drawing
Challenge your inner critic by creating a drawing without lifting your marker.
Thumbnail Sketches
Quickly communicate ideas with low-stakes sketches.
Styrofoam Printmaking
Make meaningful prints with low cost supplies.
Learn from the Experts
Click here to listen to our partners and advisors thoughts on how Art with Heart resources are a compliment to classroom SEL programs, before/after school programming, and trauma-informed schools.
Trauma Informed Care
An overview of trauma informed care and how to best serve students so they feel successful despite ongoing adversities.
SEL and Art with Heart
Understand the basics and benefits of social emotional learning in schools.
Reflections on an
Art with Heart Program
Hear first hand experience from a practitioner after running a Chill & Spill program.
Explore Our Partners
Sound is one of King County's most comprehensive providers of mental health and addiction treatment services.
The Eluna Network's camps and online resource center are invaluable for families looking to build community with others facing loss, or experiencing family addiction.
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about the needs of children and teens who are grieving a death.
Friends of Youth partner with youth and families to provide the relationships, resources, and skills they need to attain personal growth and success.
APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States.
NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) brings a singular and comprehensive focus to childhood trauma to raise the standard of care while increasing access to services.
Neighborcare Health provides comprehensive health care to families and individuals who have difficulty accessing care.
Communities in Schools works in public schools to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
Seattle Children's provides hope, care, and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible through.
Committee for Children advocates for and researches educational programs to advance the safety and well-being of children through social-emotional learning (SEL).
Boys & Girls Clubs provide millions of kids and teens a safe place to develop essential skills, make lasting connections and have fun.
Seattle Public Schools is the largest K-12 school system in Washington State and has a deep commitment to every student's journey.
YMCA builds communities where all people, especially the young, are encouraged to develop their fullest potential in spirit, mind, and body.
Every student in Highline Public Schools is known by name, strength, and need. They graduate prepared for the future they choose.
The National Funeral Directors Association provides professional resources for all facets of funeral service through education, information, and advocacy.
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