I needed a creative hook-in for one of my small groups (that aren’t feeling too enthusiastic about talking about emotions) so I crocheted a giant brain (he was supposed to be life-sized, but ended up HUGE – 35cm-ish across? …which has added to the silliness!)

He’s hollow, with an opening at the back, and the kids have written down the ideas they’d like to talk about this term to put inside our ‘thinking-brain’ (feeling worried, stressed about certain subjects, nervous about cross country, feeling frustrated etc) We’re taking turns to pull out an idea from the “thinking brain” for us to talk about each session.

The kid’s responses to the brain have been hilarious, and the best part has been being able to say things like: “I’ve lost my mind, has anyone seen it?”, “Has anyone seen Rosie’s giant brain?” 

Next on the crochet list, an anatomical heart-friend in a similar style (so they can hold hands ) and we can talk about our “head and our heart/feelings working together”

There’s definitely a pattern to the concerns that our young people share, so I’ve made up some matching ‘brain-card’ for the most commonly mentioned ones to save a bit of time. The cards are designed to be printed, laminated & then randomly selected and used as prompts for further discussions about how we can best manage ourselves in those situations.

Click here to grab your free set of cards!