Spiritual development objectives:

• Explore a range of emotions through playing and giving them a name

Activity guidelines

In the centre of the game area, the leader places a board big enough to hide the beaver who will play. (A sheet can also be suitable or a simple line on the floor if no material is available. The beaver will stand to the left of the board. The leader will tell him 2 contrasting states (i.e. « you laugh and you cry »)

The child walks from the left side of the board expressing clearly one of the two states (tears), he then walks behind the board and re-appears on the other side expressing the opposite state (laughter).

Comments

Other examples of emotional states: to love/to hate, to be scared/ to feel secure, to be happy/ to be sad, to be angry/ to be satisfied, to feel guilty/to feel innocent, to be surprised/ to be bored, to be patient/ to be impatient, to be nervous/ to be calm, to be intimidated/ to be self-confident, to be proud/ to be ashamed, to be aggressive/ to be kind…

This game is not a spiritual development activity per say as it is more about playing an emotion according to the leader’s instructions than expressing a personal feeling. However, the interest of this game lies in the fact that it allows young people to explore a wide range of emotions and to name them.

Material

Board or Sheet

Source

AnimerSpi - Scouts et Guides Pluralistes de Belgique

MEGRIER D., 100 jeux de théâtre à la maternelle, Paris : Retz, 1995, p. 99