Elementary Craft: Feeling Bags

This feeling bags craft for children in kindergarten through second grade is the perfect activity to help children better understand their emotions.

You’ll need:

• 7 large paper grocery bags
• markers
• hole punch
• ribbon
• scissors
• 6 large resealable bags
• various items such as confetti
• construction paper
• crayons
• gum
• small candies
• balloons
• tissues

Early Elementary Craft: Feeling Bags

Lay a paper bag on a flat surface with the folded bottom down. Write the title “God Made Feelings” across the bag, starting at the closed end of the bag and writing toward the open end of the bag.

Tell kids to think about all the different feelings you have. Together, choose six feelings that you’d like to make a book about. Write each feeling on a different bag (in the same direction you wrote the title) in this form: I feel angry when… or, I feel happy when…

Then lay your bags on top of each other and punch two holes in the closed ends of the bags about 1 inch from the edge and 3 inches apart. Cut an 8-inch piece of ribbon and thread it through the holes. Tie a bow in the ribbon on the title side of the bags.

Look through these items and choose things that represent how you feel when you feel each of these feelings. For example, you may choose a balloon and confetti for when you’re happy. Or you may scribble an angry picture for when you’re angry. It’s okay if you each choose different things.

Put the “feeling” items together in a resealable bag and insert it into the paper bag with that feeling.

Discussing the Feelings Bag

Read the paper-bag book. As you read each feeling, have children tell when they feel that feeling. Then takeout the resealable bag and give each child an opportunity to tell why they chose their items. After each feeling, ask:

• How do you think God feels about this feeling?
• Is it okay to have this feeling?
• How does God want us to show this feeling?

Extra: You can also have children make individual bags, using paper lunch bags.

Ruth Mooney
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Looking for more elementary ideas? Check out these posts!