When feelings are bigger

than the words available…

A child can be visibly upset and still have no idea how to explain what is happening inside. Adults do this too. We know something hurts, worries or unsettles us, but when someone asks what we feel about it, the answer may be, “I don’t know.”

The Emotion Discovery Journal offers another way into that conversation.

Photographs from Nature used as emotional metaphors are combined with gentle questions to help children and adults begin to notice what they feel, find language for it and become curious about what may be underneath it.

You can use it on your own, with a child, or simply as a starting place when direct questions create more pressure than understanding.

Meaningful emotional conversations do not always begin with the right words. Sometimes they start with an image.

A gentle way to make a home a haven

A home is not a haven without knowing how to talk about difficult feelings. It’s a place where feelings can be noticed, named and met with curiosity—where a child does not have to hide an inner experience simply because it’s hard to explain.

The Emotion Discovery Journal was created to help make those conversations a little easier.