I'm the Thinker of My Thoughts Workbook

Some tips to help children understand their thoughts:

Important concepts about thoughts:

Thoughts are the words you say to yourself without saying them out loud (Helpful for

young children)

Thoughts are in your head and feelings are in your heart

Emotions can affect our body (Like having an upset tummy when you are scared)

Not all thoughts are true (Especially fearful thoughts)

Thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to actions

There are helpful thoughts and unhelpful thoughts

We can control our thoughts and choose to replace unhelpful thoughts with more helpful

ones

Having 'bad' thoughts doesn't make you a bad person (It happens to everyone - it's what

you do with them that matters)

Here are some question ideas to help them understand the concepts further:

What is a thought? Thoughts are the words you say to yourself in your head without saying

them out loud.

Can you point to where your thoughts are?

Are all thoughts true? No! Many things we think aren't real and don't always happen.

Maybe give a few examples, like "I thought I was going to be bad at .... but I tried it and I did

really well!" or, "I thought someone wasn't a nice person but I got to know them and they are

really nice."

If thoughts are in our head, then where are our feelings - like being happy or sad? They

are in your heart or body. (You could point to your head and place your hand over your heart

to emphasize.)

Sometimes our body feels things when we have emotions. What does your body feel

like when you're scared? (Maybe say "Sometimes my tummy feels funny when I'm scared)

What does your body want to do when you are happy? (Maybe it wants to jump or hug. It

feels light and bouncy like a ball)

I'm the Thinker of My Thoughts by Noella Reeder copyright 2020

Can you think of two ways to get to the park? (Ex: drive, walk, ride your bike)

Just like there are different ways to go to the same place, there are different ways to think

about the same thing - some ways are helpful and some aren't. (You could talk about how

crawling to the park wouldn't be very helpful. It would take too long and hurt your hands and

knees - some thoughts hurt us and don't help us do what we want to do)

Do you think everybody has unhelpful thoughts sometimes?

Yes, everyone does - even really smart people!

What did the little boy in the book do when he had a thought that was being mean to

him? He told it to go away and put another better thought in its place.

Can you think of some good thoughts you could choose to help you when you are

having a 'bully thought' that doesn't want to go away?

Who is the nicest person you know? Do you think they ever have thoughts that aren't

nice? Everybody has thoughts that aren't nice sometimes - even the nicest people in the

world! Having 'bad' thoughts doesn't make us a bad person. It's what we do with our

thoughts that counts.

What are some of your favorite things to think about?

Well, hopefully that gives you some ideas to start with. I'm sure you can think of some more

on your own. I also encourage you to look online for some good tips on having better

conversations with kids about their feelings.

As you go through these questions with your child, I also encourage you to think of your own

thoughts and put these concepts into practice yourself. We all need to work on out thoughts!


Coloring Pages

Children can practice their

letters and spelling by filling

in the faded letters

home my parents

At

care of me

take


school my teacher helps me

At

as smart as I can be

become


only I can help

But

on the inside

myself


my thoughts are like the

And

I have over to play

friends


thoughts are like good

Some

that make me feel nice

friends


can tell them to leave

I

not come back

and


want what I do to

I

me feel good

make


Draw a line to match the thought

with the feeling

They don't

like me

happy

I am helpful!

They said

something

mean to me!

hurt

I'm going to

my friend's

house!

excited

sad


What thoughts make you happy?

Draw a picture of your face when

you're thinking a happy thought.


Circle the right emotion the boy is feeling

frustrated

peaceful

happy

mad

mad

sad

proud nervous glad hurt

sad excited


Here are some helpful and unhelpful

thoughts. Draw a line to put the

thoughts in the right box

I can ask for

help

It's too hard!

I can't do it!

I can't do it yet!

Helpful

I'm dumb!

I can learn!

Nobody likes

me!

Not

Helpful

I can be a

good friend

I can learn

from

mistakes

I always

make

mistakes!


Some of the best thoughts to

have are thankful thoughts.

What are 3 things you're

thankful for today?

Write them down below.

1: I'm thankful for ________________________________________

2: I'm thankful for ________________________________________

3: I'm thankful for ________________________________________

Draw a picture of something you are thankful for


The boy in the book decided to collect the

best thoughts he could find. Where can you

find some good things to think about?

Here are some places below.

Circle your favorite ones.

Reading good books

Talking with helpful people

you look up to

Learning from good role

models - personal heroes

Learning at school

Going new places

Playing with good friends


The boy made his mom happy when he

helped her do the dishes, which also

made him happy. Doing nice things for

others can make you feel happy too.

What are some things you can do to be nice to someone?

Write them below.

I can ___________________________________________________________________

I can ___________________________________________________________________

I can ____________________________________________________________________

I can_____________________________________________________________________


Here are some ideas of nice things you can do:

What is something kind you can say to someone?

Say something kind

I can say _____________________________________________

What is something helpful you can do?

Help with

something

I can be helpful by ___________________________________

What is something you can share?

Share your

things

I can share ___________________________________________

What is something you can give?

Give a gift

I can give _____________________________________________


Don't forget that thoughts create feelings

that lead to actions!

thought

feeling

action

I can't do it!

frustrated

give up

thought

feeling

action

I can't do it

yet but I can

learn

confident

keep trying


What is an

unhelpful thought

you sometimes

have?

thought

How does that

thought make

you feel?

feeling

What does that

feeling make you

want to do?

action

What is a helpful

thought you

sometimes have?

How does that

thought make

you feel?

What does that

feeling make you

want to do?

thought

feeling

action


Draw a picture of yourself

when you feel like you are

being the very best you!


I'm the Thinker of My Thoughts Workbook

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