The Colour Monster: A 4-Week Lesson Plan on Feelings

Student Age: 4 Years Old

Overall Goal: To help the student identify, name, understand, and creatively express their emotions using "The Colour Monster" as a guide. This unit focuses on application and creative expression rather than memorization.

Week 1: Meeting the Monster and Sorting Our Feelings

Learning Objectives: The student will be able to identify the Colour Monster, listen to the story, and begin to associate specific colors (yellow, blue, red) with their corresponding feelings (happy, sad, angry). The student will practice fine motor skills through a sorting activity.

Lesson 1.1: The Jumbled-Up Monster

Materials Needed:

• The book "The Colour Monster" by Anna Llenas
• A large, clear jar or container
• Yarn or pom-poms in multiple colors (yellow, blue, red, green, black, pink)

Lesson Activities:

1. Story Time: Read "The Colour Monster" together. Pause at the first page showing the monster all jumbled up with colors. Ask, "How do you think the monster feels? He looks all mixed up!"
2. Create the Jumbled Jar: Show the student the clear jar. Explain that this is like the Colour Monster's body before he sorts his feelings. Together, put all the different colored pom-poms or yarn pieces into the jar, mixing them up. Shake it around. Say, "Look! All of his feelings are jumbled up, just like in the book!"
3. Introduce the Feelings: As you continue reading, pause on the pages for yellow (happy), blue (sad), and red (angry). Talk about each feeling. Ask simple questions like, "What does it look like to be happy?" or "Can you make a sad face?"

Lesson 1.2: Sorting Our Feelings into Jars

Materials Needed:

• The "Jumbled Jar" from the previous lesson
• Three smaller, clear jars or bowls
• Pieces of yellow, blue, and red construction paper
• Tape or glue

Lesson Activities:

1. Prepare the Feeling Jars: Tape or glue a square of colored paper onto each of the smaller jars—one yellow, one blue, and one red. Say, "This is our Happy Jar (yellow), our Sad Jar (blue), and our Angry Jar (red)."
2. The Big Sort: Pour the mixed-up pom-poms from the Jumbled Jar onto a tray or the floor. Ask the student to help the monster sort his feelings. Say, "Let's find all the yellow, happy feelings and put them in the Happy Jar."
3. Talk While Sorting: As you sort each color, talk about the feeling. "I feel yellow and happy when we play outside." "Someone might feel blue and sad if they miss a friend." "Someone might feel red and angry if their toy breaks." This helps connect the abstract feeling to a concrete experience.
4. Observe: Notice how the jars look when they are full of just one color. Say, "Wow, the feelings look so much calmer now that they are sorted out!" Keep these jars for the coming weeks.

Week 2: Calm, Fear, and Love

Learning Objectives: The student will be introduced to the feelings of calm (green), fear (black), and love (pink). The student will create a sensory tool to help with self-regulation (a calm-down bottle) and express feelings through sensory play.

Lesson 2.1: Finding Our Calm

Materials Needed:

• The book "The Colour Monster"
• A clear plastic bottle with a lid (a water bottle works well)
• Warm water
• Clear glue or glitter glue
• Green glitter and/or small green sequins
• Superglue (for adult use only)

Lesson Activities:

1. Reread the Story: Reread "The Colour Monster," paying special attention to the green (calm) monster page. Talk about what "calm" means. It feels quiet, peaceful, and gentle, like trees in a breeze.
2. Create a Calm-Down Bottle:
   • Fill the bottle about halfway with warm water.
   • Add the glue. The more glue, the slower the glitter will fall. A 1:1 ratio of glue to water is a good starting point.
   • Let the student add the green glitter. Talk about how the glitter is like our busy thoughts.
   • Fill the rest of the bottle with water, leaving a little space at the top.
   • Secure the lid tightly. (Adult step: Use superglue to seal the lid permanently to prevent spills).
3. Practice with the Bottle: Show the student how to shake the bottle and then watch the glitter slowly swirl and settle. Practice taking slow, deep breaths while watching the glitter. Explain, "When you feel all jumbled up or angry, you can shake the bottle and watch the glitter settle. As it settles, your body can start to feel calm and settled, too."

Lesson 2.2: Feeling Faces with Playdough

Materials Needed:

• Playdough in various colors (especially green, black, and pink)
• Googly eyes, small buttons, and yarn scraps (optional)

Lesson Activities:

1. Review Feelings: Look at the pictures of the black (fear) and pink (love) monsters in the book. Talk about things that might make us feel scared (like a loud noise) or full of love (like a big hug).
2. Create Playdough Monsters: Give the student the playdough. Ask them to make a monster for each feeling.
   • "Can you make a green monster that looks calm and peaceful?"
   • "Let's make a black monster. What kind of face would he have if he was scared?"
   • "Now for the pink monster! How can we make him look loving? Maybe we can make a heart shape!"
3. Add Details: Use googly eyes and other materials to add expressive faces and details to the playdough monsters. This is a wonderful, hands-on way for the child to creatively represent emotions.

Week 3: My Feelings and What Causes Them

Learning Objectives: The student will connect the abstract feelings from the book to their own personal experiences. The student will practice communicating what makes them feel a certain way through drawing and role-playing.

Lesson 3.1: My Monster Today

Materials Needed:

• Large sheet of white paper
• Crayons, markers, or paint in the monster's colors
• The sorted "Feeling Jars" from Week 1

Lesson Activities:

1. Check-In: Start by asking, "How are you feeling today?" Let the student point to one of the Feeling Jars or name a color.
2. Draw Your Monster: Say, "Let's draw a picture of YOUR Colour Monster today." On the large paper, help the student draw a monster outline.
3. Color Your Feeling: Ask the student to color in their monster with the color that matches their feeling. If they feel happy, they'll color it yellow. If they feel a little sad and a little happy, they might use two colors. This is a great way to show that we can have more than one feeling at a time.
4. Talk About "Why": As they color, ask, "Why are you feeling a little blue today?" or "What happened to make you feel so yellow and happy?" This helps them build the crucial connection between an event and their emotional response.

Lesson 3.2: Feeling Scenarios with Puppets

Materials Needed:

• Paper plates or cardstock cutouts of the monster
• Craft sticks
• Crayons or markers
• Tape

Lesson Activities:

1. Create the Puppets: Together, color the paper plates or cutouts to look like the different Colour Monsters (one yellow, one blue, one red, etc.). Tape a craft stick to the back of each one to create simple stick puppets.
2. Role-Play: Use the puppets to act out short, simple scenarios. You can guide the storytelling.
   • "The Yellow Monster is so happy because he gets to eat his favorite snack! What is your favorite snack?"
   • "Oh no! The Red Monster is angry because another toy knocked over his tower. What should he do? Should he hit the toy? Or maybe take a deep breath like we practiced?"
   • "The Blue Monster is sad because his friend had to go home. What could we do to help the Blue Monster feel a little better?"
3. Student-Led Play: Let the student take the lead. They can use the puppets to tell their own stories, which gives you valuable insight into how they understand and process emotions.

Week 4: Expressing and Managing Our Feelings

Learning Objectives: The student will explore healthy and creative ways to express their feelings through movement and art. The student will create a visual representation of their "happy place" as a coping strategy.

Lesson 4.1: The Colour Monster Dance Party

Materials Needed:

• A music player (phone, speaker, etc.)
• A variety of music (fast and energetic, slow and sad, gentle and calm, happy and upbeat)

Lesson Activities:

1. Movement for Emotions: Explain, "Sometimes our bodies need to move to let our feelings out! Let's have a Colour Monster dance party."
2. Angry Dance (Red): Put on a fast, loud, stompy song (like a dramatic drum beat). Say, "Let's be the Red Monster! Stomp your feet! Make big arm movements! Let all the angry energy out!"
3. Happy Dance (Yellow): Put on a fun, upbeat, happy song. Say, "Time to be the Yellow Monster! Jump for joy! Spin around! Smile big!"
4. Sad Dance (Blue): Put on a slow, gentle, melodic song. Say, "Let's be the Blue Monster. We can sway slowly and gently, like a leaf floating on the water."
5. Calm Dance (Green): Put on some quiet, ambient music. Say, "Now for the Green Monster. Let's lie on the floor, close our eyes, and just breathe. Feel how calm your body is."

Lesson 4.2: My Calm and Happy Place Collage

Materials Needed:

• A large piece of construction paper or cardboard
• Glue stick
• Collage materials: fabric scraps, colored paper, magazine clippings, cotton balls, leaves from outside, glitter, stickers, etc.

Lesson Activities:

1. Remembering Calm: Talk about the Green (Calm) Monster. Ask, "Where do you think the green monster goes to feel so calm? What does your special calm and happy place look like?"
2. Create the Scene: Give the student the paper and all the collage materials. Encourage them to create a picture of their own personal "calm place." It could be their cozy bed, a sunny park, or a completely imaginary world.
3. Narrate the Creation: As they work, talk about their choices. "Oh, you're using soft cotton balls for clouds! That does look calm." "I see you chose bright, happy colors for the flowers."
4. Display the Art: Hang the finished collage in a place where the student can see it easily, like their bedroom. Explain, "When you feel sad or angry or scared, you can look at your beautiful picture and think about your calm, happy place to help you feel better." This provides a tangible tool for self-soothing.