Our study of emotions

We've spent a lot of time the past few weeks working on our "Emotion books". These are books made out of colored paper were we try to sketch stories to help illustrate our emotions. This process is quite painful because mom is quite possibly the worst artist in the world and because JP hates to write or draw. This project has two goals: JP learning to identify and understand his range of emotions and hopefully an appreciation for drawing pictures.

Although JP is getting better at identifying that a person in a picture is happy, sad, angry, confused he still only can articulate his emotions in a black or white context. In fact, 90% of the time he will tell you that "JP is happy" even when he clearly looks frustrated by something. Recently he has managed to articulate that he is angry when we were trying to talk about the events after a meltdown. But he doesn't articulate sad or mad or proud or confused or scared and he doesn't share those feelings before they get out of control. My thoughts are that he has to learn to identify these feelings in himself before we can expect him to regulate them.

So we started out with a "Happy Book" and a "Sad Book". We have since added mad, excited, scared, surprised, confused and proud. I think they are helping and JP really does seem to enjoy creating and re-reading these books.

We were drawing in our new "Proud Book" about our accomplishment of drawing a picture of Pooh Bear when JP surprised Mom.

JP: Can you write a surprise book?

Mom: (a very surprised Mom ran to get another bundle of colored paper to quickly form a "Surprised Book" since we didn't already have a book for this emotion)

JP: JP will be surprised when I see a Pooh CD for my computer!

Mom: (poised with pen to draw his story about surprise). Oh. But you don't have a Pooh game for your computer.

JP: (Grins and knowingly looks at Mom). Walmart has one!

Mom: Uh, I don't know. I've never seen one there. Have you?

JP: (Perplexed look-after all you can get everything at Walmart!) Or the north pole has one? JP would be surprised to play Winnie the Pooh on my computer! Can we do that! That is the idea, right!

I think I have been had. So far we've avoided a trip to Walmart!