I'll Help You Feel Better

In pairs, one child plays a sad friend curled up on the mat and the other helps them feel better with caring gestures. It builds noticing sadness in others and responding with help.

How to play

1. The teacher plays a sad child: curled up, head down. Ask: “What can I do if I see a friend like this?” and collect ideas (2 min).
2. Practice helping gestures in the air: come close slowly, crouch beside them, hand on the back, offer a hand (2 min).
3. In pairs: one curls up sad on a mat; the other comes over, asks “What's wrong?” and helps them up little by little (3 min).
4. Once the friend is standing, they walk hand in hand and skip more and more happily (2 min).
5. Switch roles and repeat (2 min).
6. In a circle, each pair shares which helping gesture they liked getting most (1 min).

Rules

• I come close slowly and carefully.
• I ask before I touch.
• I help my friend up little by little, no hard pulling.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair plays the sad friend with head and arms, and helps by coming close and offering a hand.
• Autism: show the steps with picture cards and allow no-touch help like sitting beside them or saying something kind.
• Visual impairment: the helper speaks before coming close and touching.

Learning goals

• Recognize sadness in a classmate.
• Practice helping and caring gestures.
• Turn slow movement into happy movement.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Mats: 12

Teacher tip

Space the mats well apart so each pair has its own corner. Watch the standing-up moment: stress “little by little” so nobody yanks an arm.

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