Why are they holding a bike? Where have they come from? Where are they going? Why aren’t they riding the bike? Why have they stopped? What does sadness feel like? What does fear feel like? What does anxiety feel like? Try to describe what feelings you have in your body when you feel this way. You might want to draw a diagram and label it, or draw on it to show the different physical changes that happen to you. Tom slowed to a stop in the clearing at sunset. He’d done this every night for the last two years, each night asking a new question. The other kids thought he was crazy, speaking to big balls of gas in space. But something just made him think that they would reply with answers, but tonight his question was deeper than the previous ones. “Is my father still alive?” He said. He’d been asking this to himself for years, as the vague memory of his Dad haunted him. He’d only met him once, but that memory had evaporated. He looked up to the night sky and saw a twinkle of light, then a flash. Then he heard a rather loud scream. “Aaaaaagggghhh!” The scream sounded like a girl around his age, as the voice was moderately deep. Then the voice landed. “Ow!” It cried. What do you do when you’re feeling sad/scared/anxious/worried? What could you do to help yourself? What could others do to help you? If the stars could speak, what sort of things do you think they might say? Would they tell stories, give advice/warnings, ask questions?

What does sadness feel like? What does fear feel like? What does anxiety feel like? Draw a picture of these feelings as if they were characters or monsters. Once you’ve drawn your character, what might you say to it?This image and sentence could be used as a standalone prompt – let children lead a discussion, generate their own questions, or write freely and creatively.