Activity: Feel the Beat
Thank you, Rachel McFadden, from Camp Mariposa Indianapolis: Aaron’s Place of Overdose Lifeline, Inc. for developing and sharing this activity!
Objective:
Sometimes talking about how we are feeling can be difficult. There are lots of ways we can express feelings without words. Feel the Beat allows participants to use a drum to tell us how they are feeling. This tool can be used individually in real time or in a group setting to practice communicating feelings.
Supplies:
A simple hand drum (djembe or bongo)
Instructions:
- As a facilitator, demonstrate how different tempos, intensity, and the part of your hand used to strike the drum can express different kinds of feelings:
- Using just your fingertips to lightly tap the drum quickly might indicate fear or anxiety.
- Using the heel of your hand to strike hard might indicate feeling angry.
- Using a medium touch with playful varying tempos might indicate feelings of joy.
- After giving a few examples, pass the drum around the circle and let the participants express their current mood using the drum. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
- The participants can also share their feelings verbally if they wish, but it’s not necessary.
Additional Ideas:
You can decide if this is just for sharing or if you want to turn it into an activity in which the participants try to interpret the emotion being expressed with the drum. This is a great way to practice identifying and honoring other people’s feelings.
