Metaphorical associative cards for children “Friend”

Author: Irina Fedorova
Metaphorical associative cards “Friend” are intended for psychological diagnostics of children, for games that develop the child’s emotional intelligence and creative inclinations.
The set includes: 80 cards 70 x 104 mm, instructions with working techniques, a box for storing the deck.
The purpose of the metaphorical associative cards “Friend” is psychological diagnostics of children. They can also be used in games that develop a child’s emotional intelligence and creativity.
The deck of metaphorical cards was created specifically for working with children. The main character of the deck is a puppy named Buddy – a kind and carefree character who evokes positive emotions not only in children, but also in adults. On the cards, the main character finds himself in various life situations, experiences different feelings and emotions, comes into contact with other characters on the cards: parents, younger brother, grandparents, friends and other characters.
Working with metaphorical cards, the child will be able to expand his vocabulary and develop emotional intelligence. The cards will help him learn to express his feelings and sensations, even if they are just beginning to emerge. This is most important for the vague, unaccepted and unlived experiences that fill the child’s inner world.
You need to talk to the child about such spiritual values as conscience, generosity, kindness and compassion, and much more. You can also talk about God. There is no need to worry that the child is too young for such topics. When he becomes a teenager, it will be too late to start conversations on such topics.
A creative approach to any task that faces the child as he studies cards with the adventures of Druzhka will allow him to learn a lot of new things about the inner world of a little person.
In the attached The instructions for the cards describe several techniques and exercises for working with children.
Exercise “Good-Bad”
The child needs to be given some of the cards and asked to sort them into two piles: “Good” and “Badly”. There is no need to give the child the entire deck at once – this may confuse him, or, in another case, the child will easily get carried away by just looking at the images.
You need to carefully talk through each card with the child. Guiding questions can help with this: how did the child divide the cards into “Good” and “Bad” piles? What gave him the basis for such a division? Why did you decide this way? What, in his opinion, is depicted on the cards, bad and good? What’s happening on them? Does something similar to what is shown on the cards happen in the life of a child? And which situations in a child’s life are more numerous – from the “Good” pile or from the “Bad” pile?
Thanks to this exercise, you can find out the world in which the child lives and understand whether this world is good or bad for him. After all, sometimes you may encounter the fact that in an unpleasant situation a child finds positive aspects, and vice versa – in seemingly harmless cases he sees negative aspects.
Particular attention must be paid to the child’s unusual judgments and assessments. For example, the card shows Buddy playing and laughing – this is bad. Why? Yes, all because you need to study, do homework, and not rest. In this case, you need to try to find out why the child developed such a belief. Does he think so himself or did he hear it from someone? If you have heard, what do you think about this? What will happen in a puppy’s life if he cannot play and laugh, but only exercises? Will he be pleased? Who will be good in the current situation, and who will be bad?
Exercise “Tell a fairy tale”
The exercise consists of asking the child to compose a fairy tale about the main character. When writing, he should rely on the images of the cards, and not invent a plot on his own. The child begins to invent a fairy tale by drawing the first card from the deck, and continues it, based on the other cards he also drew. To help him, you can immediately lay out several cards (5-10) closed on the table and open them one by one when the need arises.
It is advisable to bring the fairy tale to a joyful conclusion. The child must independently find a possible way out of a difficult situation. If a happy ending cannot be achieved, it will probably be necessary to help the child. The most appropriate positive card to the essence of the story is selected from the deck, and with leading questions or assumptions the child is directed to see the possibility of a favorable way out of the situation. Upon completion of the exercise, the child should feel satisfied that the Friend has gotten rid of all problems.
With the help of this exercise, the child learns to find resources, support and help if any difficulties arise along the way. Also, this exercise will help to sort out and talk through existing problems, as well as find a way out of the situation.
Exercise “One day in my life”
The child is asked to openly pull out cards from the deck that illustrate the usual a day in his life. A specific day can also be chosen: yesterday, a recent holiday (the birthday of someone close to you) or the day when some significant event happened for the child.
The child lays out the cards on the table in random order and says about what the puppy is doing, how his day is going. You can ask to describe the puppy’s feelings and emotions, tell what, in the child’s opinion, the puppy will do in the future.
It is necessary to carefully focus on what feelings, emotions, sensations the child highlights. Is he satisfied with this world or not? What resources does he receive from his parents? Or maybe, on the contrary, his parents somehow make his life difficult?