Divorce Movie Activities for Kids
In this set of activities adaptable for grades K-3, parents and educators will find ideas for teaching about divorce. These activities are designed to complement the BrainPOP Jr. Divorce topic page, which includes a movie, quizzes, online games, printable activities, and more.
Classroom Activities for Teaching About Divorce
Friendship Pact
Explain to children that a pact is a promise you agree to keep with someone. Have your students write a pact with a friend. What is a promise you can keep forever to a friend? Brainstorm different promises with your students. For example, a friend may promise to always listen to another friend’s problems, or cheer a friend up when he or she feels sad. Have students write their ideas and promises together. Then have each child sign the pact. You may wish to keep the pacts a secret between the friends or have volunteers share their pacts with the class.
Anger Management
Explain to your students that anger is a normal emotion and there are ways to release anger to feel better. Hold an open discussion with the class and have volunteers talk about a time when they were angry. What happened? Why were they angry? What did they do to make themselves feel better? Then brainstorm different ways people can deal with anger, such as exercising, singing loudly, or taking a deep breath and counting to ten. People can close their eyes and think of a calming image or think of a funny joke or moment in their lives. You may wish to post a list of anger management strategies in the class so students can refer to them when needed.
Family and Homeschool Activities for Teaching About Divorce
Changes
Remind your child that families change constantly. How did your family change? Did a family member or pet pass away? Was there a new addition to the family? Did your family move to a new home? Create a timeline with your child of all the major changes that occurred in your family. Then as your family continues to change, add events to the timeline together.
Stop, Talk, and Listen
Sometimes people do not know when they have angered or hurt someone’s feelings. Discuss with your child the importance of being open and honest about his or her feelings. Communication is an important part of healthy relationships. Together with your child, come up with a phrase such as “stop, talk, and listen” that you can use whenever a situation is becoming emotionally intense. Agree that whenever anyone uses the phrase, you will have an open and honest conversation and discuss the problem without judgment or raising your voices.
Creative Outlet
If your family is going through a divorce, a helpful way to help your child through the process is to have open, honest conversations and provide creative outlets. Together, create a book about divorce and write thoughts, ideas, and feelings you may have. Your child can draw pictures to help describe his or her emotions, write a story, or create a puppet show.
