Giving kids a background in psychology will help them throughout their everyday life. These psychology activities for kids are designed to teach children basic principles of cognitive psychology in fun, creative ways. So let’s get started learning about psychology and promoting mental health in your students!
Free psychology activities for kids
The following activities are designed especially for teachers in elementary school and junior high/middle school, but parents may also find them valuable to do with their own children.
See also: Mood & emotion activities for kids
Psychology activities to teach kids about the mind
Magic Trees of the Mind (An art project for kids)
For this activity you’ll need colored construction paper, star stickers, glue, scissors, and string. Give each child a piece of construction paper in their color of choice. Then give them l0 or so star stickers, and have them affix the stickers all over their paper in a random pattern. Now have them cut pieces of string and glue them onto the paper to create a web of connections between the different stars.
While they’re doing so, explain that this is how their brain works: The stars represent neurons that collect and hold information; the string represents the dendrites of neurons, which reach out and form connections with other neurons, much like the root system on a tree. This is how neurons talk to one another and form the thoughts they have. Just as each child’s art project will be unique, with billions of neurons in their brain that are wired together in their own unique way, everybody on this planet truly is a unique individual!
Psychology activities to teach kids about perspective
Perspective Art
For this psychology activity you’re going to have kids create their own ink blot pattern pictures, then use these as your own Rorschach test to teach kids about different perspectives and how each of us interpret the same thing in slightly different ways.
Psychological Word Association Game for Kids
A group time activity that helps children understand the concept of learned associations.