What Makes Me Smile

Time

4 3 2 1 Early-Mid Stages

Benefits

Participants

One to One, Self Led or Group Activity

What you need

A big poster of a smiley face
Differently coloured card that’s cut into circle shapes (approximately 8cm in diameter)

Intro

This simple smile-a-minute activity can be done all in one go, or broken up and completed anytime you have 10 minutes to spare. All you need is a space on the wall with a huge smiley-faced poster, and some colourful card that’s cut into circles, then you’re all set to encourage everyone to share the things in life that make them smile. One of the really lovely things about this activity is that you can turn it into a piece of wall art that people can come back to and enjoy.

The Activity

Gather a small group together in a quiet space
Encourage each person to share the memories or things that make them happy
If the group struggles to start, you can help by sharing something yourself. For example, chocolate makes you smile because it tastes so lovely, or remembering the day you danced all night makes you smile
When each person has shared what makes them smile, write it down on the coloured circles and, if people would like to, you can add their names onto their cards
Encourage everyone to stick these cards on the giant smiley face on the wall
You can add to it at anytime or have a completely new “what makes you smile” session
Once the board is filled, it’ll be something for people to stop and look at as they walk by – hopefully even making them smile