Helping Children Understand Sadness: The Sadness Story Sack

Michael Wood
Oct 14
4 min read

Sadness can feel heavy, quiet, and invisible. For many children, it’s the emotion they hide the most — a lump in the throat, an ache in the stomach, or a quiet withdrawal from friends. Behind that silence, though, there’s often a story waiting to be told.

At Aspire, we know that giving sadness a voice is one of the most powerful steps towards healing. The Sadness Story Sack helps children recognise, name, and express their feelings in a safe and supported way, using sensory items and visual metaphors that bring emotion coaching to life.

Why Focus on Sadness?

Children experience sadness for countless reasons - loss, change, friendship issues, overwhelm, or even just a day that feels too big. When sadness goes unspoken, it can turn into isolation, anxiety, or disengagement.

That’s why we use sadness not as something to “fix,” but as something to explore. The Sadness Story Sack encourages children to:

Identify how sadness feels in their body
Express sadness through words, play or imagery
Recognise that all feelings are temporary
Learn small steps to move from sadness to support

What’s in the Sadness Story Sack?

Each item represents part of how sadness feels and offers a way to process it safely.

📚 Sadness-Themed Story Books - Stories can help children realise they’re not alone. Books like Dealing with Feeling Sad, When Sadness Comes to Call or The Invisible String gently normalise grief and sadness, showing how connection and care help us recover.

🔵 Blue Cloth - Represents where sadness sits in the body — the chest, stomach, or heart. Great for mapping body sensations and helping children make the link between emotions and physical feelings. Example Blue Cloth

🧸 Sad Teddy - Any soft toy works, but a “sad-looking” teddy helps externalise emotion. Children can comfort the teddy, explain how it feels, or use it as a stand-in when they’re not ready to speak for themselves. It also gives permission to sit quietly apart from a group — a safe, visual signal for “I need time.” Example Teddy Bear

🩹 Plasters (Various Sizes) - Symbolise the “size” of sadness. Children can label them with words or stick them on the teddy to show what might make it sad — perfect for exploring sadness safely and indirectly. Example Plasters

🌾 Wheat Pack or Weighted Item - Demonstrates the physical heaviness of sadness — the “weighted down” feeling many children describe. The weight can also provide calm, grounding sensory input. Example Wheat Pack or Weighted Blanket

💧 Water Droppers (Tears Activity) - Each drop represents a tear or a moment of sadness. Children can talk about what makes them sad as an adult drips water — or write these feelings on a Sadness Cloud and drip “tears” over it to show that crying is a natural release. Water Droppers Example

🧻 Tissues - Simple but powerful — a symbol of care and reassurance that it’s OK to cry. Plus, they’re practical for cleaning up after the water activity. - Tissues

🧩 Building Blocks Image / Activity - Used to explore how sadness can be unpicked and rebuilt, piece by piece. Personalised Building Blocks

Prompt Cards and Visual Tools

🖤 Before Sadness Cards -For older children or teens, use a dark overlay to show how certain experiences can make the world feel “darker.” A gentle way to explore emotional triggers safely.

💭 Reasons for Sadness Prompts - Visual cues to help identify what’s behind the feeling. These should always be personalised and used carefully — never introduce ideas a child hasn’t expressed.

☁️ Sadness Cloud - A laminated cloud template where children can draw or write what makes them sad. It can be revisited over time as emotions change. Combine with the water dropper for a powerful sensory moment.

🧠 Help Skills Jigsaw - Children piece together how they like to communicate sadness — talking, drawing, hugging, writing. There’s no right or wrong way to complete it, reinforcing that sadness is personal and can be supported in their own way.

Why It Works

Sadness doesn’t need to be avoided or silenced. The Sadness Story Sack creates a gentle bridge between emotion and understanding, helping children realise that:

Sadness is normal and shared by everyone
Crying is healthy, not weak
Support and connection help rebuild confidence

It’s especially effective for:

Children with autism or social communication needs
Pupils processing grief or transition
KS1–KS2 children developing emotional literacy

Try It in Your Setting

You don’t need to buy everything new — many of these items can be adapted from classroom resources. The magic lies in how they’re used: slow, supportive, and responsive to the child’s pace.

You can explore our other Emotion Story Sacks here:

Download your Sadness Story Sack Checklist and Conversation Starters below.

Final Thought

Sadness is not a weakness — it’s a signal. The Sadness Story Sack helps children name that signal, feel it safely, and discover that every tear can water a new beginning.

Further Training

For Emotional Literacy or Emotion Coaching training, contact training@aspirebm.co.uk or visit https://aspirebm.thinkific.com/