Our Emotion Cards
Developing emotional vocabulary and understanding, and supporting children and adults
to communicate their needs, values and hopes.
The Culture of the Heart Emotion Cards are a practical emotional literacy and relational-awareness tool designed to help children and young people recognise, name and communicate their emotional experiences.
Relational and Emotional Safety
The cards are underpinned by a fundamental principle: emotional safety is the foundation for connection, learning and well-being. When we feel safe, represented by the calm sea, we are more able to connect, communicate, explore, learn and thrive. When we feel unsafe, represented by the stormy sea, our systems move towards protection.
Developing an understanding of how our internal systems interact with the world around us can create greater choice: rather than reacting, we can pause, understand what is happening and make more informed, values-led choices.
The cards provide accessible language for a broad range of emotional experiences, including those that can be
difficult to identify or communicate. Our Emotion Cards offer children visual and language for their internal world and support creating a safer bridge between that internal world and the people around them.
The cards can be used by teachers, pastoral staff, counsellors, psychologists and other trusted adults to support emotional awareness, self-advocacy, co-regulation, communication, empathy and healthy relationships.
