Help kids discover the power of their thoughts with the Jolly Jellybean Helpful Thought Hunt CBT Game! This playful, jellybean-themed cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) activity helps children learn to recognize the difference between helpful and unhelpful thoughts while building self-awareness, self-confidence, and emotional regulation skills.

Children explore how their thoughts can influence their feelings and choices through 30 printable thought cards and an interactive, self-checking Google Slides game. The activity offers a fun, approachable introduction to cognitive reframing, one of the foundational skills of CBT.

This digital and printable social emotional learning (SEL) game is ideal for individual counseling, child therapy, small-group counseling, and classroom lessons. It is aligned with Session 3 of Skills for Big Feelings: A Guide for Teaching Kids Relaxation, Regulation, and Coping Techniques, but can also be used independently to introduce helpful thinking.

📦 What's Included:

✔️ 30 Printable Helpful and Unhelpful Thought Cards

• Thought examples that children can identify, sort, discuss, and compare to build awareness of different thinking patterns.

✔️ Self-Checking Google Slides CBT Game

• An interactive digital activity that lets children practice distinguishing helpful thoughts from unhelpful thoughts and receive immediate feedback.

✔️ Skills for Big Feelings Curriculum Connection

• Aligned with Session 3 of Skills for Big Feelings, making it easy to reinforce helpful and unhelpful thinking concepts introduced in the curriculum.

🎒 Quick Details: Elementary | 👥 Individual counseling, small groups + classroom SEL | 🖨️ Printable PDF + Google Slides | 🎯 CBT, helpful thinking, self-awareness + emotional regulation

🛍️ Bundle & Save:

Love the Skills for Big Feelings games? Save by purchasing them together!

✔️ This resource is included in the CBT Games: Skills for Big Feelings Game Bundle, which brings together seven engaging CBT games at a discount.

✔️ Save even more money by purchasing the Skills for Big Feelings Growing Bundle (paperback edition or ebook edition) at a discount!

This comprehensive emotional regulation curriculum gives you multiple engaging ways to reinforce CBT and social emotional learning skills throughout the school year.

🎯 Skills Addressed:

✔️ Identifying helpful and unhelpful thoughts

✔️ Developing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills

✔️ Recognizing connections between thoughts, feelings, and choices

✔️ Building emotional self-awareness

✔️ Developing flexible thinking

✔️ Introducing cognitive reframing

✔️ Exploring positive and realistic self-talk

✔️ Building self-confidence

✔️ Practicing reflection and critical thinking

✔️ Developing emotional regulation strategies

✔️ Recognizing that thoughts are not always facts

💡 Ways to Use It:

✔️ Introduce helpful and unhelpful thoughts during individual counseling

✔️ Use the Google Slides game for an interactive CBT lesson

✔️ Sort the 30 printable thought cards into helpful and unhelpful categories

✔️ Invite children to explain why a thought might be helpful or unhelpful

✔️ Discuss how different thoughts may influence feelings and choices

✔️ Explore whether a thought is realistic, compassionate, and useful

✔️ Practice identifying thinking patterns without judging or criticizing children

✔️ Use the cards as conversation starters during small-group counseling

✔️ Incorporate the game into classroom SEL lessons

✔️ Use the digital version during telehealth sessions

✔️ Pair the game with Session 3 of Skills for Big Feelings

✔️ Revisit the activity before introducing more advanced cognitive reframing skills

✔️ Encourage children to consider more than one way of thinking about a situation

👩‍🏫 Who It's For:

School counselors, child therapists, mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, special education teachers, elementary classroom teachers, homeschool educators, and families.

This activity is especially useful for professionals helping children develop awareness of their thoughts, strengthen emotional regulation skills, and explore more supportive ways of thinking.

The game can be adapted for children with different communication, learning, and processing needs through discussion, visual supports, or supported responses.

🖨️ Format & Download:

This digital product includes:

✔️ 30 printable helpful and unhelpful thought cards

✔️ Interactive, self-checking Google Slides game

✔️ Printable PDF materials

The Google Slides game can be used on a computer, interactive whiteboard, or through screen sharing. Print the thought cards for hands-on individual counseling, small groups, or classroom SEL activities.

Please note: This game is a companion resource to Skills for Big Feelings. Two cards refer directly to curriculum-specific concepts, including the Feeling-Breath-Thought-Skill (F-B-T-S) strategy and the small rock size challenge analogy.

The game can still be used independently, but those two cards may benefit from additional explanation if children are unfamiliar with the curriculum.

📌 Important Notes:

Helpful thinking does not mean always thinking positively. The goal is to help children recognize thoughts that are realistic, compassionate, flexible, and supportive, not to dismiss difficult feelings or ignore genuine problems.

Children should never feel pressured to replace valid concerns with positive statements. Sometimes a helpful thought acknowledges that something is difficult while recognizing available support or possible next steps.

Adapt discussions to children's developmental levels, individual experiences, and communication preferences.

This resource introduces CBT concepts through educational activities and is not a substitute for individualized mental health treatment.

This is a digital download. No physical materials will be shipped. No refunds on digital purchases.