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Together at the Table

Three short lessons on reading each other: each person picks a feeling card in secret, guesses the other's, and then you turn them over. A missed guess is where the conversation starts.

For grown-ups, from what TempCheck teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1One card each
  2. Lesson 2A missed read is a conversation
  3. Lesson 3When a card is hard
At the table · two or more, any age who can point at a word or face

Nine cards

You'll need: nine small cards each, one feeling per card, each with a small drawn face beside the word for anyone not yet reading: excited, proud, okay, tired, worried, sad, angry, lonely, embarrassed.

  1. Each person picks their own card in secret and lays it face down.
  2. Each person says their guess for the other: "I think you are…".
  3. On three, everyone turns their card over together.
  4. For each missed guess, the guesser asks: "I thought… — what made it this one?" and listens.
  5. Stop after one or two rounds. The cards can live by the door for tomorrow.

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →