“My Fear on Paper” – Learning to Understand Our Emotions

During an art class at Savremena Primary School, an entire gallery of unusual, colorful creatures came to life — some funny, some strange, some “scary,” but all equally unique. The students were given the task to use tempera paints, straws, and brushes to create a creature that represents their fear.
The goal wasn’t to show fear in a dark or intimidating way, but to transform it — to give it color, shape, character, and even a friendly side.

This activity was designed as a continuation of their civic education lessons, where they had recently been learning about emotions, how they are formed, and how we can understand them. Art became the perfect space for students not just to talk about emotions, but to express them, shape them, and colour them in their own unique way.

The moment the paint started spreading across the paper, the classroom turned into a safe place — a place where it’s okay to talk about fears, where it’s okay to be vulnerable, and where it’s more than welcome to be imaginative.

Unusual creatures as little allies of courage

The children imagined that their fear had a “body” — sometimes with fluid edges, sometimes with strange legs, sometimes with one big eye or even five. Some creatures had horns, others tentacles, others wings, but no two were alike. Through their own combination of colours, shapes, and lines, each child told a personal story of what their fear looks like — and how it might even help them.

The activity began by dropping tempera paint onto paper and blowing it in different directions through a straw, creating unique shapes that they later turned into characters. After that, using brushes, they added eyes, arms, legs, and the special details that gave their creature personality.

Throughout the process, the classroom was filled with comments full of creativity and joy:
✨ “My fear has three eyes so it can see everything!”
✨ “This is my fear when it’s happy.”
✨ “It’s a little ugly, but it’s good!”
✨ “Mine protects me from the dark!”

In these honest, spontaneous remarks lies the essence of the activity — children learn that fear doesn’t have to be an enemy, but something they can understand, shape, and transform into a tiny helper.

Emotional learning through art: connecting arts and civic education

This lesson showed how important it is for children to learn about emotions not only through conversation but through practice. By connecting civic education with art, students were given the chance to express their emotional experiences visually — without pressure, without “pretty” or “ugly” labels, with the focus on honesty and creativity.

Through this process, children:
• learned to recognize and name emotions,
• developed emotional literacy,
• understood that fear is not a taboo topic,
• felt that they have the right to express what they feel,
• nurtured imagination and creative thinking,
• built confidence through artistic expression.

The teachers supported them and guided discussions about why it’s important to talk about the things that scare us and how creativity can be a bridge to courage.

At the end of the lesson, each student proudly presented their creation — not because it was “beautiful,” but because it was theirs. Because it was born from an emotion they had the courage to explore and turn into art.

At Savremena, we believe that a child who can understand, name, and express their emotions grows into a confident, empathetic, and brave person. And lessons like this prove that courage is learned — through colours, through play, and through imagination that leads children into a world where every fear can become something that helps us grow. 💚✨