Contact with one’s own emotions and those of others: playing Emotica

The contribution illustrates the theoretical premises and the description of the "Emotica" educational activity. Emotica is an activity designed for children, also applicable in adult settings, to facilitate the meeting with others and inclusive attitudes, through the tool of narration, calling emotions into play to facilitate the development of empathetic communication and active listening skills. The activity was conceived in collaboration with the pedagogical research laboratory of the University of L’Aquila and has been tested in numerous school settings with the aim of working to improve relationships in the classroom through emotional education. “Emotica” comes from “Itaca”, a game created by Vaccarelli (2015) which is then interpreted in an emotional key. When proposing activities in post-emergencies, it is important to pay attention to the timing, and it is advisable to avoid the acute phase of the emergency and choose the re-establishment phase (Iorio, infra). The function of Emotica is to allow children to recognise emotions and express them, channelling them in the right direction, to ensure that the emotional part is supportive to resilience and not an obstacle.