Grief Worksheets

All About These 15 Worksheets

Grief is a complex and deeply personal experience that arises from the loss of someone or something significant. This series of 15 worksheets on Grief is designed to help students navigate the grieving process, understand their emotions, and develop coping strategies to heal and find meaning in their loss. Each worksheet within this series focuses on different aspects of grief, providing students with opportunities for self-reflection, emotional exploration, and support. Through these worksheets, students will:

  • Be introduced to the idea that grief is a natural response to loss and that it affects individuals in unique ways;
  • Explore and identify the wide range of emotions they may experience during the grieving process;
  • Develop their own healthy coping strategies for managing grief;
  • Reflect on positive memories by creating tributes that help preserve the memory of their loss, promoting healing and finding meaning in the grieving process;
  • Learn about the different types of support available and reflect on the ways in which they can seek support during their grieving process;
  • And engage in reflective exercises that encourage them to consider how their loss has shaped them and how they can find purpose and resilience through their experience.

This series of worksheets on Grief provides students with a compassionate and supportive framework for navigating the grieving process. By engaging with these activities, they will develop emotional awareness, coping skills, and the ability to seek and provide support. This series acknowledges and validates their emotions, fosters resilience, and promotes healing and growth. Overall, this series empowers students to find meaning in their loss, embrace their emotions, and move forward with renewed strength and hope.

Helping Children Deal with Grief

Most young children do not know what grief is, even if they feel it. They find it hard to explain the emotions they are experiencing, which can make the entire process highly confusing to them.
As a parent or teacher, you cannot protect a child from grief. However, you can help them deal with it and cope so they always feel safe.

It is important to remember that every child deals with loss and tragedy differently. Their defense mechanisms are still developing, making it easy for them to feel overwhelmed.

1. Allow Children to Express their Feelings

If a child has gone through some major change in their life, you must allow them to explain what they are feeling. Some children may not know the exact name of the emotion they are experiencing but will be able to vaguely tell you if they feel sad or angry.

Since most children have a hard time using words to express their emotions, you can provide them with notebooks so that they can draw their feelings. Other outlets may include telling stories, looking through photo albums together, or building a scrapbook.

2. Keep the Child’s Age in Mind

If the child has gone through a tragic event but is too young to grasp the concept of it, it is vital to understand how much you can tell him. You do not want to give out more gruesome information than you have to, especially if your child is not emotionally mature.

While older children can wrap their minds around abstract concepts, younger children tend to believe in the concept of hope. When asked a question, it is best to answer as clearly and honestly as possible. It is okay if you do not have all the answers but make sure to be available to your child so they do not feel alone or neglected.

3. Acknowledge their Feelings

When children are dealing with grief, it is highly recommended that as an adult, you acknowledge their feelings. This means telling them that what they feel is okay and there is nothing wrong with being sad. This will ensure that your child does not bottle up his feelings as he grows up but instead takes time to feel what they are feeling.

For example, if your child is sad that their pet fish died, do not say things like, “It’s just a fish, don’t be sad.” Instead, grieve with them, hold a funeral, write a letter to the fish, and help your child move on.

4. Stick to a Routine

The best way to help a child deal with grief is by building a routine they will stick to. It is important to keep your child distracted so that they can also explore other feelings. You need to help your child understand that even though they are allowed to feel grief, the world does not stop, and time goes on.

Research shows that children find comfort in routines. A routine helps bring a sense of normality and consistency back to their lives so that instead of fearing the unknown, they learn to rely on predictability.

A routine also helps children realize that they have some form of control over the world around them. This provides a buffer between the things they can change and what they cannot change. In turn, this concept helps regulate their nervous system, allowing them to pick up old activities that brought them comfort.