Psychology students gathered at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette last Tuesday to perform an activity for kids, assessing what activities kids like engaging in. Professor Vincent Jeevar pitched the idea to his students of hosting the activities and measuring the children’s emotions before, during and after the activities.

“We are just monitoring if they finish the activity and their engagement in the activity, and if it affects their mood if they are happy or sad,” PSY 312 Student Kaylee Bares said.

The students devised these games themselves in class, and some even took time out of their weekend to test the games and make sure they were age-appropriate. The games included keeping a balloon in the air, finger painting, landing a bouncy ball into a bucket and a game to unbury treasure.

“The psych department, actually, funded us getting the supplies for the kids for all the different groups,” Bares said. “Students did not have to buy equipment for this activity themselves.

PSY 312 Student Daisy Dobis explained her own group’s game, the craft of paper plate animals. The children were laughing and smiling as they played these games.

“We have a kind of mood assessment, I guess you could say, the kids fill out before and after the activity,” Dobis explained. “A picture of a happy face and sad face, some in between, and they point to before and after the activity.”

She says this class has done another event this semester, but this one is unique in itself.

“This is the first time [Professor Jeevar] has done this in this class, I hope it happens again,” Dobis said.

The children were not the only ones smiling, as the students sat at their own activities their faces were exploding with joy in smiles and giggles.