You and your child will discuss and describe situations in which both of you have experienced different emotions. Together, you will make “feeling face” masks to show these emotions. This activity will help your child understand and relate to his or her own feelings and those of others.
Learning Area(s): Social and Emotional; Sensory and Art
MATERIALS
- Paper plate
- Yarn
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Craft sticks
- Tape
LET'S PLAY
Begin this activity by seeing how many different feelings your child can name. You can start by giving the example of “happy.” If your child can’t think of any feelings, try making a mad face and asking your child what feeling he thinks that is. Do the same for sad and scared. See if your child can also imitate those faces.
Once you have identified at least four basic emotions—happy, sad, mad, scared—talk with your child about a time when both of you felt each of them. You might say, “This is my happy face. I remember that I felt happy yesterday when you made me a picture at school! Can you think of a time when you felt happy?” Or you could say, “It makes me feel sad when [describe something that makes you sad]. What makes you feel sad?”
Next, tell your child, “We are going to make masks for each feeling using paper plates.” Encourage your child to draw a face showing that feeling on each plate; you can help if needed. Your child can decorate the plates with yarn or paper scraps for hair and ears. A craft stick can also be taped to the bottom of the plate to make a handle to hold up the mask.
TIPS
- Once you have made the masks, you can do many things with them like: naming a feeling and finding the mask that matches, acting out a puppet show about that feeling, talking about a situation that evokes a particular feeling (e.g., eating ice cream, falling off a bike, opening a present, hearing loud thunder), and seeing if your child can hold up the feeling mask that goes with that situation.
- There are many good picture books about feelings, such as: Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis; The Feelings Book by Todd Parr; and The Way I Feel by Janan Cain
- Your child can use his feeling faces masks as you read the story to show changes in emotions.
- When your child is ready, talk about more feelings such as silly, shy, proud, embarrassed, and confused.