Feelings & Emotions
Learning to recognise and talk about emotions is an important part of a child’s social and emotional development. This simple activity uses visual expressions to help children identify feelings, connect them to their own experiences and begin to understand how others might feel.
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What do you do:
Spread the emotion faces out where your child can see them.
Encourage your child to choose a face and look carefully at the expression.
Ask, “How do you think they are feeling?”
Name the emotion together.
Encourage your child to copy the expression using their own face.
What's Needed:
A selection of wooden emotion faces
A mirror if available
A comfortable floor or table space
How to Adapt
For younger toddlers: Introduce simple emotions such as happy, sad, angry and surprised. Name the emotion and copy the expression together.
For older children: Talk about why somebody might feel each emotion and what might help them. Encourage children to describe situations where they have experienced similar feelings.
Make it more open-ended: Use the faces for storytelling, emotion charades or ask your child to choose a face that represents how they feel today.
Benefits of the Activity
Develops emotional literacy
Builds emotional vocabulary
Encourages children to recognise feelings
Supports self-awareness
Develops empathy
Encourages communication
Supports social and emotional development
Helps children express their own feelings
