Activities

Read “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” to the children. Using a puppet and small figures of the animals mentioned in the story, encourage the children to retell the story.

Let the infant know it is time to drink his/her bottle. Hold bottle in front of the infant and ask, “Geri, are you ready for your bottle? Here is your bottle, Geri.” Look for the infant to reach or make noises in agreement.

Create a prop box in dramatic play that has materials you might use to comfort or care for someone. Include a soft toy, a blanket, a book to share and toy doctor supplies. The children can build empathy by role playing with one another.

Provide picture cards showing faces with a variety of emotions. You can download and print some from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning at Vanderbilt University.

Take photos of the children making faces expressing different feelings and label each photo. Put the photos in a book and place in the reading center for the children to read.

Read Friends by Aliki and create a chart with some of the actions in the story. Have the children place a smiley or frowny face on the chart depending on how each action in the story will make a friend feel. Ask them to tell why.

Read Friends by Aliki and create a chart with some of the actions in the story. Have the children place a smiley or frowny face on the chart depending on how each action in the story will make a friend feel. Ask them to tell why.

Provide books, pictures or homemade picture cards of various facial expressions. Identify and discuss each feeling shown. Discuss why the individual in the picture may be feeling sad, happy, surprised, excited, mad, scared or angry.

Begin large group with this poem:
When angry feelings start to mount,

That's when I take some time to count:

One ... Two ... Three ... Four ... Five.

Create a bingo game using clip art or other images of the children showing different facial expressions and emotions.

The children take turns pulling an emotion card out of the stack of cards and acting out the emotion on it for the others to guess. This can be done in small group.

Whisper to a child a particular feeling such

as happy, sad, frustrated, angry, surprised or disappointed. Provide an opportunity for the child to act out the feeling. Encourage the other children to guess how the child feels.

Make a cube with a different emotions drawn on each side or use emojis.

Give the children a variety of colored candies or cereal in a small cup. Create a chart matching colors to feelings. For example, red=angry, green=sad, yellow=excited, orange=happy, purple or brown=scared. Add images of faces next to the color.

Have the children sit in a large circle and pass a small ball or bean bag as the music plays. When the music stops, have the children share how they are feeling. This could be done in large group.

Create a tummy time mat using photos of infants displaying different feelings and add a child safe mirror to the center.

Make a feelings meter from poster board divided into six sections. Label each section with a different emotion such as happy, mad, grumpy, sleepy, shy, worried.

Sing this song with the children:
Sometimes on my face, you'll see (Point to face.)
How I feel inside of me (Point to chest.)
A smile means happy (Smile.

Get two baskets. Make a sign for one that says "Happy" with a happy face and a sign for the other that says "Sad" with a sad face. Cut out lots of pictures from magazines and give them to the children. Sit with the children and look at the pictures.

Place small plastic toys in a non-transparent, plastic container. Add rice or sand. The children take turns reaching inside the container and grabbing a toy. Without looking, each child tries to determine what it is based on what it feels like.