Homeschooling

February Emotions Printables for Kids

February is a time for celebrating love. Not just romantic love, but friendship and family. Kids can however have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. They may feel jealous of those who receive more Valentine’s, indifferent, happy, or sad due to circumstances within their family or with friends.

These Valentine’s themed February emotions printables can help kids identify and talk about their feelings.

February Copywork Emotions Sentences:

I strongly believe that teaching emotions is more important than teaching academics. Children need to develop a firm understanding of emotions and learn how to effectively express their own. These February emotions printing practise worksheets allow kids to practise their printing while also normalizing talking about emotions.

These copywork pages allow students to explore emotion words and associate the images with the corresponding feeling. This expands their emotional vocabulary.

Supplies needed:

February Emotions printables
pencil or pen OR
plastic sleeve AND dry erase marker

Download the printable pages. If you want them to be reusable, laminate the pages or slip them into a plastic page protector. Students can then use a dry erase marker to complete the tracing and writing.

For one time use, give the student a pencil, crayons, coloured pencils, or markers and the printed papers.

Instructions for the student:

Read the sentence.
Fill in the outline.
Trace the dotted words.
Write the sentence on the lines provided.
Discuss the different emotions.

These worksheets can be the jumping off point for a discussion with the whole class or one-on-one talk about different emotions. They can be used by teachers, homeschoolers, parents, or therapists.

February Feelings Log:

Keeping a daily log of feelings helps kids to look at their emotions. It can also allow them and their teacher or parents to recognize any patterns they see emerging when looking back through the log. This can provide a lot of insight.

Doing this quick daily exercise is an easy way to help kids to talk about their emotions and get to the root of why they are feeling the way they are. Doing this at the same time each day can develop a positive habit.

It may be most helpful to do this in the morning to then be able to adjust activities or expectations based on how the student is feeling or it may be best to do after supper or before bed to reflect on and analyze the day.

Teaching emotions is such a powerful tool. It arms children with a skill they can use their whole life.

I’ve created a special Feelings Log for February. It includes a writing prompt and drawing prompt about Valentine’s Day, and weekly tracking sheet of “Today I feel” along with cute heart faces to use to help them better express their emotions.

Supplies needed:

printed Feelings Log pages (download here)
scissors
markers, pencil crayons, or crayons
pencil or pen

Enter your email below to download the free February Emotions Printables. You can use this with your child at home or print it off to use with your students in the classroom.

Our other monthly emotions printables:

Colourful Celery Experiment

By Sharla Kostelyk

A few years ago, one of our daughters decided to do the celery experiment for her science fair project. This is such an easy project for kids to do. Kitchen science experiments are a great way for kids to learn. They are using materials that are familiar to them. This experiment uses celery, food colouring, and water which are all things that are familiar to most kids.

Hands on learning is so much more effective for retention. This particular experiment uses simple items that are cost effective and easy to find rather than expensive, hard-to-find materials.

Kids are able to observe the changes happening and delight in the process.

Colourful Celery Experiment:

Supplies needed:

celery stalks
clear cups
food colouring
water

Instructions:

Fill the plastic cups a little more than half full with water.
Add some drops of food colouring to each cup (one colour per cup) and stir.
Cut the bottom ends off celery stalks.
Place one freshly cut celery stalk in each cup.
Invite kids to make a hypothesis. What do they think will happen? Depending on their age, they can colour a picture or write out what they think will happen.
Each child can watch what happens and write or colour their observations.

The colour will climb up the celery stalk through the capillaries which shows how plants pull up the water and nutrients. This is a great visual explanation. The results are more noticeable if you leave the leafy part on the celery. This is such an easy science experiment to do and a great visual aid for kids learning about plants and osmosis!

For older kids:

If you’re doing this experiment with kids who are older or are capable of a deeper understanding, you can expand the learning into how water moves from the roots in the soil to other parts of the plant or tree such as the leaves and stem. This takes place in the xylem which are vein-like tubes similar to the capillaries in the celery.

Here are some links for further research on this:

For younger kids:

If you’re doing this with littles, you can get out a magnifying glass and take a closer look at the capillaries at the bottom of the celery. Note that they are hollow, kind of like little straws. Once the coloured water has risen in them, you’ll be able to see the colour at the entrance of the capillary.

For her science fair presentation, our daughter showed pictures of the process, wrote out the process, and drew what happened. We put all of it on a tri-fold presentation board and she was able to answer the judges questions about what she had learned through this.

When I started homeschooling and began to incorporate hands-on science fun into our days, it made me wish that I had had the opportunity to do more of that kind of learning when I was in school. I know that many schools now recognize the importance of this and are doing experiments in the classrooms. Learning by doing is learning that lasts.

Check out some of our other awesome science activities:

Melting Ice Experiment

Easy Earthquake Experiment

How Fold Mountains Form

Layers of the Earth

Lego Challenge for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

Lego offers so many learning opportunities. Playing with building blocks helps kids with math concepts, engineering, communication, as well as simpler things such as colours and shapes. Using Lego Challenge Cards is a great way to encourage this learning.Lego is something that I often incorporated in our homeschooling. Whether is was a tool for teaching how earthquakes work, practising letter recognition, including it in a sensory bottle, or just having the kids build and create with it while I read them their history lessons, it was a regular learning tool. We even occasionally had Lego shaped snacks!

My own kids’ enjoyment and learning thanks to creating with blocks is what led me to want to create this activity for other families to enjoy. These can be used as a boredom buster at home or to enhance skills in the classroom.

Lego Challenge Cards:

Supplies needed:

LEGO Challenge Cards (download here)
scissors
building blocks

Directions:

Download and print off the Lego Challenge Cards.
Cut them out.
Kids can then follow the prompts on the cards to create things using the building blocks.

I kept some of the cards open ended in order to inspire creativity. There are also ideas included to foster team work and communication and to encourage thinking outside the box.

Examples of some of the challenges:

Build a boat that floats.
Build your name in LEGO.
Build something blindfolded.
Build something in one minute.
Build something using 5 different sized LEGO.
Build a LEGO pizza.
Build a small tower and balance it on your head.
Build something by following the instructions of a partner.
Build something with just one hand.

There are a total of 24 challenge cards in this printable set. Each one is designed to keep kids engaged and thinking.

Learning Opportunities from using Lego Challenge Cards:

- following instructions
- reading comprehension
- colours
- shapes
- geometry
- building
- math
- engineering concepts (balance, gravity, weight distribution)
- fine motor
- hand eye coordination
- cooperation and communication (if playing with others)

Sign up to receive the complete set of LEGO Challenge Cards free and be entered in our 5 Secrets to Powerful Connection email series.

Check out some of our other LEGO themed activities:

LEGO Sensory Bottle

Earthquake Science Experiment

LEGO Letter Practise Activity

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin and Activities

By Sharla Kostelyk

A frog life cycle sensory bin is a great addition to your child or students’ science studies. Kids can explore and discover using their sense of touch and sight.

When you can add a hands-on component to any unit study, it increases retention of the information and interest in the topic.

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

plastic container
blue and green water beads
frog life cycle pack
frog figurines
rocks
plastic lily pads
plastic leaves

Directions:

Place the water beads in a plastic container.
Add water.
Allow time for the water beads to expand.
Make an area in a corner of the bin by pushing away some of the water beads and set out the rocks. This will be the land where frogs can sit.
Add in the frogs, lily pads, and leaves.
Invite kids to explore.

Life Stages of the Frog:

A frog lays eggs. It takes one to three weeks for the eggs to hatch.
A tadpole hatches from each egg. Tadpoles live exclusively in water. They use gills to breathe. This stage lasts 9-12 weeks.
The tadpole then grows into a froglet that looks more like a frog but has a tail. It has legs and lungs, so it is able to walk and hop on land.
12-16 weeks after the egg first hatched, the frog is fully formed and is an adult.

Ideas to Expand Your Frog Life Cycle Unit Study:

Set out a variety of books on frogs.
Go on a nature hike to a pond and observe frogs or tadpoles in person. Draw what you see in a notebook. Watching frogs in real life is the most effective way to learn about them.
Download and print the Frog Life Cycle Hat. Students can colour it, cut it out, and even wear it while they play in the sensory bin!
Use the Frog Emotions Printable Pack.
Learn this cute song about metamorphosis.
Watch a video about frogs.
Fill out a worksheet to help remember the stages.

Resources for Learning about Frogs:

Insect Lore Frog Life Cycle Stages Tadpole to Frog Growing Kit with 2 Live Tadpoles Frog Emotions Printable PackBUY NOW Life Cycle of a Frog Montessori Puzzle Life Cycle of a Frog Learning Chart Frog Life Cycle Hand Puppet And the Bullfrogs Sing: A Life Cycle Begins From Tadpole to Frog National Geographic Readers: Tadpole to Frog

This sensory bin contains small parts and water beads. Adult supervision should be used at all times when kids are participating in sensory play.

Download your free printable Frog Life Cycle Hat. You’ll also be entered in our email series 5 Days to Better Family Connection.

Check out our other life cycle sensory bins:

Bee Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Chicken Life Cycle Sensory Bin

My Winter Feelings Mini Book for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

This mini book allows kids the opportunity to process their thoughts and feelings about different winter happenings. When children practise talking about and writing about their emotions, they are better able to manage them.

The pages include some common winter things such as drinking hot chocolate, going sledding, ice skating, building a snowman, and experiencing winter weather.

It also gives students the chance to express what they like about winter and what they don’t like about winter. For some students, it may be easy to think of things they like about winter and they may need some prompting. For others, it may be their favourite season and they may need help to come up with things they don’t like!

My Winter Feelings Mini Book:

Supplies needed:

- My Winter Feelings mini book printable pages. (download here)
- scissors
- pencil or pen
- markers, crayons, or pencil crayons
- stapler and staples

Instructions:

Download the My Winter Feelings mini book.
Print the pages.
Cut apart the booklet pages.
Let your student decide how he or she feels about each winter activity and draw a corresponding face on the child on that page. Your student can use the Emotions Word Bank for ideas (for words to use and for faces to draw).
When your student has completed the book, stack the pages together with the cover on top and staple on the left side to create a little book.

Once your child or student has filled out their booklet, you can also sit with them and debrief. If there are some winter scenarios that seem to have potential to cause them some distress, brainstorm ways to help them manage those feelings or better navigate those scenarios if they arise.

Download your free printable mini book for kids and be signed up for our sensory solutions and activities emails.

Check out these other emotions printables for kids:

Pirate Emotions Playdough Mats Pumpkin Emotions Game

October Emotions Printables for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

Fall is in full swing where I live. In fact, there is a frost warning for tonight. No more denying that summer is over. But fall is full of great consolation prizes like colourful leaves, crisp fresh air, and candy corn!

I like candy corn so I thought they would be the perfect visual to help kids talk about their emotions this October. This month’s free emotions printables include copywork pages, sheets to consider thoughts on trick or treating, and a feelings log.

Now I know that trick or treating is something that may be up in the air this year, so if it’s not happening in your area or your household, you can slip the word “not” in there and allow kids to express how they feel about not trick or treating this year.

October Printables for Kids about Emotions:

October Copywork Emotions Sentences:

Supplies needed:

October Emotions Printable pages (download the Emotions pages here)
pen or pencil OR
plastic sleeve AND dry erase marker

If you want sheets to be reusable, laminate the pages or simply slip them into a plastic page protector. Students can then use a dry erase marker to do the tracing and writing themselves. Or they can write directly on the pages with a pen, pencil, marker, or coloured pencils.

Copywork Sentences Instructions for the child:

Read the sentence.
Fill in the outline.
Trace the dotted words.
Write the sentence on the lines provided.
Discuss the various emotions.

Copying sentences may not seem like it would be impactful, but these sentences do more than simply give a child practise for their penmanship! Copying out sentences about feelings can be a good launching off place for discussions. They help create a culture in your home or classroom where it’s normal to hear about and talk about feelings.

You can also expand this activity by having your child talk about a particular time or situation in their life where they felt that particular emotion and how that was for them.

October My Feelings Log:

Supplies needed:

printed October Feelings Log (download Emotions pages here)
scissors
glue stick
markers, pencil crayons (coloured pencils), or crayons
pen or pencil

My Feelings Log Instructions for the child:

Choose one apple icon each day to colour, cut, and paste into your log to represent how you are feeling at that time.
At the end of the month, you’ll be able to look back and see all the different emotions you felt.
Discuss your feelings with a parent or trusted adult.

Use the Feelings Log as a jumping off point for discussions about the different feelings your child is experiencing and what is underneath those emotions. This is also a good way to help them manage their emotions in healthy ways.

Enter your email in the box below to download your free October Emotions Printable Worksheets. You can then easily print them off to use at home with your child or with your students.

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