Teaching emotions to children gives them a solid foundation to help them lower anxiety and normalize talking about feelings and life experiences, both those that are challenging and successful. I feel that it is one of the most important skills that a parent can give to a child.
The Teaching Emotions Toolkit contains all the resources you need to give kids an emotion vocabulary and help them to better understand what they are feeling and why they are feeling it. The toolkit contains printable activities, games and ideas as well as helpful videos.
Emotional intelligence is a skill that requires as much intentional teaching as subjects such as math and language arts.
For some children, learning about emotions comes fairly naturally but for others, feelings are a bit of a mystery. This can be due to sensory issues, autism, boundary issues, attachment issues, learning disabilities, or just their age or personality, these resources are a non-threatening and often fun way to improve their emotional IQ skills in the home or in the classroom. These activities can also help them learn to express their feelings effectively and give them more confidence.
The Teaching Emotions Toolkit will walk you through teaching this skill to children, give you hands-on activities to use with them, give them new ways to express their emotions, and give them the vocabulary they need to better understand their feelings.
Lessons
Introduction
Emotion Cards
There are so many ways to use these Emotion Cards with kids. I recommend printing them, cutting them out, laminating them, and then cutting them again. Since these are 3-part cards, they can be cut in two ways: Cut the face and the emotion word together. This is best for younger kids or kids who […]
Teaching Kids About Underlying Emotions
So much of what we see in children’s behaviours is actually about the emotions that are underneath the surface. This is a concept that is beneficial for kids to understand about themselves. Teaching them to pinpoint the actual feeling rather than the feeling that is masking it can empower them to work through their emotions […]
Feelings Jenga Game
Playing Jenga Feelings is perfect for helping kids talk about their emotions and experiences, build their vocabulary of emotion words and improve their communication skills. To create this Feelings Jenga Game, you will need a Jenga game. Cut out and attached the words to the Jenga blocks with double-sided tape or glue. In the printables, I […]
What Colour and Where are Your Feelings?
This tool for diving deeper into a child’s emotions provides a lot of insight so that you can better understand their responses and the root of their behaviours and so that they can better understand their own emotions. I think it’s best explained “in person”, so I’ve provided a video explanation below. There is a […]
Feelings Bingo
This Feelings Bingo is a fun way to reinforce the emotion words that kids are learning. Print off the “calling cards” and the Bingo cards. If you want to use these over and over, you will want to print them on card stock and laminate them. If they are laminated, kids can use dry erase […]
The Big List of Emotions
Something what helps kids in talking about their emotions is being able to pinpoint the one that best describes what they are feeling. Part of that is learning different emotion words and what they mean. This list of words will help kids expand their vocabulary of emotion words and be better able to express themselves. […]
Feelings Thermometer
This printable activity is great for using at home or in the classroom. It is simple to explain and helpful for teaching kids to determine the intensity of their feelings. Print the sheet off by clicking this link or clicking on the image below. Next, have the child fill out what feeling they are having […]
My Feelings Mini Book
This activity teaches kids to have more insight into their feelings. It encourages them to think about how different feelings affect their bodies and affect their reactions and behaviours. There are 3 ways you can use the journals: Give the child instructions to think about how each emotion feels in their body and for kids […]
My Feelings Journal
While the My Feelings Mini Book is great for younger kids, older kids will likely not want to complete that activity. This Feeling Journal was designed with older kids and teens in mind. It has a lot of space for them to journal about their feelings, their responses, their coping strategies, and how they could […]
5 Steps to Take if Your Child has a Meltdown
Sometimes if your child’s emotions get too big, it can result in a meltdown. These steps can help to calm your child during a meltdown and get them back into a state of self-regulation. You can also teach your child the calm down techniques in the I Can Calm Myself printable. To print off your […]
I Can Calm Myself Suggestions
These simple suggestions for calming can help kids feel more in control of their emotional responses. When feelings get too big, kids can begin to feel like their emotions are spinning out of control. Having calm down strategies help them get a handle on those big feelings. Begin by walking the child through these simple […]
Additional Resources and Ideas
More ideas for teaching kids about emotions: Mimic game. Sit your child so that you are at eye level with them. I used to sit my son on the counter to do this when he was younger or get down on the floor with him. Have your child attempt to mimic your facial expression and […]