Attention Getter: Emotion Mirrors
(These small compact mirrors can be purchased at the Dollar Store. We printed small pictures with different emotions on them and glued them to the inside of each mirror.)
At circle time take out one mirror at a time and tell the class that you are going to look at the emotion picture inside and then make that emotion with your face to see if they can guess it. Open a mirror, express the emotion and let the children guess. Then show the picture to the class. Review the concept of what emotions are and how we feel different emotions at different times.
Activity 1: Emotional Vegetables!
Before class, gather a variety of vegetables and create "emotional" faces on them.
At circle time, tell the class that you have a sack filled with "emotional vegetables" that have all sorts of different emotional expressions on them. Then take out one emotional vegetable at a time, show it to the children, and see if they can identify what the emotion is. The children love this!
Book: How Are You Peeling?
This book asks “How are you peeling?” and shows fruits and vegetables with various expressions. It also talks about different situations that may bring up different emotions. As you read this book, take time to point out the different emotions, especially the pages that show multiple emotions. Explain how people can have different emotions.
Activity 2: Identifying Others' Emotions
Place a paper that says HAPPY and a paper that says SAD on the floor. Then let the children come and choose a picture and decide if the people in the picture feel happy or sad. You can find a variety of pictures online that depict these scenarios. Examples are: a child falling down, a child getting a present, a child with spilled milk, a child getting a hug, a child playing with a dog and so forth. Have one picture per child so they each get a turn identifying an emotion of others.
Bonus Section!
Here's what we did for our Creative Project to go along with this unit.
Potato People: Prepare a plate for each child with a craft stick, a toothpick and a small potato. Place craft glue on a plate for them to share. (We used Alene's craft glue. It is very thick and the children used their craft stick to put it on their potato person.) Provide a variety of items for the children to use to decorate their person such as: yarn, pom poms, wiggle eyes, pipettes, buttons, felt scraps, and markers. Let the children decorate their potato however they choose.
We showed the children how to use the toothpicks to push holes in their potato where they wanted to place arms and legs. Then it was much easier to push the pipettes in those spots. The children loved this project and so did we!
One more idea that we love that you could use anytime! Ruby Finds a Worry.
Here is another way that you can make your Worries. It is a little easier for children.
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