As I mentioned earlier this week, we’re conducting as many fun outdoor activities as possible…soaking up every last drop of those summer rays. And this Hidden Feelings activity is simply perfect for those warmer days! An afternoon of learning, magic, facial expressions, and refreshing mists of cool water…how can you go wrong? Besides, you’re pretty much guaranteed to win a “Best Parent” medal each and every time you hand your child a spray bottle. π
As parents, it is extremely important for us to help our little ones learn, classify, and appropriately navigate the myriad of different feelings that they might experience on any given day. Children begin developing social and emotional skills during early childhood. These skills influence their mental health and well-being throughout the rest of their lives. Children who can understand and manage their feelings, are more likely to have a positive self-image, be less anxious, and be confident and curious learners!
One of our favorite ways to teach our daughter about something is through literature, so we picked up a copy of The Feelings Book by Todd Parr. And around the same time that we found ourselves reading this awesome book a zillion times a day, I stumbled upon this clever hidden feelings idea (posted by Jacinth) over on the @ourlittleplaynest Instagram page. I knew immediately that this creative activity would pair perfectly with our feelings book…so we got right to it!
Hidden Feelings
Supplies:
- White Paper
- Markers
- Paper Towels
- Spray Bottle
- Water
Instructions:
- Using the markers, draw various facial expressions on the white paper. Each face should express a specific feeling or emotion (i.e. angry, happy, sad, tired).
- Place a sheet of paper towels on top of the paper…to hide them.
- Fill the spray bottle with water and hand it to your little one.
- Tell your child to start spraying the paper towels with water. As they spray, the faces underneath will start to appear…revealing all of the hidden feelings!
- Ask them about the different faces they see…and the feelings they might be expressing. Ask them if they can make a face like that too.
Our little nugget was so surprised to see the first face appear through the wet paper towel…and so eager to discover all the rest. She was quick to tell me each feeling or emotion that she uncovered. And she had me in stitches with her own personal take on each expression. π
When all of our hidden feelings were exposed (and we grew tired of making various facial expressions at each other) our little nugget took it upon herself to utilize the rest of the water in the spray bottle…by watering our flowers and plants (and sneakily spraying me a few times too).
We had such a great time with this simple learning activity! It was a wonderful way to reinforce the concept of different feelings and emotions. If you’re looking for some more fun ways to introduce different emotions and feelings to your kiddos, check out our Playdough Stress-Ball Balloons and our Funny Face Flip Book!
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