Our 3-year-old twins explored emotions last month. We kept the activities simple and fun so that they find the key concepts easy to understand.
Focus on Basic Emotions
We focused on basic emotions such as happy, sad, excited, frightened, angry and surprised. My intention here was to help them be more aware of their feelings.
Playing with Funny Faces
We were amused with making funny faces using templates from ELSA Support. There were a lot of options to choose from. Other than a bright cheery face, we tried out puzzled, excited, confused, surprised, crossed and even frightened.
And of course, our learning is always accompanied by some painting activities. Painting helps them absorb new concepts better, calms them down and improves their fine motor skills.
We also learned alphabets H and S from words such as ‘Happy’, ‘Sad’ and ‘Surprised’.
More Matching Games
I purchased additional resources from Teacher Pay Teacher for more engaging activities. While the twins have yet to learn to read, they are able to match expressions to the corresponding emoticons.
We read a ton of books relating to emotions for 3 years old. I feel that this topic is best accompanied by books.
Books to Read on Emotions for 3 years old
These are some of the books which we particularly liked.
Angry! / Moira Butterfield & Holly Sterling
Everybody feels … scared! / Moira Butterfield & Holly Sterling.
Bear Feels Scared* by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman. My little ones love this book which is about a bear who was lost in the woods and frightened by bad weather. His friends helped him home and comforted him. My twins learned to empathize the frightened bear, and how they can help friends who feel scared.
Happy / Julie Murray. I personally love the ABDO series of information books. Lots of photos and simple sentences that bring out the essence of our learning theme.
Visiting feelings / by Lauren Rubenstein ; illustrated by Shelly Hehenberger.
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