Feelings and Emotions

Dramatic Play
Doctor's Office



 
 
 

 
 The pictures pretty much explain it all. There was a waiting room, receptionist desk with calendar and notebooks, plus a phone, then the dr. office. There was a big chair for the big patients, and a baby bed for the dolls. We have all sorts of dr. tools, plus empty pill bottles, ace bandages, q tips, and popsicle sticks. Each day, I added something new to make it interesting. Day 2, I added glasses and band aids (those were a hit), and the 3rd and 4th days, I added dentist items so it could also be a dentist's office.

Blocks
Cardboard bricks


Puppet Theater


Art
I managed to not take many pics of art this week, but here's what we did:
 
Play dough face mats

Watercolors

Collage faces

Paint

Small Manipulatives
Feelings puzzles and game

Lacing cards

Bristle Blocks

Links, and whatever this collection of things from Wendy's are called.



















Writing
Blank faces for drawing in emotions


Outside
Snow! We switched our schedule to go outside last, to accommodate how long it takes us to get ready to go outside. The snow was so much fun! They love tubing down our little hill, and all tried it. They also love eating the snow. The second week, I also added bottles of colored water to color the snow. We've had a lot of fun outside this week! Please remember we go outside all winter, so pack all the winter clothes they'll need out there. We've had lots of cold hands this week. I have a few extra gloves, but not enough for everyone. And I've appreciated the labeled ones, since a few have been left at school and I've been able to get them home to you.

Large Group
Day 1, we read Meet the Moodsters. The Moodsters help a little boy overcome and talk about some strong feelings. I found it on clearance at Target a few years ago, and the kids love it because it came with a "Moodster Meter" that helps them share their feelings. They loved the book and the meter!
We did an activity with feelings cubes, where I would roll one cube with emotions on it, and another with animals, and they have to act out that emotion and animal. It's fun to watch.

Day 2, we read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. He uses colors to talk about feelings. We than painted our own feelings. The papers came home just a bunch of mixed colors, but the process was wonderful! As they chose colors, they actually talked about what feeling they were showing with that color. We had a lot of great conversation going on as we painted.

Day 3, we read The Way I Feel. We played the feelings cube game, and acted out lots of different emotions from the book. We also watched a Sesame Street clip about jealousy.

Day 4, we read Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day and talked lots about grumpy feelings. After small group, we got together as a large group again to talk about empathy and thinking about how other people are feeling. We've had a few problems outside, with kids not taking turns with the snow tubes, or just jumping on them in front of other, instead of waiting in line. We watched a Sesame Street clip about empathy, then as we got them dressed in their snow clothes, they watched part of a Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episode about the same topic. It was nice to discuss a relevant topic, and we related that once outside, that they needed to think about how other people are feeling before they used a tube twice in a row, or butted in line, or took it from another person. The talk definitely helped!

Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood are awesome resources for learning about feelings! I love how they describe and show them on a child's level. I especially like the songs Daniel Tiger sings. We used the song about anger all week, "When you feel so mad, that you want to roar. Take a deep breath, and count to 4." I recommend looking up episodes of both of these shows if there's a particular thing you want to teach your child, or help them with. It's most helpful when you also take the time to discuss it with them.

Small Group
Week 1, I talked to the kids about anger and sadness. We read a book about anger, then role played several situations that could make them feel angry. We practiced taking a deep breath and counting, then talking calmly to express our feelings. They were GREAT at role playing, and without much prompting, knew exactly how to express their feelings. Although, minutes later, they were fighting over blocks again and yelling, hitting, and throwing, instead of taking deep breaths and talking about it. But, that's why we're still in preschool. We'll keep working on this throughout the year.

Miss Kim did this Sesame Street worksheet to help kids talk about their feelings.

Week 2, my group and I role played different feelings with puppets in the puppet theater. I had it out in the block center this week for them to play with, so it wouldn't be new. I know they wouldn't be able to use it how I intended in a lesson, if they hadn't had a chance to play and explore with it first.
They were a lot of fun, and I loved role playing with them. Even the kids who don't like to talk in front of the class, were fine doing the puppet show. It was cute watching them choose an emotion and then act it out. It was also fun watching them doing it again during free time, after having done it with me.

Miss Kim helped the kids make pipe cleaner faces. She read an emotions book with them, and they would change their pipe cleaner to make that face expression. Then they glued on the mouth to bring their face home.