Emotion Faces Activity & FREE printable so kids can play and learn as they make CRAZY HAIR with magnets. Social-Emotional Activity.
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Your kids will have so much FUN with this Emotion Faces activity they won’t stop laughing (I know, because my kids laughed the whole time!) The FREE printable activity is full of different facial expressions for kids to play with. While children decorate the Emotion Faces they will be learning to look at facial features (eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and cheeks) to get visual clues to tell what emotions are being expressed and increase their emotional intelligence. You don’t need googly eyes because the Emotion Faces are all ready to go.
As an extra bonus, kids will be using fine motor skills as they manipulate the supplies to give each Emotion Face CRAZY hair! This great activity was created to be used with Magnetic Wands, but you can also use a magnet board–I explain how. This activity can be added to your lesson plans and done in a small group, one-on-one, or set up at an exploration station.
You will also find our Egg Emotions Activity another fun and hands-on way to teach emotional social skills while children play in your home or classroom, to help kids focus on kindness here are some Free printable positive affirmations for kids, and to help your child process their own Big Feelings here are 4 easy steps to help them calm down.
Don’t Have a Magnetic Wand?
You can order them here, (Magnetic Wands) or in place of the magnetic manipulatives (pipe cleaners, magnetic bingo chips…) you can adapt the activity. Here is what I suggest. Grab a magnet board. Assemble the Emotion Faces as explained in the directions, making sure the magnets on the Emotion Faces stick to the magnetic board.
When children do the activity have them place the Emotion Faces on the magnet board, then use small magnets like this magnetic tangram set (like loose-parts play) that kids can use to create hair for the Emotion Faces by sticking it on the tray around the face. T
Activity Recommendations:
This activity is best suited for preschool-aged and older children since it has small pieces. Please note, that children need to know that they should not put magnets around or in their mouths and should always be supervised for extra safety.
Favorite Books to Teach About Emotions:
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Emotion Faces for Kids with CRAZY Hair
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What Supplies are Needed:
- Emotion Faces Template
- Magnetic Wands or White Board
- Craft Magnets with Adhesive or Magnetic Tape
- Laminator
- Scissors
Magnetic Manipulatives that stick to the Magnetic Wand
- Pipe Cleaners cut and bent into different shapes (Curls, Zig Zags, Curves, Lines)
- Small Magnetic Rods and Balls
- Magnetic Bingo Chips
How to Make the Emotion Faces Magnet Activity:
For your convenience, you can watch our Video Tutorial to see how to make it. The directions are included with the template and can be printed for free. They are found towards the end of this post.
Print the Emotion Faces out on paper. I like to use White Cardstock for printable activities because the paper is thicker and holds up to young children having fun.
Laminate the Emotion Faces and cut them out. Attach a magnet to each Emotion Face. I used a piece of magnetic tape. After a while, the glue on the magnetic tape that I used came off (which looking at the reviews seems to be a regular problem) and I had to reattach the magnets (insert sad face–since we are learning about emotions and all). If this happens to you, try using a smaller piece of magnetic tape and glue it back on (this is my favorite all-purpose super glue).
Note: Because magnets have north and south polarity, if you are using a magnet board you will need to check which side of the magnet attaches to the board. To do this, put each magnet on the board, and then attach the Emotion Face to the side that is facing out.
Make the pipe cleaner manipulatives by cutting them into small sections and bending or curving them to make different shapes.
How to Teach My Child with the Emotion Faces Magnet Activity:
Learn the Emotions and Free Play and Explore:
I like to start any activity with an introduction to the supplies. This is the perfect time to show kids the different Emotional Faces, point out the differences in their facial expressions (eyes, eyebrows, mouth, cheeks), and name the emotions. Then show kids how to place an Emotion Face on the magnet wand (or on the magnet board) and decorate it with the magnetic manipulatives.
Once they know how to do the activity, your kids can have hours of fun!
Positive and Negative Emotions:
Sort the Emotion faces into two piles, Negative Emotions and Postive Emotions. Negative emotions are those that aren’t fun for us to feel, positive emotions are the emotions that we like to feel. This way of labeling emotions deters from saying any emotional feeling is “bad” because children should not feel “bad” for feeling any emotion. You can find a list of positive and negative emotions from PositivePyschology.com, read more about them here.
Pipe Cleaner Hair:
Even hair can be an extension of our emotions. This is not saying that our hair changes when our emotions change, but think of illustrations in children’s books (like this book, The Way I Feel), we can use hair during this activity to express what the emotion might feel like inside our body with different shapes and colors (bright colors or dark colors). This is an abstract idea, but a fun way to bring out your child’s creativity, self-awareness, and encourage conversation about what emotions feel like to them.
To do this, ask children to choose an Emotion Face, place it on the Magnet Wand or White Board, and add hair that they think matches the emotion.
Possible Follow Up Questions:
What kind of colors did you use for your hair?
What kind of shapes did you use for your hair?
How does the hair you made show me how feeling ___________ feels like to you?
GET THE EMOTION FACES TEMPLATE HERE:
Don’t see the box? Click the link to be taken to the download.