Emoji Games with Emoji Feelings Activities
Preschool math activities build essential skills like number identification and counting, and these emoji feelings activities are a perfect fit. Use these free Emoji Grid Games to explore emotions while teaching number sense in fun and engaging ways. They’re a great addition to your friendship preschool theme or any lesson focused on feelings and social-emotional learning.
Using emoji feelings activities like these Emoji Grid Games provides a playful and educational way to engage preschoolers. These activities promote number sense and counting skills while also encouraging emotional expression and recognition.
Incorporating preschool math activities into an emotions theme makes learning more relatable and interactive, helping children build both academic and social-emotional skills simultaneously. Plus, they’re easy to set up and can be used in small groups or independently for added versatility in your preschool classroom.
Read this: Space Grid Games.
Why Social Emotional Activities for Preschoolers
Social-emotional learning in preschool is essential for helping young children develop critical skills like recognizing and managing their emotions, understanding others’ feelings, and building healthy relationships.
Activities that integrate emotional expression with engaging elements, like emojis, make these lessons more relatable and fun for preschoolers. Emoji-themed games, for instance, not only captivate children’s attention but also provide opportunities for emotional recognition and self-expression.
By identifying facial expressions on emojis, preschoolers can practice labeling emotions while also strengthening their empathy and social skills. Combining this with counting and early literacy elements creates a well-rounded activity that supports both emotional and academic growth.
Emoji Grid Games for Preschool Math
These emoji grid games are not limited to teaching number identification and counting; they can also be used to teach literacy skills. You can add them to your friendship theme in preschool, or use them to teach emotions in your All About Me theme.
Materials
- emojis grid game printable
- counting manipulatives
- 1-3 or 1-6 dice (depending on the skill level of your preschooler)
The Set-Up
The set-up is really straight forward. Simply print the grid games cards in heavy card stock. I recommend this heavy card stock for any printable that is going to be used more than once, even if it’s a printable that’s going to be protected by lamination or in a dry erase pouch.
Kids are tough on paper. So tough! So if I’m going to spend the little extra to print in color, then I want it on card stock to make that printing last as long as possible! (Speaking of printing in color, this is the color printer I use in my preschool.)
Set out the grid games with a set of counting manipulatives and a dice. The dice you choose will depend on the skill level of your preschooler. I recommend a 1-3 dice or a 1-6 dice. It’s hard to find 1-3 dice, so I just make my own using one inch foam blocks.
- 20 DIFFERENT EMOTIONS — This wooden magnet set features 20 colorful magnets in 20 different facial…
- DESIGNED TO LAST — These magnets are made of smooth, durable plywood. And each magnetic back is…
- KID-FRIENDLY DESIGN — These chunky facial expressions are perfect for little hands. Move and sort…
How to Use the Emoji Grid Games
The steps for completing the activity are simple. Invite your preschooler to roll a dice, identify the number rolled, and then cover the corresponding number of emojis on the grid game.
The grid games feature five different emoji faces, with one grid game featuring all five emojis on the same game. Depending on your goals in using these emoji games, you can pull out whichever grid you feel is best. Or, pull them all out at once!
Since each grid game features a different emotion, you can introduce specific feelings during circle time and use them in your emotions activities for preschoolers.
Invite your preschooler to roll a dice.
If your preschooler is new to counting and still struggles with one-to-one correspondence, then I suggest to stick with a 1-3 dice. If your preschooler can count fairly accurately and understands one-to-one correspondence, then offer a 1-6 dice. You can choose if you want to use a dot dice for this activity or if you want to use a numeral dice.
The grid games have arrows on each line, moving the preschooler along in a specific direction.
Read this: What You Need to Know About Emotional Development in Preschoolers.
This is where the literacy piece comes in.
When we read, we follow a specific left to right progression. The same is true for calculating math formulas.
The arrows on the grid games direct the preschooler as to the order in which the grid should be covered. That said, some preschoolers will struggle with this, so you can choose to make it a featured skill or to allow your preschooler to cover the emoji faces in any order they choose.
Identify the Number
After your preschooler has rolled the dice, identify the number and then place the corresponding number of counters on the mat. The mats that have a single emoji are used just for counting practice, but the mat with multiple emojis can be used to also identify the strong emotions and fun feelings while counting.
This is a fun way to incorporate extra knowledge and skills into an All About Me theme or a Friendship theme.
Picture Books that Teach Emotions
Any preschool activity can be amplified by having the right picture books. These are some picture books about feelings I have hand selected and use in my own preschool.
- Rotner, Shelley (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 32 Pages – 08/01/2003 (Publication Date) – Millbrook Press ™ (Publisher)
- Abrams Appleseed (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 14 Pages – 05/30/2017 (Publication Date) – Abrams Appleseed (Publisher)
- Kerek MD, Orlena (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 48 Pages – 05/03/2022 (Publication Date) – Callisto Kids (Publisher)
- Diane Alber (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 06/06/2023 (Publication Date) – Diane Alber Art LLC (Publisher)
More Emoji Game Ideas Using this Printable
There are so many ways to use this freebie! Let me share some ideas with you.
- Use these grid games for small group learning and complete a single grid game together.
- Use the mats during circle time and invite preschoolers to describe the feeling for each emoji face.
- Take #2 up a notch and invite preschoolers to share times when they have felt a specific way.
- Or set out the mats for preschoolers to see. Describe a scenario and have preschoolers place a single counter on the mat that describes how they might feel.
- For children who struggle with one-to-one correspondence, have them use counting cards instead of dice.
How else would you use these Emoji Grid Games?
Read this: 15 Ideas for Teaching Emotional Skills to Preschoolers.
Grab Your Free Emoji Grid Games Below
Think these emoji grid games will be a fun way to teach social skills to preschoolers while also teaching numeracy skills? You bet they are! They even reinforce fine motor skills and could even extend to role playing activities.
But be sure to scroll down to find more activities for preschoolers!
FAQ About Teaching Feelings and Emotions to Preschoolers
Young children learn best through hands-on play and engaging activities. Use food or playdough to make various faces that depict emotions. Or play a matching emotion game and try to mimic the faces as you play. Songs and videos are a great way to talk about why we feel certain emotions and which emotions make us feel good and which ones make us feel not so great.
Teaching young children about emotions and feelings helps them to navigate these strong emotions and assures them that these feelings are normal and natural. Teaching children coping techniques and strategies for their big emotions helps guide and support them and builds empathetic and caring kids, who turn into, empathetic and caring adults. Plus, it’s essential to let children know that it’s important to express their feelings and that an adult will help them sort through their emotions.
There are so many wonderful and appropriate activities for teaching social-emotional skills such as puppets, cooperative games, books, and music. Reading stories together about emotions and conflict helps children apply some strategies in their own friendships. Spending quality time together can also help to fill up their need for attention and allow children to feel loved and cared for.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
