How are you feeling today? It sounds like a simple question but preschoolers need practice with these emotions each and every day! We have you covered with these free feelings and emotions preschool lesson plans! Over 16 activities to help your preschoolers navigate big emotions, all while learning and having fun!
The free download for the feelings and emotions preschool lesson plans is available at the bottom of this post.
FREE FEELINGS & EMOTIONS ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS INCLUDING FREE PRESCHOOL LESSON PLANS
Social-emotional learning plays a big part in preschool instruction. A young child’s brain is a work in progress, quite literally, as they are experiencing the most rapid period of brain development they’ll ever go through. This essentially means that preschoolers are immature in the way they handle emotions, impulses, and disappointment.
At its core, maturity comes from a set of skills called self-regulation. Self-regulation is the ability to understand and manage emotions and impulses. Kids who struggle to self-regulate have a harder time dealing with even small setbacks. For example, a child who walks off angrily because their friends won’t play the game they want.
https://childmind.org/article/helping-kids-who-are-immature/
Teaching children to describe their emotions and begin to recognize body language and facial expressions is a crucial part of social skills and happy children. These activities can be done through role play, circle time, read-aloud, matching games and so much more.
Social-emotional growth is such an important part of preschool that this feelings and emotions preschool theme are a great way to start the school year or sprinkle in as a social skills refresher. We have included over 16 free activities to help build your preschoolers’ social-emotional competence.
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FAQ About a Feelings & Emotions Preschool Theme
You may have a few questions about teaching this preschool theme! Check out these frequently asked questions for how to teach your preschoolers about Feelings & Emotions.
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.
Important Info about these Feelings and Emotions Lesson Plans
These lesson plans for preschoolers are just one theme in a set of over 40 that will become a part of my free Learn At Home Preschool Lesson Plans.
The Learn at Home Preschool Lesson Plans is a set of free lesson plans you can use to teach your preschooler at home.
Each set of lesson plans is centered around a weekly theme and includes a minimum of 16 activities that can be done throughout the week. They are designed to be done at home with parents, but many preschool teachers are using these lesson plans, too!
Just glance over the lessons each day, gather the very few materials needed, and you’re ready to go!
All the preschool learning activities are quick and easy to set up, requiring very little (if any at all) prep and only require the most basic of household materials. This makes them especially easy for parents to implement…and this makes preschool teachers happy, too!
These activities also work wonderfully in the classroom, and if you’re a preschool teacher who is remotely teaching you can send these lesson plans to your student’s parents.
Engaging Preschool Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Theme
Literacy Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Preschool Theme
We set out to make the most interesting and exciting activities for a feelings and emotions theme! These free preschool feelings and emotions lesson plans are sure to simplify your planning and help build your preschoolers’ self-regulation skills.
Emotions Emergent Reader – Print out the emotions emergent reader book. This emergent reader book includes repetitive text with a changing emotion on each page such as I feel angry. Each page includes an illustration of a child feeling an emotion. After reading each page, invite your preschooler to color and discuss when they might feel each emotion. Why do you think the boy on this page is sad? What makes you feel sad? How do you help yourself feel better?
ABC of Feelings – Go to YouTube and listen to the story, ABC of Feelings by Bonnie Lui. This book is a bit long so feel free to chunk it into parts. Make a quick list with each feeling written on a piece of paper. After reading each page, ask your child if they have ever felt that feeling before. Add all the checks at the end and count all the feelings they have had!
Don’t Forget Picture Books!
Picture books for your feelings and emotion theme are a must-have! It’s so important for preschoolers to be able to use these books to read body language and facial expressions to show how people are feeling. We’ve picked some great books for your preschool feelings and emotions lesson plans!
Math and Science Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Theme in Preschool
Emoji Grid Game – Print the game and grab a die and counters (pennies, small blocks, even dried pasta works). Roll the die and move that many spaces on the board. Invite your preschooler to explain each emotion as they cover it. Don’t forget to follow the arrows and move left to right on the game board!
I Spy Emotions – This printable is great for counting and visual discrimination! Invite your preschooler to count all the faces and write down the total number. Talk about what each face is showing and practice making the face together!
Explore Emotions with Homemade Slime – This slime uses food coloring, liquid glue, liquid starch, and water. Make a few batches with various colors and explore how our emotions make us feel!
Playful Preschool Learning Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Theme
Indoor Treasure Hunt – Grab some fun items from around the house (spoons, plastic necklaces, coins, etc.) and hide about 5 items for your child to find. Tell them the 5 items and have them search for it. This is an oral language and memory activity.
Ice Sensory Bin – Throw some ice cubes in a big bin and invite your child to add warm water, use ladles and bowls to scoop, and watch the melting effect!
Look Through Old Photos – Use real printed photos or look through an album of photos on a phone. Discuss with your preschooler how they have changed and grown and the wonderful experiences they have had with their family and friends.
Social-Emotional Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Preschool Theme
Today I Feel… – A great way to build emotional regulation is to recognize how we are feeling and be able to name the emotion. Using an emotions board is a great way to help children pinpoint what happened, why they feel that way, and how to help feel better. Invite your preschooler to start their day by identifying their feelings. If you notice a change in their mood, bring them to the emotions board and ask them to move the emotion card to show how they are feeling. Help them sort through big feelings until they are able to move their emotion card back to a happier feeling.
Emotions Charades – This fun game provides your child the opportunity to explore emotions safely during play instead of waiting until they are in the midst of a meltdown. Print emotion cards and cut them out. Place the cards upside down on a table and when it is the performer’s turn they must choose a card and act out the emotion on the card. No talking allowed though! The other player must guess the emotion. Take turns being the performer and the guesser!
Just Plain Fun Feelings & Emotions Activities for Preschoolers
Pretend Play – Children’s fantasy play is important for them to prepare for real emotional interaction. Encourage your preschooler to play different parts or model different emotions.
Playdough Emotions – Print the face templates and help your preschooler roll out different expressions using playdough. A great fine motor activity too!
Emotion Painting – Grab some colored finger paints and finger-paint paper. Talk to your preschooler about how different emotions relate to colors. Read The Color Monster if you like. Invite your child to finger-paint different emotions using the color of the emotion.
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Get Online Activities for a Feelings & Emotions Theme
Online Story – Go to YouTube and listen to the story, The Feelings Book by Todd Parr. After listening, discuss with your preschooler: Let’s finish this sentence together, “Sometimes I feel like _____.” Go back and forth with each other with new statements! Feel free to write it down and create a book for your preschooler to fill in with pictures.
If You’re Happy and You Know It Emotions Video – Help your preschooler learn all the different emotions as they sing along to this classic song.
The Feelings Song – A calm reminder that we experience various feelings each day and that’s ok!
Make Your Feelings & Emotions Theme Even Better!
A great preschool theme often includes theme-based games or extra materials to bring the theme to life. These are some of the Feelings & Emotions toys and activity kits I like to use with my preschoolers.
Get Your Free Feelings & Emotions Lesson Plans Here
Want to include these free lesson plans for feelings and emotions in your preschool themes? Ready to grab your free printable file?
No problem. I’ve made a printable for you. Just fill out the form below and it will be sent to your inbox.
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I am an educator, book enthusiast, and a stay at home momma to two precious and long-awaited littles. My degree is in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum and Instruction and I have spent the last 15 years working with young children. I feel very fortunate to have this time to watch my babies grow and I can’t wait to share my passion for learning and reading with you!
