Course 1

The Emotions theme can help children identify and name their emotions.

Throughout each day, children experience a wide range of feelings.

Sometimes they experience changes in emotions from hour to hour or sometimes from minute to minute! Please assist your children with beginning to understand these emotions by naming and explaining it as your child experiences them. (Example: “You are happy now, I see you smiling because you are eating your favourite, ice-cream.” or, “I see you are feeling sad because you don’t want to go home yet and now you’re crying.”)

Activity 1:

Making a happy red face AND a sad blue face

Duration of activity: 15-20 minutes per face

What you need?

Red paint in a wide based, shallow container
Blue paint in a wide based, shallow container
Sponge
2 pre-traced circles (preferably on a harder board or sturdier paper)
Googly eyes/ or large circular buttons (to use as eyes)
Glue
Marker

What to do:

*Caregiver is to draw 2 thick lined circles (or it can be printed out beforehand). Also prepare some red and blue paints and place it in a shallow wide container.
Using the sponge, begin to demonstrate to your child to paint 1^st circle red. Talk to your child about the brightness of the colour and then begin to start collecting items from his/her toy box that match the colour red. Have your child do it by him/herself too and remember to praise the efforts. Don’t forget to reinforce naming as well as matching the colour red.
Using the sponge, begin to demonstrate to your child to paint 2nd circle blue. Talk to your child about the colour and then begin to start collecting items from his/her toy box that match the colour blue. Have your child do it by him/herself too and remember to praise the efforts. Don’t forget to reinforce naming as well as matching the colours red and blue, respectively.
Next, place the circles in a sunny area to dry
Once dry, your child can then paste eyes on to them with your support.
Lastly, talk about a happy and smiley face(ask your child to make a happy and smiley face, you may tickle him/her to get some laughter going)
Then say: “Let’s make your red circle happy too.” Proceed to draw a smiley mouth to complete the happy face
Then do the same with the opposite emotion of sadness: 1^st make a sad face and have your child try to make one too with his/her facial expressions. You might remind your child of aspecific time you saw him/her being sad as well as why. Then say: “Lets give your blue circle a sad face.” Proceed to draw an upside down smile to represent the mouth and complete the sad face.
These emotion colour faces may also be done at various times during the day and not necessarily both at the same time.

*Labelling emotions help toddlers cope with feelings. Emotions like anger, sadness, frustration and disappointment can be overwhelming for young children. Naming these feelings is the first step in helping children learn to identify them and communicates to children that these feelings are normal.

Activity 2

Balloon hitting

Duration: 5 – 10 minutes

What you need?

Balloons -+4
Open space
Marker

What to do:

*Caregiver is to blow balloons up.
Then, use a marker and draw different emotional expressions onto the balloon. (Use Happy, Sad, Scared and Sleepy.)
Demonstrate to your child to hit the balloon with his/her hands and keep it in the air.
Instruct your child to pick up a happy balloon, praise them if they pick up the correct one. Etc. Continue asking the until they collect all balloons
Have fun with your child.

Activity 3

Counting and stacking

Duration : 5 – 7 minutes

What you need?

Foam cups/plastic cup 5

What to do:

Provide your toddler with 5 plastic/foam cups
Count the number of cups out aloud with your child (1,2,3,4,5)
Show them how to stack the cups on top of one another and describe what is being done by saying: “We are stacking the cups on top of one another.”
Allow him/her do it on their own
Then pull apart, counting 1,2,3,4 and 5
Repeat