We are all a carton full of emotions…but none of them need to break us.
Here are 5 ways to use emoji eggs(link on Amazon) this Spring to build emotional vocabulary, practice self-regulation skills, increase receptive and expressive language concepts, encourage “thinking of others” mindsets, read nonverbal social cues, and more!
- 2-5 years old is a prime time for developing understand of spatial concepts (ex: in, on, behind, under, on top, etc.) Take the emoji eggs and hide them around the house. Give your little one clues to where they may be using spatial vocabulary! “It’s under the chair.” Help them find the eggs by crawling or creeping to work on core strength and muscle coordination. Get extra fun and use toilet paper rolls to make binoculars beforehand!
- Put the word for the emotional expression inside each egg. Have your child make a guess and let them know you love how they’re “thinking with their eyes” to guess which emotion it is! After they guess have them “crack” the egg over a mixing bowl to see the answer. Then act out the emotion using tone of voice, facial expressions, and exaggerated body movements! Remember emotions are felt throughout our entire body! It’s important for children to be aware of which physical sensations go with emotions to help with learning how to calm down if needed!
- Play music, and put the eggs in a bag. Have your child reach in and pick an emotion. Then act it out until the music stops! Finally, practice using deep belly breaths to re-regulate before the next emotional dance-off!
- Take the emoji eggs and inside each one write “I feel….when” (ex: I feel silly when). “Crack” the egg over a pan and read answer! “I feel happy when I play with you!” Cook up the egg in the pan, and move onto the next one!
- Emotional Charades! Put the eggs in a bag and take turns picking. Act out the emotion to a teammate and have them try to guess how you are feeling! Added fun if you can then match a thought to that feeling, or give a strategy for expressing it, or for calming down!
BONUS: Put the emoji egg in your child’s lunchbox with a note inside! “I feel excited when I get to see you after school!” This is fun and is a great way to model how we can “think of others” and do kind things for them even when we are away!
