A feelings preschool theme can help young children understand feelings.

Feelings Preschool Theme

A Feelings preschool theme can teach young children a very valuable lesson. Feelings are the response we have to words, events, and experiences. Feelings communicate our mood to others around us such as family members, friends, or caregivers. Feelings can be good and some feelings can be bad. Some feelings are expressed and some feelings are kept inside. Feelings can push us to act a certain way. Feelings also cause physical changes in our bodies such as a rapid heartbeat when we feel excited, a red, flushed face when we feel embarrassed, or sweaty hands when we feel scared or nervous. Feelings are a very normal part of who we are.

Our feelings affect our behavior and can also affect other people around us. It is easy to have feelings, but it is not always easy to control our feelings. It is important to learn how to have self-control especially when we are feeling mad or sad. Children who are taught how to have self-control will understand that they possess the power and control over their behavior, reactions, and feelings. There are many ways we can help teach children how to have self-control:

Caught Being Good - Give children positive feedback when you seem them using appropriate behavior. It is just as important to point out the positive behavior or as it is to point out the negative behavior. Children love to be praised and rewarded and will grow from the positive attention.
Time-out- Teach children to recognize when they need to give themselves a time-out whether that means walking away, taking a deep breath, or counting to ten.
Role-play- Use role playing activities to help children understand how to control their feelings in certain situations. You can use puppets, have adults act out scenes, or, if the children are old enough, have them act out scenes where feelings are expressed, handled in an appropriate way, and resolutions are made in a calm way.

Before children can learn to control their feelings, they need to be able to identify and understand their feelings.

First, teach the children feelings vocabulary, and then teach them about the body cues that help us identify those feelings in ourselves and others.

Finally, teach them to use their words to say “I feel…..” or “That made me feel…..” or “You made me feel……when……” Here are some feelings and their corresponding body cues:

Happy= Smile, Laugh, Relaxed, Calm
Sad= Frown, Tears and Crying, Head Down, Sitting Alone
Mad= Red face, scrunched eyebrows, frown, clenched teeth, tense muscles, crossed arms
Scared= Eyes opened wide, heart beating fast, hiding, hands sweaty

To help children understand what these feelings look like, give them feelings worksheets that ask them to draw these different kinds of faces or use paper plates to glue on different faces that can be glued to a paper bag to make feelings puppets.

Children have to learn ways to express their feelings in a socially acceptable manner and, as caregivers, it is our job to give them the resources they need to appropriately express feelings in different situations. With most young children, the biggest challenge is teaching them how to express their feelings of frustration or anger when they are not able to have something that they want. Most young children want something and they want it right now, but maybe they can’t have it because it is:

Not the child’s turn
The object they want is dangerous or not an acceptable item to play with
Another child is playing with the item
The child is not allowed to have the item

When a child is told “no,” “not right now,” or “later,” you can expect the child to react to his feelings of frustration or anger. Some children will react in an aggressive manner by throwing, hitting, or biting. Other children will express their feelings by throwing a tantrum of some sort that includes kicking, screaming, crying, and inappropriate use of language such as name calling.

Children can be taught to express these negative feelings in a more controlled, positive manner during a feelings preschool theme unit. Teach children to use their words to express their feelings to others. Teach them to think about the situation and say “I am mad because……” or “I am sad because……” Then, teach them to think about how they can change that feeling. If the child is mad because he wants to play with a certain toy that another child is playing with, teach him to use his words to say, “May I please take a turn when you are done?” If the child is disappointed because he wants candy and he has been told no, teach him to use his words to say, “I really want to have the candy, but I know I cannot eat it now and will wait until later.”

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The best way for children to learn about feelings and understand how to experience and control them is to watch or participate in role-playing activities that can be done during a feelings preschool theme unit. Use puppets, adults, or children to act out scenes to help children understand how to handle their feelings in a variety of situations. After the role-playing activity, ask the children questions such as:

What kind of feelings were they showing in that scene?
How did they handle their feelings?
Was it the best way to handle those feelings?
How would you handle those feelings?
What are some other choices that could have been made?

Another feelings preschool theme activity to help identify feelings is listening to different types of music. Have children listen to different genres of music (be sure lyrics are appropriate) and then ask them to identify how the music made them feel. Were they mad, sad, happy, or scared? Not all children will respond in the same manner, so make sure the children know it is okay if their feelings are different from others. You can listen to music online at Songs For Teaching.

In learning about feelings during a feelings preschool theme unit, children will develop thinking skills, self-control strategies, and problem-solving skills. These are skills they will use throughout their lives in many different facets.

Feelings Preschool Theme: Feelings Vocabulary

Happy- joyful, content, cheerful, blissful, pleased
Sad- gloomy, depressed, upset, feeling down
Mad- angry, furious, annoyed, infuriated, irate
Scared- afraid, frightened, fearful, terrified
Proud- pleased, satisfied, fulfilled
Jealous- envious, resentful, green
Frustrated- irritated, annoyed, bothered, aggravated
Shy- bashful, timid, reserved, quiet, withdrawn
Lonely- lonesome, lost, alone, isolated
Brave- courageous, fearless, heroic

Feelings Preschool Theme: Colors and Feelings

Yellow: Brightest color to the human eye and associated with youth, fun, happiness, and sunshine.
Red: “Hot” color that evokes powerful emotion and represents caution or warning and is associated with anger, passion, and war.
Orange: Fun color that represents fun, sun, and warmth. It stimulates the appetite as it is usually associated with food.
Blue: Considered a calm, soothing color that is associated with the ocean and the sky. Deep, dark blue tones are associated with sadness.
Green: The color of nature and health that is relaxing and pleasing to the eye.
Black: Used to portray class elegance and wealth as well as evil and death
White: Associated with pure, clean, fresh, and good.

Feelings Preschool Theme: Activities

If you want to incorporate a feelings preschool theme into your lesson plan, please visit the following pages for some specific activities related to these feelings:

Happy Feelings
Sad Feelings
Mad Feelings
Scared Feelings

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