Happy Feelings Activities

There are many happy feelings activities that can be done with young children, especially preschoolers, to help them recognize, understand, and identify their feelings. These feelings activities include singing songs, reading books, participating in role-playing games, and doing arts and crafts. There are also some worksheets that you can print out to use while doing some of the activities.

Definition of Happy: Happy can be described as a state of being in which there is a feeling of contentment, joy, or overall feeling good.

I once had to do a research paper for a psychology class about laughter’s affects on health. It was very interesting to find out about the physiological effects that take place when we are in an emotional state of happiness. Laughter causes the release of endorphins, which are neurotransmitters released by the brain to block physical and emotional pain. Endorphins work to boost our memory. The research I found suggested that people who face severe illness or disease with a positive attitude, an emotional feeling of happiness, and incorporate laughter as much as possible either through reading funny books or watching funny movies have a greater chance of overcoming their illness or disease due to the physiological effects on our health that are created from being in a state of happiness or from laughter.

It is very important that children are able to recognize and identify what makes them happy. They may need to call upon that ability one day when trying to deal with a traumatic event or just dealing with stressful issues in life.

Kindergarten isn’t kindergarten anymore. Children have to deal with a lot of stress early on in life especially when school starts. They have to follow a strict routine, maintain exemplary behavior, perform well on standardized tests, and ward off bullies and meanies. Hopefully, they will be able to do all of this with happiness and a positive attitude if we take the time to teach them from the start.

Color associated with happy feelings: Yellow is the brightest color to the eye and is associated with youth, fun, happiness, and sunshine.

Happy Feelings Activities: Art
1. Draw or paint picture of something that makes you feel happy.

2. Use sidewalk chalk to draw happy faces outside on the sidewalk.

3. Happy Face Collage- Cut out pictures from old magazines, books, or newspapers of people that look happy. Glue these pictures to a piece of construction paper to make a collage. Ask the children to think about why these people are happy or what made them happy.

4. Happy Face Masks- Use small round paper plates for children to draw or paint a happy face. Cut out openings for the eyes. Attach a popsicle stick at the bottom for children to hold on to the stick and use it as a mask. The children can have a Happy parade and parade around the room with their happy face masks.

Happy Feelings Activities: Songs and Poems

I Have Something In My Pocket (Traditional)
I have something in my pocket.
It belongs across my face.
I keep it very close at hand.
In a most convenient place.
I bet you could guess it,
If you guessed a long, long while.
So I’ll take it out and put it on,
It’s a great big HAPPY smile.

Check out Everything Preschool for some songs about happy feelings including "If You're Happy and You Know It..."

Happy Feelings Activities: Feelings Worksheets

Picture of Happy
Happy Face
Happy Poem
Find Happy
Color Happy Heart
Color Happy Heart 2
Complete the Happy Face

Happy Feelings Activities: Group Sharing

1. Have children bring something to show and tell that makes them happy and share why it does.

2. Have children or adults put on a puppet show or act out a scene about an event where someone is happy or became happy.

3. Have the children use a mirror to see themselves making happy faces.

4. At circle time, have the children give ideas about what happy smells like, hears like, feels like, tastes like, and looks like?

Happy Feelings Activities: Books

When I’m Feeling Happy by Trace Moroney
Feeling Happy by Ellen Weiss
If You're Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands! by David Carter
Baby Happy Baby Sad (Leslie Patricelli board books) by Leslie Patricelli

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