Play-Doh Face Activity (Click here)

1. Goal: Help young children identify and express feelings
2. Supplies: Activity sheet or blank face (I laminate mine), play-doh
3. Direct children to create facial expressions on the activity sheet.
4. I usually start out general (ex. Make a happy face) and then personalize it (ex. Show me how you look when you are sad).
5. I also use this to open the child up for conversation about their feelings (ex. Can you tell me about a time when you felt that way?).
6. This can be incorporated into games using things like feelings tic-tac-toe, jenga, etc.
7. For students with appearances not represented in these sheets I have made my own or had the child draw their own head.  I have also had children draw their parents’ heads for this activity
8. Feedback: I have found that children disclose and express much more when this activity is done than they do when I just ask them about their feelings.