Awareness of emotions
Toddlers look at and talk about pictures of different facial expressions with a caregiver.
[Invite 3–4 toddlers to join you to look at pictures of babies. Show the book cover as you introduce the activity. Point to features of the baby’s face as you name each.]
Let’s have some fun looking at pictures of babies.
Look at this baby’s face! Here are the baby’s eyes. Here is the baby’s nose. And here is the baby’s mouth.
Let’s all point to our eyes!
[Point to your eyes.]
We will use our eyes to look at pictures of babies’ faces in our book. The faces can tell us what a baby may feeling.
[Show and describe pictures using the following strategies:
We looked at pictures of baby’s faces. Each face told us what a baby may be feeling.
[Describe several faces that seemed to be of particular interest to toddlers in your gathering. Example: “One face told us the baby was feeling upset or sad. The baby was crying. Another face told us the baby smelled something bad. The word by the picture said ‘stinky!’ The baby smelled something that was stinky.”]
Toddlers will differ in their interest and readiness to connect with the concept of feelings as shown in different facial expressions. Some may readily recognize differences across faces shown in the book and will be interested in what a particular face may be telling us and why. Others may be more interested in features of a face, such as eyes and hair. Connecting a word to a particular facial expression can help build vocabulary related to feelings. The “uh-oh” phrase and corresponding expression is less straightforward than the other pictures and may be challenging to pursue with younger toddlers. You may wish to give little or no attention to the “uh-oh” picture.
Extra support
Enrichment
Awareness of emotions
Toddlers practice making facial expressions shown in a picture and demonstrated by a caregiver.
Invite toddlers to join you to do different things with our faces. Show and describe a picture of a specific facial expression included in the book. Draw attention to prominent features of the expression and say the book’s word, such as yucky, associated with the expression. Begin with a picture of a baby who is happy (“yippee”) or a picture you anticipate will be of particular interest to toddlers in your gathering. Make a facial expression similar to the expression pictured in the book. Draw attention to your face. Example: “Look at my face. I am making a happy face!” Then invite toddlers to make a face that tells the same feeling. Examples: “Make a face that tells us you are happy!” “Make a happy face!” Repeat this process for 2–3 more pictures.
This activity can help toddlers deepen what they learned from the Option 1 activity. Toddlers who participated in Option 1 will likely find it easier to participate. Look for opportunities to connect the different facial expressions to information shared in Option 1. Beginning the activity with more familiar feelings is important because emotions that are unfamiliar (or less familiar) to toddlers will be challenging for toddlers to represent in their own faces. Some toddlers may make no attempt to show an invited facial expression but may learn a lot by watching you and their peers. Positively acknowledge all forms of participation.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: books with pictures of facial expressions, several nonbreakable handheld mirrors
Place the books and mirrors on a low table. Invite toddlers to look at the pictures in the books, and to explore their reflections in the mirrors. Encourage toddlers to imitate some of the facial expressions shown in the books. Talk with the toddlers about what they see as they make faces in the mirrors. Some toddlers may not wish to use the mirrors.
Materials Needed: storybook that describes feelings
Invite preschool-age and older children to participate in Option 2 after toddlers have participated once on their own with just you. Encourage preschool-age and older children to take turns leading the gathering in making faces that you suggest. Focus on familiar emotions, particularly happy and sad, and encourage the older children to show different ways of telling us they feel happy or sad.
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