Back-to-school time is an excellent opportunity to discuss emotions with your child. Whether they’re a toddler, a preschooler, or heading to Kindergarten understanding their emotions is crucial to social interactions. Freddy is our adorable bear friend here at Kneebouncers, and Rachel at kidsactivities.com came up with a fun way to teach shapes using Freddy’s adorable face! This hands-on activity will have your child giggling as they create unique faces and learn about shapes and emotions.
Check out the blog at kidsactivities.com for a free printable template and instructions on creating a felt Freddy Face. Then let your child explore and play as they learn about shapes.
You can ask them to point to various shapes, count the number of triangles, or have them describe the shapes. If your child has mastered basic shapes, create new ones like stars, diamonds, pentagons, and octagons!
All you need to do this silly face activity is some felt, the face template, and a pair of scissors that can cut fabric. Then, encourage your child to create various faces and expressions for Freddy with the shapes.
Let Creativity Flow!
The best thing about this activity is it is open-ended. So, there is no right or wrong way for your child to play with shapes. Avoid “correcting” your child if they give Freddy three eyes or two noses. Instead, invite them to explain using open-ended questions.
For example, “Can you tell me about Freddy’s face?” or “Why did you decide to put his eyes there?” You may be surprised by your child’s creativity!
I remember when my oldest son was four, he made a butterfly craft with only one eye. When I asked him about it, he told me. “Because he is a pirate!” To him, it made perfect sense, and who was I to judge his creation?
Learning About Emotions
Ask them to create sad, silly, happy, angry, and surprised faces for Freddy. Talk with your child about what each of these emotions means. Place a mirror on the table or nearby so they can practice making faces for each emotion.
Experimenting with faces and facial expressions is a safe and silly way for your child can explore emotions! A Little Spot of Emotion by Diane Alber is an excellent tool to teach young kids about feelings. Kids love the little plush emotion toys, and the color-coded wall poster helps kids learn and name feelings.
Updated August 30th 2023, by L. ELizabeth Forry
