Inside: A huge library of resources for teaching feelings & emotions to kids, with over 30 emotional literacy activities, games and resources for social emotional learning.
Managing our emotions is hard, whether you are four or six or forty six! Teaching our children to effectively manage their feelings and emotions is such an important, ongoing task for both teachers and parents – there is no one-size-fits-all lesson for helping children to understand feelings, and it takes many, regular touches as a child moves through the following stages of emotional development;
- Recognising a range of emotions in themselves and others
- Recognising the physical and emotional responses we have to each of these emotions
- Learning to express their own feelings verbally
- Learning to calm oneself down in the face of overwhelming emotions, and
- Learning to treat others with kindness and empathy.
30+ Emotional Literacy Activities & Resources
Useful in both the home and the classroom, this collection of SE learning resources and emotional literacy activities includes tools that can act as useful prompts for discussion with children about a wide range of emotions, and guide you as you help your children to develop effective strategies for managing overwhelming, stressful feelings and emotions.
The collection includes printable posters, games, booklists and emotional literacy activity ideas to use with children across a range of ages. Scroll though below to see the full collection of resources.
Managing Big Emotions Calm Down Poster Series |
 5 Steps for Managing Big Emotions Poster: The first poster in our Big Emotions series uses a hand motive to gives kids five options for working through overwhelming emotions. |
 9 Calm Down Ideas for Kids Poster: Nine effective calm down strategies handpicked for kids! Our emotions aren’t one-size-fits-all feelings, and neither are the ways we each prefer to calm down. |
 Calm Down Yoga for Kids Poster: Combine movement with positive affirmations in this positive approach to teaching children to manage stress, anxiety and overwhelming emotions. |
  Coping Skills for Kids Cards and Poster: Includes 36 different coping skills ideas for children to try, each chosen specifically with kids in mind. These ideas represent five different coping styles activities, with suggestions for relaxation, distraction, physical movement, emotional processing, and sensory input. |
Mindful Breathing Resources |
 28 Mindful Breathing Exercises for Kids Printable: Controlled breathing can help children to feel more in control of their emotions and this collection of twenty eight mindful breathing exercises makes breathing for mindfulness more accessible for children of all ages. |
 Take 5 Breathing Exercise Poster: Breathing has a huge impact on emotions and this simple technique helps kids learn the connection between controlled breathing and the positive impact it can have on feelings and emotions. |
Feelings & Emotions Games for Kids |
 The Game of Feelings Printable Card Game: This fun social emotional game, The Game of Feelings, gets children ages 8-12 years exploring 40 different emotions. Play at school, home or in counseling sessions. |
 Printable Emotions Cards & Game Ideas: Learn more about recognising a range of feelings and emotions with these printable emotions cards and eight game ideas |
 Which Emotion Am I? Guessing Game: Exploring emotions in ourselves and others is what this fun emotion game is all about. |
| Exploring Feelings & Emotions Jenga Game: Cross traditional Jenga with feelings and emotions to creates conversation around a wide range of human emotions. |
 Printable Emoji Emotions Matching Game: Tap into the emoji craze as a tool to explore feelings and emotions with your children with this fun, printable emoji emotions matching cards set. |
Feelings & Emotions Activities for Social Emotional Learning
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 Printable Feelings & Emotions Journal: Includes 70 creative writing and drawing prompts to help nurture greater emotional awareness, coping skills, relationship building skills, self reflection and decision-making abilities. |
 My Emotions Wheel Activity Printable: A great printable worksheet for identifying and talking through a range of emotions. Includes three different versions. |
| 9 Big Emotions Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers: 9 emotions activities that are perfect for young learners. Teaching children about the importance of emotions early is key! |
| How to Boost Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence: Practical suggestions for helping your child to develop emotional intelligence. |
| 13 Social Skills Activities for Kids: Our ability to succeed socially has a big impact upon our emotional health. Help your children develop effective social skills with these thirteen activities. |
| Emotional Regulation: An Essential Ingredient to School Success: Learning to regulate emotions is hard, especially when big changes loom – like starting school! Help your child succeed with these useful tips. |
| 10 Things We All Need to Be Doing to Help Kids Develop Empathy: An important social skill, we all have a role to play in teaching children to be empathetic towards others. |
| 9 Ways to Develop Emotional Awareness Through Play: Playing is so much more than imagination and creativity! Help your child learn about emotions in the safe space of play. |
| 10 Strategies for Supporting the Emotional Wellbeing of Students: Strategies for teachers helping students with weakened emotional wellbeing. |
Useful Mindfulness Resources |
 Slow Motion Calm Down Bottle: Breathe and watch the objects slowly fall with this calming and soothing sensory bottle. It’s a great way to calm down AND slow down. |
| Scented Rainstick Bottle: This sensory bottle has an amazing scent to it! Talk about the relationship of sound and scent to mindfulness |
 9 Mindfulness Apps for Kids: These nine fabulous apps for kids make screen time more mindful and meaningful. |
| 25 Guided Journals for Tweens & Teens: The best guided journals for teens and tweens, hand-picked for you and your growing kids. |
 7 Classroom Mindfulness Activities: Help students learn to deal with difficult situations both in the moment and potentially for years to come, helping them learn to cope as adults, with these seven classroom mindfulness activities. |
Yoga for Kids Resources |
 Sun Salutation Yoga Poster: Increase flexibility and feelings of happiness with this fun and simple Sun Salutation Yoga sequence. |
| Walk Through the Garden Yoga Poster: Seasons change, and so do our children. Teach your child that their daily lives are much like the wind that blows through the treetops through this simple yoga routine. |
| The Ultimate Library of Yoga for Kids Videos: Just when you think there can’t possibly be any other yoga options out there for your kids, you’ll want to check out our ultimate library of kids vids for more fresh ideas. A great resource for teachers with students of all ages. |
 Printable Spring Yoga Poses Cards: Easy to download, print and stretch, this printable pack includes twelve yoga poses picture cards, each accompanied by simple, clear instructions for making the pose. |
 Printable Yoga Body Shapes Cards: A useful set of printable body shape cards that take inspiration from common yoga for kids poses. |
Feelings & Emotions Books for Developing Emotional Literacy
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 21 Awesome Books About Feelings & Emotions: These books showcase just how important feelings and emotions truly are. |
| Books for Kids (of All Ages) Who Worry: Have a stressed or anxious child who worries? You’ll love these suggested titles. |
| 25 Children’s Books About Anger: Great resources for inviting discussions with children about anger, tantrums and feeling frustrated, with many of them featuring helpful calm down strategies and coping skills as well. |
| 12 Picture Books about Anxiety for Kids: The world can feel overwhelming or stressful for all of us, but especially for children. These books provide excellent vehicles for processing anxiety, developing empathy, or gaining perspective on a situation. |
| The ‘What to Do When I’ Managing Emotions Book Series: A great book series for helping children learn to manage a range of emotions and social skills. |
 Books About Common Childhood Fears: All children face fears. Help your child overcome the things that scare them with this helpful list of books about a range of common childhood fears. |
| Books About Kindness: We can change the world with kindness. Start out with these important stories about kindness that they’ll carry with them forever. |
| Books About Friendship: Help your child learn to create strong friendships through books exploring communication and emotions in positive ways. |
| Books About Differences and Diversity: We are all similar and we are all different. Create conversations with your children about the importance of diversity and our acceptance of differences. |
 101 Social Skills Books: A great big list of books that will help your children explore a wide range of friendship, communication and social skills. |
| 15 Best Toddler Books About Feelings & Emotions: Support your toddler’s learning about feelings with our pick of the best emotions books for toddlers. |
| 25 Growth Mindset Picture Books: Empower your child embrace mistakes as an opportunity to learn and persevere through challenges with this great big list of growth mindset picture books. |
 7 Young Adult Books for Social Emotional Learning: Our pick of seven great young adult books that address important elements of social emotional learning with middle and high school age students (grades 6 to 12). |
| 9 Growth Mindset Books for 10-14 Year Olds: These books are great for starting a dialogue about growth mindset and the power of failure with children in the later elementary/primary through middle grades. |
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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