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You are here: Home / Learn / Literacy / Book Sets / Learning About Feelings: An Easy to Create Learning Center for Kids

July 22, 2013 By Chelsey

Learning About Feelings: An Easy to Create Learning Center for Kids

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Here’s a simple center you can set up at home or in the classroom to help children explore emotions and learn about feelings!

Are you following our Creative Play Pinterest board?

 Great way for kids to explore their emotions and feelings! (Feelings Center for the Home or Classroom~ BuggyandBuddy.com) 

The Importance of Exploring Feelings

One of the most important things I try to teach my children is to understand and name their feelings. It’s an important lesson for children to realize that different emotions are okay and to recognize those feelings in themselves and eventually in others. It’s especially important for kids to know they don’t always have to feel happy. That it’s normal to feel sad, shy or even jealous. Once children learn to understand how they are feeling, they can eventually better display empathy towards others and use those skills to develop healthy relationships with their peers. 

 Feelings Center for the Home or Classroom~ BuggyandBuddy.com 

Setting Up a Feelings Center

One way to help children begin exploring feelings and initiating conversations about them is to set up a feelings center in your classroom or home. Children can explore feelings through books, drawing, practicing facial expressions in a mirror and interacting with stuffed animals or dolls.

For our feelings center at home, I placed a mirror on the ground at the kids’ level. I also added a set of children’s books related to feelings. On a nearby shelf I put some colored pencils, a journal and, Lucy’s poetry journal. You could also add some stuffed animals or dolls to the center. Children love imaginary play with stuffed animals, and by providing some little friends nearby, kids can interact and discuss their feelings with them.

Kimochi Doll in Feelings Center  

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Lucy actually has a stuffed doll called a Kimochi. Have you heard of these? Basically, they are emotion dolls that come with little stuffed Kimochi emotion pillows. The dolls have a pocket where you can store the little stuffed feeling pillows. Such a cute idea! We placed her Kimochi doll in the feeling center too.

 Playing with Kimochi Doll 

My goal with our feelings center was to just have a simple place that allowed Lucy to explore feelings in any way she wanted. She wasn’t required to do anything. I set the center up one day while she was resting in her room. When she was done resting, I introduced it to her. We went through all the materials together. First, she chose a few books for me to read to her, and then she spent a lot of time exploring the center on her own. 

 Children's Books about Feelings 

I think one of her favorite things to do was make different faces in the mirror! She loved trying to copy the ones she saw in the books.

 exploring feelings with a mirror 

She also came up with a poem she wanted me to write for her in her poetry journal. 

using a journal to learn about feelings

 feelings journal 

The Benefits in Everyday Life

I love how her exploration of feelings has carried over into things we do everyday. I often hear her talking to her dolls about feelings in her play. When we read bedtime stories she’ll bring up how the characters are feeling and why she thinks they are feeling a certain way. It’s also helped by increasing her vocabulary and understanding of feelings. Now when she encounters a situation with her peers, she can talk to me about it easily, and it’s also helped her to try to understand her peer’s actions in certain situations.

I’ve shared some of the books we added to our children’s book set about feelings below. I’d love to hear any others you’ve read!

 

Children’s Books Having to do with Feelings

The Way I Feel by Janan Cain

 

 Feelings to Share from A to Z by Todd Snow

 

 Lots of Feelings by Shelley Rotner

 

 The Feelings Book by Todd Parr

 

 Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis

 

 Hurty Feelings by Helen Lester

 

 Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley

 

 My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

 

Have you done anything similar in your home or classroom to help children understand feelings and emotions? 

Be sure not to miss these other creative play ideas for kids on Buggy and Buddy:

  • How to Easily Encourage Imaginative Play Using Felt 
  • How to Make Wooden Roads and Ramps for Toy Cars
  • 10 Awesome and Homemade Marble Runs


Filed Under: Book Sets, Creative Play, Exploration Centers, Preschool, toddler Tagged With: Book Sets, children's books, feelings

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…

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