This easy paper plate feelings craft is a simple activity ideal for toddlers, pre-schoolers and even older children. Helping them to identify, put a name to and get to know their feelings. Children learn that all feelings are ok to experience.
Related Post What are Emotions? {+ Free Feelings List}
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Being creative is alone is such an important healthy coping strategy, that bring us joy and can help us to manage the stressors in our daily lives. In this activity we combine being creative and learning about our feeling which is a great combination for our kids.
Craft Time – Easy Paper Plate Feelings for Kids
Explore, Craft, Share and Play
When we practice this activity, I like to follow a guide of Explore, Craft, Share and Play. You can simply jump into the paper plate feelings craft activity, or use the other activities to extend the experience and learning.
Explore
When we Explore it’s a chance for us to settle in and warm up before we start our craft activity. The focus is on being mindful and exploring the theme in a fun way. Feelings are our main theme, so we started the activity by reading the Feelings Hotel Book and looking at our Fuzzy Feelings emotion cards and checking in.
Getting into a regular habit of checking in with how we are feeling can help us to develop self awareness and emotional literacy. Its also a way for us to tame big feelings, you may of heard the phrase, ‘Name it, to Tame it’, coined by Daniel Siegal.
Craft – Lets Meet your Fuzzy Feelings!
What you will need to make Easy Paper Plate Feelings
- Hole Punch
- Scissors
- String
- Paper Plates
- Pens
- Pipe Cleaners
Adult Prep – Adults may need to hole punch the plates in advance if younger children find this difficult and also be aware of the sharp end of the pipe cleaners, I twist them over tp prevent scratches.
Let’s get Crafting!
Try our My Many Coloured Days Playdough Feelings Activity too!
Instructions for making Easy Paper Plate Feelings:
1 – Gather. Get all the things you will need.
2 – Prep. Hole punch the plates and cut the pipe cleaners in half (these are for the arms and legs) and cut some string to hang the plates.
3 – How are you Feeling? Ask children to think of a feeling they would like to draw, then pick any colour they like t draw the feeling.
3 – Draw. Ask children to draw their feeling on the plate by just scribbling the colour on to the plate. This isn’t about being neat, it’s about expressing the feeling. Prompt them to take a mindful moment and feel the pen on the plate as they move the pen around and create a wonderful feeling.
4 – Face and Body. Ask children to think of their feeling and draw a face. Then get them to add the pipe cleaner legs and arms.
4 – Name your Feeling. Ask children what their feelings are and write them on the back of the plate. They could even give them more personal names like Happy Henry or Sad Sam.
4 – Make a Whole Fuzzy Feeling Gang. The children can continue to make another feeling or maybe make one a day until you have a whole fuzzy feeling gang. This is a fun way for children to learn the names of their feelings and share when they feel them.
Print off the instruction here and please let me know how the activity goes!
Paper Plate Feelings Craft for Kids
This easy paper plate craft for kids is a fun and simple way to teach children to recognise and name their feelings.
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
- Paper Plates
- Pens
- String
- Pipe Cleaners
Punch five holes in the plate
Ask children to imagine a feeling and then pick a colour.
Ask children to draw on the paper plates, however they like.
Add the feelings face.
Add the pipe cleaners, through the punch holes. (watch for the sharp ends)
Add the name of your feeling to the back of the plate.
Add the string and hang your feeling with pride.
Share
When we share, it’s an opportunity for us to connect and feel listened to. Encourage your child to share their experiences and model by sharing yours too. Make sure to hang up and display your paper plate feelings with pride, so they can be shared with others and as a visual reminder to check in and know that feelings are always popping in and visiting us and that’s ok.
You could talk about the feelings they have created. Remember to let them know there’s no wrong answers. Here’s a list of ideas for questions you could talk about:
- Where do you feel your feeling in your body?
- When have you felt this feeling?
- What can you do when you feel this feeling?
- Who can help you when you feel this feeling?
- What do you feel when you get to eat ice cream? Break a toy? Make a cake for a friend?
- Some feeling can be trickier than others, which ones do you find difficult?
Play
Play is an opportunity to continue with the theme you are exploring and embed the idea and opportunity for practice into a creative activity. It could be a story, craft project, art activity, music, dancing and singing, cooking, role play, puzzles, whatever you and your child enjoy doing together. I’ve put together a list of books and a few fun feeling themed activities below.
- Book: The Feelings Hotel
- Book: Happy Puppy Angry Tiger
- Song: The Feelings Song
- Craft: Drawing Feelings
I hope that you enjoy making this really simple but effective craft with you kids. If you’d like more resources for teaching your children about their feeling then check out our Fuzzy Feelings poster set and our fun breathing activities to help manage those trickier feelings.
Take Care Emma x
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