Musical Feelings Bag

Draw or cut out pictures of different feelings or scenes that evoke different emotions (e.g. picture of a present or birthday cake). Create 10-15 cards and place into the bag.

15 minutes

Bag (or box), picture cards with feeling faces or scenes on them, music

Have children sit in a group. While music is playing, have children pass the bag from one person to the next. When the music stops, the child holding the bag picks out a card and says what is on it. Ask them to talk about how the picture makes them feel and why. Continue playing until each child has had a turn.

Vary the time that the music is on to build excitement. Have a variety of scenes in the bag and encourage kids to listen to each other. For scenes or emotions that are related to more difficult feelings like sad or mad, reinforce that everyone feels that way sometimes.

Use a smaller number of cards and include familiar feelings or scenes.

Include more complex emotions, such as confused, worried, or upset. Begin to talk about how these emotions can be handled by asking, “What are some things you could do when you feel upset?”

Adapted from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/mar2018/promoting-social-and-emotional-health#activities

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