Make a Feelings Photography Book

Jun 27, 201820 min activity

On “Sesame Street,” many characters face challenges and work through their big feelings. When Big Bird, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby are feeling frustrated because they don't have any paper for their art project, they work it out by trying something different. By working together, they are able to overcome their frustration and are proud of what they made.

We experience many different feelings throughout the day. In some situations we may feel sad and angry. Eventually, we may feel better by trying something different, taking belly breaths, or by talking to a friend, parent, or family member. Talk about feelings your child experiences throughout the day. How did they feel this morning? How did they feel after lunch?

Make a photo book together that shows what you and your child look like when you feel happy, proud, sad, frustrated, surprised, or angry. Use the book to talk to your child about how they are feeling throughout the day.

Materials

Camera (or paper and pencil for drawing self-portraits)
Stapler (for grown-up use only) or string and a hole punch
Tape or glue
Construction paper
Crayons or markers

Directions

Write the following feeling words on small pieces of paper: happy, sad, frustrated, proud, surprised, or angry.

Invite your child to pick a paper from the pile. Read aloud the feeling word that’s written on the paper they chose. Ask them to show that feeling on their face as you take a picture of them.

Show the same feeling on your face as your child takes your picture. Use your best acting skills! If you don’t have a camera, you can always draw pictures of your feeling faces.

Print the photos and use them to make a feelings photo book! Work together with your child to tape or glue both photos for each feeling onto a piece of paper and label it. Put the pages together with staples, or, use the hole punch to make a hole in the upper left corner of the paper and tie with string to create your book.

You can also make a cover for your book, with a title like, “Our Feelings,” and your names as the authors of the book.

Read your book together! Talk about the feelings you see in each picture, and describe a time when you felt that way. We express each feeling differently. For example, when we're happy, we smile and are relaxed. When we're sad, we may frown or cry. When we're angry our face may feel hot. Tell your child we all have big feelings, even grown-ups — as we learn and grow — and sometimes we have more than one feeling at the same time. For example, you can share a story with your child about being excited about going to a birthday party and also nervous because you may not know everyone there.

Ask your child about a time when they felt a very big feeling like anger, fear, or excitement. Talk together about ways they can work through those feelings and help their body feel calmer. You might talk about strategies such as belly breathing (put your hand on your belly and slowly breathe in through your nose and then out through your mouth), self-talk (repeat a reassuring phrase over and over again, such as, "I can do this, I can do this."), or counting to ten. If your child has a favorite toy or stuffed animal, you can also talk about how they can use it to help comfort themselves. Reassure your child that we all have these big feelings and that they can use one of these strategies whenever they need to calm down.