Teaching Kids About Sensitivity and Reading Facial Expressions

 I printed these out and cut them into cards.  

1.  Guess the Expression – The first game we did was “Guess the Expression.”  I had them turn the card over and guess how each person was feeling.  Some I had to explain a bit more if they didn’t quite get it.

2. Guess Your Expression – The next game was where they would pull the card and then try to replicate the expression or feeling.  We would try and guess each facial expression and the meaning behind.
3.  Match the Expression to the Proposed Situation – This game involved me making up stories for the facial expression.  I said, “Which person do you think just found some moldy cheese?  Which person was building a tower of blocks and it got knocked over?  Which person just received a present they weren’t expecting?”  I continued this way to cover every expression.  I then had the girls make up their own scenarios – trying to figure out the reason for the emotion.  I was then the guesser.
4.  How should you respond? The final question I proposed to my girls was, “How should we respond when someone is feeling sad? Angry? Happy?”  I talked about how we can feel sad with them or change our behavior if we are the catalyst for the feeling.  I also told them how I felt angry last night when they wouldn’t go to bed like I asked but happy when I saw them helping each other today.  I encouraged them to respond to both the non-verbal and verbal cues I was giving.