Overview
A craft session that ends in a game. Kids design their own feeling cards, drawing the faces and naming the emotions, then play charades with the deck they just made. The making is half the value: it is fine motor work, emotion vocabulary, and total ownership of the game. This is the rainy-day version that fills a long afternoon. Plan 30 to 45 minutes including the play at the end.
How to Do It
Set out cards and markers. Brainstorm feelings together and write each word at the bottom of a card; let your kid draw the face above it. Aim for 10 to 16 cards. Talk while you draw: "What does your face do when you're frustrated? What about your eyebrows?" That conversation is where the emotion vocabulary grows.
For young kids, pre-draw a face outline with eyes already on each card and let them add just the mouth as it changes for each feeling. That keeps it doable and keeps the focus on the part that carries the emotion. For a kid who lights up seeing themselves, use a polaroid or phone-to-printer: photograph them making each face, then label the bottom for instant flashcards.
When the deck is done, play a round of classic charades with it right away. Finishing on the game makes the whole craft feel like it was building toward something.
Tips & Tricks
Ownership is the real payoff. A deck a kid drew gets pulled off the shelf far more than a store-bought one. Resist the urge to "fix" their faces.
Keep blank cards with the deck. Whenever a new feeling comes up in real life, your kid can add it, and the deck grows with their vocabulary.
Photo cards are worth the extra few minutes for kids who love seeing their own face. They also make a sweet keepsake.
Variations
Easier (ages 3-4): Use the pre-drawn eyes template and stick to 4-6 feelings. They draw the mouth, you write the word.
Harder (ages 6-9): Have them draw the whole body, not just the face, showing how the feeling sits in posture. Add complex feelings and ask them to draw a small "what happened" scene on the back of each card.
Series version: Spread the deck-making across a few days, adding a couple of cards each time, so the collection becomes an ongoing project.
