Smiley Face Check In

Your Child Will Learn

How to express their emotions to an adult

Here’s What to Do

1. Choose a time when you can do your Smiley Face Check In at the same time each day (like: breakfast, bath time, story time)
2. With your child, close your eyes and notice how your brain and body feels.
3. Show your child the Smiley Face Feelings poster. Point to the face that matches how you feel, and tell them why you feel that way. Then, ask your child to point to the face that matches how they feel.
4. Repeat each day, or several times throughout the day.

Put PEER Into Action

PAUSE

• “Let’s sit and close our eyes. Let’s try to notice how our brain and body feels.”

ENGAGE

• “Tell me what feeling you think these faces are showing. What about this one?”
• “I’m pointing to the excited face because I’m going to talk to Abuela later tonight. What face matches how you’re feeling right now?”

ENCOURAGE

• “Thank you so much for sharing how you’re feeling with me. I care about how you’re feeling on the inside.”
• “It can be tricky to figure out how we’re feeling. It’s okay if you don’t know, we’ll keep practicing!”

REFLECT

• Did you learn anything about your or your child’s emotions from this activity? 

Not Quite Ready

Younger children may struggle to verbalize their feelings, which is expected. Try to keep practicing, or try again in a month or two.

Ready for More

Prompt your child for more details about why they think they feel the way they do.

As Your Child Masters This Skill

They will be able to more accurately express their emotions to an adult

Time to Complete

5 minutes

Materials Needed

Smiley Face Feelings Poster