😊 Feelings and Emotions for Kids: Free Activities and Worksheets
Feelings and emotions for kids are easier to understand when children can see them, name them and talk about them. On this page you will find three gentle activities: a daily feelings check-in with belly breathing, a face-reading game called Name the Feeling, and friendly everyday stories in How Would You Feel? Each one can be played online on a phone, tablet or computer, or printed as a free worksheet for home and classroom use. No sign-up is needed, and every activity is completely free.
What these feelings activities are
This collection gives children a simple, friendly way to notice what is happening inside them. Feelings Check-in and Belly Breathing invites a child to pick the feeling that matches their day, then follow a slow breathing animation that helps the body settle. Name the Feeling shows a drawn face and asks the child to choose the matching word, such as happy, sad, angry, surprised, shy or tired. How Would You Feel? shares short, safe everyday situations, like losing a favourite pencil or being invited to play, and asks the child to choose and explain a feeling.
There are no right-or-wrong judgements about emotions here. The activities simply build vocabulary and give families a calm moment to talk. They work well at the start of the day, after school, or as a quiet break between lessons.
Skills your child builds
- Emotion vocabulary — moving from only happy and sad to words like proud, nervous, excited, lonely and calm.
- Reading faces and body language — a key part of making and keeping friends.
- Self-regulation — belly breathing gives children one easy tool they can use anywhere when big feelings arrive.
- Empathy — thinking about how someone else might feel in a story situation.
- Speaking and listening — explaining a choice in a full sentence is wonderful language practice.
- Confidence — children who can say "I feel frustrated" often need fewer meltdowns to be understood.
How to play online and how to print
Open any activity and it starts straight away in your browser. The buttons are large and touch-friendly, so even a two-year-old can tap along with a grown-up. Nothing needs to be installed and there is no score or timer to rush anyone.
Prefer paper? Every activity has a print option that turns it into a clean black-and-white printable worksheet. Printed sheets are handy for circle time, for a calm-down corner, for travel, and for children who spend enough time on screens already. Teachers can print one set per group; parents can print a feelings chart and stick it on the fridge so the child points to a face each morning.
Ideas by age
- Ages 2–3: Keep it to three or four feelings — happy, sad, angry, sleepy. Make the face yourself and ask your toddler to copy it in a mirror. Do belly breathing together with a soft toy resting on the tummy so they can watch it rise and fall.
- Ages 4–5: Play Name the Feeling and then ask, "When did you feel like that?" Preschoolers love telling their own small stories. Add colour to the printed worksheet and build a simple feelings book over a week.
- Ages 6–8: Use How Would You Feel? and invite two answers — how the child would feel, and how the other person might feel. Older children can write one sentence about a calm-down idea that works for them, such as drinking water, stretching or asking for a hug.
Tips for parents and teachers
- Keep sessions short. Five minutes a day builds the habit better than one long session a week.
- Name your own feelings aloud. "I feel a bit tired today, so I am taking three slow breaths." Children copy what they see.
- Accept every answer. There are no bad feelings, only big ones that need help.
- Practise calm when everyone is calm. Belly breathing works best if it is already familiar before a hard moment arrives.
- Pair it with a routine. Many families add the daily check-in to a morning chart. Our habit, chore and reward charts make it easy to tick off "I did my check-in" each day.
- In the classroom, print the faces, laminate them and keep them in a calm corner where any child can point instead of speaking.
Bring it into everyday life
The real learning happens away from the screen and the worksheet. Talk about feelings while reading a story together: "Look at her face — what do you think she feels?" Notice feelings at the park, at mealtimes and after a tricky homework task. Praise the naming, not just the calming: "You told me you were frustrated. That was clever."
Many families use a weekly chart to celebrate small emotional wins, such as asking for help or sharing a toy. You can create one with our free printable charts, then return to the feelings and emotions activities whenever your child is ready for a new feeling word. Everything on this page stays free to play online and free to print, at home or at school.