Activity Idea

Can You See What I’m Thinking?

(from the Learning Discipline Activity Book)

Through “Can You See What I’m Thinking,” children can learn that no one can “read” their thoughts, so they need to communicate with words or non hurtful actions to let people know how they feel.  As you watch the children work on this activity, you can learn more about the different ways they use their faces and bodies to express how they feel.

Materials

• mirror

Encourage the children to use a mirror while they change facial expressions so they can see the ways they let people know how they feel.  The children can take turns doing this activity, or if the mirror is large enough, all of them could do it together.  Here are some different ways you and the children can show how you feel when you are:

• angry – make a fist, stomp your feet, glare at someone
• happy – smile, laugh, dance, clap, jump up and down
• afraid – huddle together, hide your eyes, lower your heads
• surprised – open your mouths, widen your eyes, jump back as if startled
• sad or lonely – frown, pretend to cry, walk with slumped shoulders, etc.

The children might enjoy playing a guessing game by taking turns acting out feelings and asking the others to guess what they are.  But, it’s important to let the children know that you know nobody can tell what somebody else is thinking.  If we want other people to know what we’re thinking, we have to tell them.

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The Learning Discipline Activity Book

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