If you have little kids, then I’m sure you’ve heard of Inside Out by now. It’s the newest Disney Pixar movie that is in theaters now. My kids want to see it soooo bad, but we haven’t had a chance to get to the theater. The plan is to see it this weekend. As a mom of an adopted child that has a hard time recognizing and expressing negative emotions, I am all about finding ways to talk about emotions with my children, so I really am looking forward to checking out this new movie with her.

Inside Out Disgust Plush Disgust Doll

We have an emotion wheel that we use when discussing her day, and she has a journal that she has to write in each night to help her determine how her day went and what emotions she experienced. Of course, I am always looking for other ways to discuss emotions with not only her but with my younger two as well. After seeing the fun facial expressions on the Inside Out Plush Dolls at the store and in the movie trailer, I started thinking that it would be neat to create a game that the kids could play on the gloomy, rainy days that we’ve been having. After a bit of brainstorming, I came up with this fun Emotions Mix-Up Game.

Inside Out inspired Mixed Up Emotions Game

When I printed this off my kids were super excited to play. They always love testing out new game ideas and this one turned out to be a hit! They loved seeing what new combinations we could create. We then discussed what the emotion looked like to each of us. It was determined that Anger Eyes + Joy Mouth = Evil Doer and basically angry eyes with any mouth equated to anger or disappointment.

This Emotions Mix-up Game is great for preschool and school-age children and is a creative way to talk about emotions and there are at least two ways to play! Why do I say at least two ways? Because I’m all about giving the game to your children and letting them find a new way to play!

Paper Children’s Game

InsideOut Inspired Emotions Mix-Up Game

Supplies:

Scissors
Tape
Dice
Inside Out Inspired Emotions Mix-Up Game
Personal use only. Do not alter.

Instructions:

Download the Inside Out Inspired Emotions Mix-Up Game. Save it to your computer and open in Adobe Reader. Print onto 8.5 x 11 paper.

Inside Out inspired Mixed Up Emotions GameCut out the dice. Assemble and tape together.

Next, cut out the eyes and the mouths.

Place them to the side of the face page.

How to Play

Have your child roll both dice and find the eyes and mouth that match the dice.

Place them onto the face.

See what silly faces you can create and discuss what emotions they see reflected.

Inside Out Inspired Emotions Mix-Up GameThe second way to play is to print out just the face page and have your child draw pictures of how they or others around them are feeling at that moment. Encourage them to look at themselves in a mirror so that they can see how their face looks at that moment – are their eyebrows raised, their eyes squinted?

So tell me, how do you talk to your kids about emotions and big life changes?

Check out my other Early Learning Games for even more printable fun!