Explore Emotions with this Pumpkin Emotions Set
Pumpkins are so cute and giving them emotion makes them even cuter.
This printable set is perfect for exploring emotions and feelings with your kids.
Pumpkin Emotions
It’s fall and that means it’s time for all of the fall themes – apples, pumpkins, leaves, acorns, etc.
We love these themes so much. It’s a great time to use resources like these pumpkin fine motor mats!
This pumpkin emotions set is perfect for a fall theme and a little work on emotions!
So grab a good book (I might suggest The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz)
Then curl up, enjoy, and have a great discussion about feeling!
How to Learn About Feelings
I think most of us pick up emotions and naming feelings naturally throughout our lives. Although I do think having time dedicated to learn about feelings is also important.
What we need to focus on is how to talk about feelings. Most of us know what we are feeling but struggle to express it. Sometimes it’s an issue in feeling shy about feelings but other times it’s really about not knowing how to explain to someone else what the feeling feels like.
This is one reason I like using inanimate objects or non-human things to work on feelings.
It’s much simpler to think about how something else feels and then later relate that to our own life.
I also think reading good books helps this. We get an inside view of someone else’s experiences and get to experience their emotion.
Reading is incredible for building empathy.
How to Use the Pumpkin Feeling Booklet
I love getting my kids to practice emotions when it’s not directly related to them. It can be really intimidating to talk about your emotions. But talking about the emotions of a pumpkin? Not so hard.
The idea behind the booklet is just to identify the feeling on the pumpkin and match it to the right page.
Start by cutting out all the pumpkins and constructing the booklet.
I’ve made the booklet as simply to put together as possible. Simply cut the page in half on the line. Then put the stack without the cover in back. The page order in the booklet isn’t important.
Staple the left side and you’re good to go!
Now give your kids the booklet and the pumpkin images and let them match.
Some of the emotions are very similar. And some I find are not super obvious. I didn’t provide an answer key because I think these ambiguities are okay. Not everyone experiences every emotion in the exact same way.
So if my proud pumpkin looks more like a different emotion for you – that’s fine!
How to Use the Pumpkin Roll a Feeling
This is one of my favorite feelings activities.
First, I think it’s useful in showing how to express emotion in art. There are some very subtle changes you can make in artwork that create drastically different emotions.
This would be an especially useful activity for someone interested in cartooning, animation, and graphic design.
Second, I really enjoy giving the pumpkin different emotions and wondering to myself what is going on in that pumpkins life.
This pumpkin looks a bit worried and surprised. What could have happened that would make a pumpkin worried and a bit scared? Maybe he just learned how Jack O’ Lanterns and made.
