Free Printable Emotions Board Game for Kids

This game can be a wonderful activity for small groups or a special one-on-one activity with your child.

There are so many benefits to playing board games like this emotions game printable. This fun activity helps build children’s emotional intelligence and helps with social-emotional learning.

Why Are Games For Emotions and Feelings Important?

Teaching children how to navigate their big emotions and use emotional vocabulary can be tricky, but activities like this printable board game make it a little easier!

Emotion games for children are an incredibly valuable tool for helping students learn about how to communicate their feelings and emotions.  

But how can I make sense of feelings through play?

Learning through play is how children learn best, and this emotions board game is no exception!  Playing games that allow children an opportunity to practice identifying and showing emotions helps them learn that it is okay to show and talk about their emotions.

When you practice expressing and talking about emotions in a fun and light-hearted way, children are more likely to feel safe and comfortable talking about how they are feeling.

How Do We Identify Emotions?

One of the best ways for children to identify how they are feeling is by listening to an adult. We are constantly modeling for our children (believe me, they are always watching). Talking to our children and explaining different feelings can help to sort out nuances in feelings, such as excited vs. nervous.

Reading stories to children about emotional situations they may face and modeling how different feelings may physically look on a person’s face or body are also helpful strategies.

How do Board and Word Games Help with Social and Emotional Development?

We all have experienced the disappointment of losing a game. Young children that haven’t yet identified and regulated their emptions can scream and cry, maybe even throw the game board. Just like we teach children how to read, we also need to teach children how to behave.

Showing our kiddos how to deal with a loss, or even a win, helps develop different emotions like empathy, acceptance and learning social skills. A huge part of playing board or word game is taking turns. Sharing, developing friendships, and taking turns needs to be taught and practiced often.

To Prep the Emotions Board Game:

This game is super easy to prepare!

Step 1: Print the game board on paper or card stock. Then print the 2-3 pages of cards on the white side of scrapbook paper (so they aren’t see-through.)

I found that 3 pages worth of the emotion cards were great, but I removed a few of the heart gems so that the kids didn’t get frustrated if they had to move backward too much. You can keep in or take out as many of the heart gem cards as you would like.

Step 2: Laminate all the pieces for durability and cut out the game cards.

How To Play the Emotions Board Game:

Place your marker on the “Start” of the emotions board game. Place all the cards upside-down on the “Card Draw Pile”.

Choose a player to go first.

The player will draw a card from the pile and name the emotion the card is showing. Then the player will move his game marker to the next space that matches that emotion.

If a player lands on a space with an arrow, he will follow the arrow to the new space.

If a “Heart Gem” card is drawn the player will head to the closest Heart Gem space, even if it is behind him. He should answer the question that is on the heart card.

How Can I Use This Emotions Board Game With My Class?

This can be a great way to launch conversations with your kids about how they are feeling and might give some insight into why a particular child is acting out or having difficulties.

Smaller children might be able to point to the face on the card for that feeling or demonstrate that particular emotion, since they might not be able to recall an actual time they felt that way.

If it’s appropriate, you can talk about the experiences as a whole group.

If you have a sensitive child, you may want to allow them to give short answers and then later have a one-on-one talk with the child.

To win by landing on the last space, a player MUST draw a heart card.

Is This A Good Resource To Use With My Child At Home?

You bet it is! Working one-on-one with your child and being able to identify their basic emotional needs is important. You may find out why your child is afraid of the dark or their happiest birthday memory. Parents and caregivers know their children the best and can connect with them emotionally on a way that others cant. Your young child may be more honest with you than with someone else.

Other Ways To Use This Free Emotions Board Game:

• If your child can’t think of a time they felt a certain emotion, see if they can remember a time a character in a book or television show was feeling that way. A great place to start is our collection of Books About Friendship.
• Use the game as an opportunity to talk about what your child can do if they are feeling a certain emotion.
• Play charades with the emotions card. This is a fantastic way for little ones to practice reading how other people are feeling based on their facial expressions and body language.
• Print two copies of the emotion cards and set up a fun memory game.
• Play a “Go Fish” matching game by printing multiple sets of cards.
• Read some fun books about emotions for kids and continue to help your child grow their emotional intelligence!

Where can I find more resources for identifying emotions?

Some links below may be affiliate links or our personal products.

Here on Life Over C’s, we have lots of emotions activities for kids. Use them alongside a regular theme in your classroom or as a stand alone social emotional unit with your preschoolers.

We also love this Feelopoly game from The Counseling Palette which provides another fun way to help preschoolers learn about big feelings.

More Emotions Activities You’ll Love:

• Gingerbread Emotions Board Game
• Snow Theme Social Emotional Activities
• Summer Sun Identifying Emotions Board Game

More Emotion Ideas For Kids:

More Ideas For Kiddos Emotional Learning Development:

• Ice Cream Social Emotional Skills Board Game
• Gingerbread Emotions BINGO Game
• Gingerbread Emotions Matching Game
• Unicorn Emotions Preschool Game