Sometimes as a parent, we recognize that our children do best with tools that help them to identify, communicate, and regulate their emotions. I found three tools that can aid in recognizing feelings: My First Feelings Kit, Feelings BINGO!, and Dry Erase Feelings Flash Cards Kit from the HaleySez Etsy Shop to help my younger children to do this as well as learn the feelings of others so they can be aware of them and better show empathy. Here is my product review of these Haley Sez products.
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[ctt template=”4″ link=”Dvf2r” via=”yes” ]This product review of Haley Sez products talks about three tools that can aid in recognizing feelings: My First Feelings Kit, Feelings BINGO!, and Dry Erase Feelings Flash Cards Kit.[/ctt]
Haley Sez is an Etsy shop that creates toys and tools that help children to identify, communicate, and regulate their emotions. Their goal is helping you to connect with the wisdom of your inner child through creativity, humor and play. The products I am reviewing are to be used with children ages 3 – 7 to develop their foundational social-emotional skills. Identifying a feeling experienced by self or others is one of these, as well as helping them to be able to use strategies to calm their bodies down when they get big feelings.
This chart is a good size at 8.5 x 14 inches. It has a glossy surface, which allows you to use dry’erase markers on the front of the chart. It also has a UV coating to help prevent fading if you wanted to hang it in a sunny room, for example. There are not many choices “out there” for feelings charts. The ones you have been using may not be very interesting or fun. It’s nice to use a chart that is child-friendly and maybe not as stressful to the child to use when it is made in this fun way.
How we use it:
So I had the children go one at a time and pick a feeling and show me what that looked like. The other child had to guess what feeling the acting child was showing. They could point to the feeling if they didn’t want to say it. I also would say or point to a feeling and have them show me that feeling. I would also show the feelings and ask them what I was feeling.
Mason seems to enjoy using this fun feelings chart to identify how he is feeling. It is fun to practice being “Happy”!
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What a great tool to communicate how we feel to others. Sometimes the words just won’t come out. It is also fun to practice and pretend that we are tired or sleeping to learn the feeling “Tired”.
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Little people can have big feelings, but they may not yet know how to say what they are feeling. This feelings flip book is designed to help children ages 3-7 to identify and communicate the emotion they are feeling, even if they would rather just point to the feeling. There are nine cards (including the cover card) on a flexible plastic ring. They measure 2×3″. The cards have rounded corners so there are no sharp edges. There is a line on the cover of the flip book where your child can write their name. You could use permanent marker to ensure it does not wipe off. I presently have a 7, 5 and 1 year old for my three youngest children out of seven so I will not be using permanent marker! Now that I have an adult child, I may use them on grandchildren someday too!
How we use it:
We use the flip book to teach about feelings and what a person might do, act, or look like when they have this feeling. We also use it to look back on how we WERE feeling when we are back to calm as a teaching tool. Sometimes my child will find the flip book from its place in the cupboard and bring it to me quietly with it open to a feeling, like “Sad”. Then I can ask why they are feeling this way, etc. Sometimes, I will use it to help the children understand how I feel. For example: The van broke in a big way and I can’t drive the children to Homeschool Physical Education Co-op anymore until we fix the van or get a new one. Mommy doesn’t get to see her friends. Mommy is feeling “Sad”.
Basically, this is a set of ten 4×6″ cards with the name of exercises to do to get control of your negative emotions, feelings that are about to become negative, or jitters. The exercise or “what to do” and a fun sample picture is on the front. On the back, are directions for how to do the exercise. These cards also have rounded corners, so they are safe for little hands.
Also included is an instructional pamphlet: “A Field Guide for Gittin’ Your Jitters.” In your guide you will find the answers to the following questions:
1. What is a jitter?
2. What is a Jitter Gitter?
3. How do the Jitter Gitters help me to not be overwhelmed by my emotions?
4. What are some of the ways that I can use my Jitter Gitters? (6 detailed suggestions included!)
How we use it:
I use it in homeschool lessons to teach my children when they are calm about what a “jitter” is and how to get control of it with these exercises and we practice doing the exercises. I also use it when we are starting to act up and Mom feels it’s time for us to do some “jitter gitters”. Sometimes we hang them in areas where we have struggles like in the bathroom by the toothbrushes and sink because in our large family we have to be patient and take turns with the sink. This “jitter gitter” gets rotated weekly. We keep the rest of the cards near the living room, which is also our play room and we sometimes have conflicts over toys there and we need to each draw a card and do a “jitter gitter” so we don’t spiral out of control.
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Miranda and Mason practicing the “Swimmer’s Breath”.Save
Mason and Miranda starting to do “Monkey Fists”.Save
Miranda pretending to sleep with toes up holding the “Goodnight Toes” card.Save
Mason trying to choose which jitter gitter to do for homeschool today.Save
Mason is walking like a heron.
This one is my absolute favorite out of all the products I have reviewed for Haley Sez! What a great way to help children develop key social-emotional skills and have fun doing it! This set includes 4 laminated BINGO! cards (8.5×10″), 100 plastic bingo chips, 1 small plastic container with lid to store bingo chips (I absolutely LOVE this little container! Other Bingo games I have include a baggie, which is very annoying), 24 laminated drawing cards (each card is 1.5×1.5″), and 1 velvet drawing blind bag. Also included is a laminated card with written instructions for play on one side, and ideas for how to teach key social-emotional concepts with Feelings BINGO! on the other side (8×9.5″). It also came with a drawstring bag to hold it all in.
More information on Feelings BINGO! from the Haley Sez Etsy Shop…
Feelings BINGO! is intended to promote the learning and practice of the following social and emotional skills:
1. Developing emotional vocabulary by learning the names of 16 common emotions.
2. Matching feelings words to the physical expression (body language, somatic symptoms, and thought patterns) of these emotions in the body and brain.
3. Applying feelings words to actual emotional experiences of self and others.
4. Increasing awareness of one’s own feelings based on cues from the body (physical symptoms) and the brain (thoughts).
5. Guessing how others may be feeling based on what their body language is telling us.
This is a 2-4 player game for ages 4 and up. Some pieces, such as drawing cards and place markers may be a choking hazard. Do not allow children to put these items in their mouth. Recommended for ages 5 and up!
How we use it:
When my younger children seem to be getting tired of school work, I like to get out a game and I still feel like they are learning. This is another game I am adding to my homeschool educational games to play when I notice the fatigue setting in because I want homeschool to be fun! I am always the caller and the kids are the players. Sometimes an older kid needs a break and joins the younger kids too. I will call out the cards and set them down face up so they can see what they are looking for on the card. After calling a few, I will ask a question about one, like: What feeling is this? or What does it feel like in your body when you have this feeling? Or When our body does this action what feeling might we be having? What do you do when your body does this? When they get a BINGO, I have them call BINGO! Then I have them tell me the names of the ones that are in the winning row and I match them against the cards I have called. Sometimes the loser gets upset that they lost and the feelings are right there on the card so we can discuss this feeling and point to it and decide what to do with the feeling.
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Mason holding the Feelings BINGO! card ready to play a game.Save
Miranda playing Feelings BINGO!Save
Mason is happy playing Feelings BINGO!Save
Miranda is waiting for me to call the next card.Save
Mason about to cover up the “Sad” feeling on his Feelings BINGO! card.
The 16 cards in this kit are like the Feelings Flip Book but bigger, measuring 4×5.25″. They have a picture and word on one side and a light grey-colored paper on the other side. These cards are laminated! They can be written on with a dry erase marker, which was included in our kit along with a nice drawstring bag.
How we use it:
I ask the children a question that I will write on one card. I will place the feeling I am talking about next to it. I might write, “I feel loved when…” or I might have seen something that Haley Sez mentioned on their Facebook or Instagram site and ask one of those questions. I have also had the kids draw a face with this feeling or draw what you want but it has to do with the feeling.
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Mason and Miranda holding the feelings cards and dry erase marker.Save
Miranda feels loved when her sister plays with her.Save
Mason just used his own money to buy a Star Wars Lightsaber. He feels happy when he gets a new toy.Save
Mason drew a picture of the feeling “Happy”.Save
Mason is demonstrating “Proud”, while Miranda shows her picture of what a sad face would look like while demonstrating the feeling with her own face too.
More information on Moon Phases Storage Pouch from the Haley Sez Etsy Shop… Haley Sez has teamed up with fellow Etsy shop NF Design Creations to bring you these handmade, one-of-a-kind storage pouches for your favorite Haley Sez tools! These bags feature the “Rainbow Moon Phases” fabric designed by emmaallardsmith on Spoonflower.com, with bright blue paracord drawstrings to seal your goodies safely inside. Each bag is approx. 5.5 inches wide and 7 inches tall – big enough to hold a set of Jitter Gitters AND a Feelings Flip Book!
Fabric is 100% cotton. Cleaning instructions are printed on the tag, which is sewn into the inside of the bag. All bags were hand-sewn and assembled by Nadine Frehafer of NF Design Creations. Check out her etsy shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/nfdesigncreations
How we use it:
I use it to store my Jitter Gitters and Feelings Flip Book. It works great!
Mason’s Opinion (age 5)
“It’s fun, especially the Bingo game when I win.”
Miranda’s Opinion (age 7)
“I like to pretend all of the feelings the best.”
My Opinion
I really feel that every family should have these items. If a family could only choose two, I would suggest the Feelings BINGO! because it’s a really fun way to learn and talk about feelings. I also would recommend the Jitter Gitters because you know, sometimes us parents just run out of ideas and need tools to help us to help the kids. The materials are all high quality and were shipped very well and arrived quickly. I hope you will give these a try and suggest them to others that could use them.
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