![](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Emotions_Article_seeingshowing-560x420.jpg)
Seeing, Showing, and Sharing
Help your children express themselves with a strong feelings vocabulary.
Building a strong feelings vocabulary is like building a muscle—it takes exercise, practice, and hard work! Try these exercises to help children practice expressing themselves:
See it. When children can “picture” words, they’ll learn them more easily. Take out a family photo album, child-friendly magazine, or picture book. Point to a person or character and say, “How do you think he/she is feeling?” If children say, “happy,” build on that. You might say, “She looks really, really, happy. A word for really, really, happy is ‘ecstatic.’”
Show it. Children will be more likely to remember a new word if they experience its meaning. Come up with a movement or face for each word that you learn together. If the word is “exhausted,” for example, kids might flop over and give a really big yawn.
Share it. Use words for feelings and emotions every day. Encourage kids to describe feelings as they tell you about things they did that day. Ask questions like, “How did you feel when you _______?” Remind them of the ways to describe happy, scared, mad, and tired feelings.
![Two adults and children are engaging in nature and outdoor activities.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USSI-PSEG-Article-Community-667x500.jpg)
Engaging Kids with Nature and Community: Outdoor Activities and Adventures
Learning to care for the environment starts with loving the natural world around you.
![Printable Julias Community Mural.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PSEG-Printable-JuliasCommunityMural-ENG-667x500.jpg)
Julia’s Community Mural
There are so many ways to be kind, caring, and helpful in our communities!
![Community Garden Clean-up.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PSEG-Printable-CommunityGardenCleanUp-ENG-667x500.jpg)
Community Garden Clean-up
Teamwork makes taking care of our communities a little easier.
![Printable Community Connection.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PSEG-Printable-CommunityConnections-ENG-667x500.jpg)
Community Connections
Showing our love through art is one great way to care for one another.
![Printable Playground Helpers.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PSEG-Printable-PlaygroundHelpers-ENG-667x500.jpg)
Playground Helpers
Help the Twiddlebugs find their lost materials to build their playground!
![Printable Together Trail.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PSEG-Printable-TogetherTrail-ENG-667x500.jpg)
Together Trail
Help children practice counting and learn ways to help your community.
![A Grown-up and child helping out in a community garden.](https://sesameworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Webinar_LittleNeighbors-667x500.jpg)
Little Neighbors: Fostering Community Connection, Engagement, and Exploration