Activity Flow

Materials: Paper plates (or cardboard pieces), straws or popsicle sticks, crayons, yarn, mirror.

Today we are setting up our own theater stage at home! First, we draw big eyes and mouths on paper plates to create "Happy", "Surprised", "Sad", and "Angry" expressions. After making hair with yarn and coloring the masks, we glue a stick to each one to hold it. Now our masks are ready!

Now we hide behind the sofa and play the "Backstage" game. We take turns lifting a mask up and, without showing our face, we make a sound that matches that mask using only our voice (For example, "Ohhh!" for the surprised mask, "Ha ha ha!" for the happy mask). The other person tries to guess which emotion that sound belongs to. Afterwards, we stand in front of the mirror, lower the mask, and imitate the exact same expression with our own face.

As a result; this activity allows the child to recognize emotions, develops imitation skills and creative drama abilities. It also exercises fine motor muscles and supports secure attachment with the parent.