Have you seen Inside Out? We saw it on Father's Day and my kids are obsessed. I'm glad there is finally a movie that talks about emotions in a way children understand. My kids are in the "tween" stage and it's not easy. They are all over the place when it comes to their emotions, especially Amberly. Well ever since we saw the movie, she is all about talking to us about how she feels, which I am completely OK with. I would rather talk about emotions all day than have a child who is confused and feels like she has no one to talk to. I started thinking about how else we could incorporate talking about our emotions as a family and then it dawned on me, a game. We love playing games together. We have family game night once a week and believe me, we go through a range of emotions from joy that we are playing a game to anger because someone cheated to sadness because not everyone can win every game. Since the movie just came out, I haven't found any board games at the stores, so I created my own: Inside Out Bingo!!
Who doesn't love Bingo? It's a fun game for all ages, especially for tweens! I tried to incorporate as many aspects of the movie as I could from the characters to the train of thought to ice skating, it's all there!! It's easy to print out too. Download the game cards, tokens and call-outs below. Cut out the tokens and call-outs and you are ready to play!!
The cards are sized 5 x 7inches. Print them out on cardstock or photo paper, whichever you have handy!!
My kids have loved playing this Bingo game. We have played often and just as I expected, there was a range of emotions displayed throughout the game. The kids even play with their favorite Inside Out plush toys. As we play, I ask them which emotion they are feeling and they grab the respective toy if they are feeling angry, sad, joy, etc. I then take the opportunity to ask Why? and they actually answer me. They feel better once they can put into words exactly how they feel and family game night has gone by a lot smoother!
Aren't those plush toys cute? They are available exclusively at Walmart in the toy aisles!
What interesting things have you come up with to get your kids to talk to you about their emotions? Games? Crafts? Please share!!