An emotional clock is a wonderful tool to help children recognize and express their emotions. These craft instructions explain how you can make a sentiment clock from our special PDF. With this DIY emotional clock, children can playfully learn to name and talk about their feelings.
Material required for the DIY emotional clock:
- Printed PDF of the emotional clock on firm, white paper – preferably with a color printer
- Scissors
- Pin board with pins or wing clip
- Optional: additional decoration materials (stickers, glitter, etc.)
You can find an explanatory video to illustrate this further down at the end of the article
Step-by-step instructions:
- Download and print PDF
- Download the template for making the emotional clock.
- Print the PDF in color on sturdy paper. The strong paper ensures that the clock and the hands are more stable and last longer.
- Cut out
- Carefully cut out the sentimental clock and the individual hands.
- Make sure to cut out the hands in different colors so that they can be easily distinguished from each other.
- Assembly of the emotional clock (see video below)
- Option 1: Using a pinboard
- Place the emotional clock on the pinboard.
- Choose a hand and attach it to the center of the clock with a pin. The hand should be able to move freely to point to the different emotions.
- Several children can use different colored pointers to show their feelings at the same time.
- Option 2: Use of a sash clamp
- Place the emotional clock on a flat surface.
- Make a small hole in the center of the clock.
- Insert a wing clip through the hole and attach a pointer. The wing clip makes it easy to move the pointer.
- Option 1: Using a pinboard
- Using the emotional clock
- Show the children the different emotions on the watch: happy, tired, anxious, angry, etc.
- Let the children point the pointer to the emotion they are feeling.
- Use the clock as a conversation starter to talk to the children about their feelings and help them to better understand and express them.
- Personalization (optional)
- Let the children personalize their emotional clock. You can add stickers, glitter or other decorations to make the clock more personal.
Additional information:
- Learning objectives: The emotional clock helps children to identify and name their emotions. It promotes emotional intelligence and communication skills.
- Age recommendation: Suitable for children aged 2 and over.
- Educational benefits: The emotional clock can be used in schools, kindergartens or at home to support children’s emotional development.
Video handicraft instructions emotional clock
In this video, I show you how to make the sentiment clock using my template:
Learning objectives:
- Emotional awareness: The emotional clock helps children to recognize and name their own emotions. By pointing to different emotions such as happy, tired, anxious, angry, etc., children learn to better identify their feelings.
- Linguistic expression: Children expand their emotional vocabulary by learning and using the terms for different feelings.
- Self-reflection: By regularly using the emotional clock, children reflect on their daily emotions and develop a better understanding of their own feelings.
- Empathy: The emotional clock promotes empathy, as children learn to recognize and understand the feelings of other children.
Educational benefits:
- Promoting emotional intelligence: The emotional clock is an effective tool for promoting children’s emotional intelligence. It helps children to consciously perceive their emotions and react to them appropriately.
- Communication skills: By expressing and talking about their feelings, children improve their verbal communication skills. This is particularly helpful in social interactions and in the school environment.
- Conflict resolution: By recognizing and expressing emotions, children can better deal with conflicts and find solutions. They learn to communicate their feelings in a healthy way, which contributes to conflict resolution.
- Social interaction: The emotion clock can be used in group activities to promote understanding and acceptance of emotions in a social group. Children learn to treat the feelings of others with respect.
- Cognitive development: Recognizing and naming emotions also promotes cognitive development, as children learn to understand and differentiate between complex emotional states.
By using the emotional clock in everyday life, parents, educators and teachers can provide targeted support for children’s emotional and social development. These educational benefits make the emotional clock a valuable tool in early childhood education.
