Product Review: Language Builder: Emotion Cards (Age 3+)

Where Kids of All Abilities Learn Through Play!

Teaching kids to understand and ‘read’ emotions is so important that I have devoted a lot of product reviews to items that can help families discuss feelings and emotions together.  I was recently in a course that had activities where each of us looked at faces and reflected back the emotion displayed.  This was a course for adults and sometimes we were wrong!  Ha.  If we adults can’t identify and understand emotions and feelings well than how do we expect our little people to figure it out?  Clearly, we have work to do (and together) and the Language Builder Program through a great company called Fun and Function caught my eye.

The Language Builder Program’s Emotion Cards is an 80 hi-gloss piece card set on 3 ½” x 5″ cards to help children age three and up to discuss and identify emotions and feelings.  Each card is numbered for the parent and labeled for each feature image with suggested activities for the card.  This set is awesome because it not only features children as young as one, it also features facial expression emotions from people in their 70s, males and females and many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  40 cards in the set are of a wide variety of people showing only the upper half of the body and displaying one of the five basic emotions listed below.  The other 40 cards are scenario cards with people in realistic situations for open discussion on their possible emotions happening in each card.  An activity booklet is also included with more ideas and instruction on how to use these cards.  If you like this kit, don’t forget to check out the rest of the Language Builder Program through Fun and Function!

1. Happy
2. Sad
3. Angry
4. Surprised
5. Disgusted

Bonus!  Examples of Emotional Conversational Starters from the Kit:

• What might happen next?
• Do you like to play games?
• What is your favorite game to play?
• How do you feel when you win? When you lose?

About Fun and Function:  If you believe in it, stick with it.  Fun and Function may have a focus on normalizing children with special needs but they really produce products to enable all children to play together.  Creator Aviva Weiss (who is a pediatric occupational therapist) was inspired to start Fun and Function with her husband after they discovered one their children had a sensory processing disorder.  It is said that the special needs demographic has spiked by 13% in the US alone for children under 18, so it is important that even if you do not have a special needs child (which I do not) that you enable your child the ability to play with children who have differences from each other.  Bravo Aviva!

Extra tip on another fabulous Fun and Function product: Are you looking to help your little one learn different techniques of self-soothing, checking out their Self Calming Cards set.

Language Builder: Emotion Cards (Age 3+)

www.funandfunction.com

List Price: $34.99