Why Naming Feelings Matters
“I’m fine” and “I don’t know” are what most children say when something is wrong, not because they are hiding it but because they do not yet have the words. A child who can say “I feel frustrated” can ask for help instead of throwing the puzzle across the room; a child who can say “I feel nervous” about the concert can be reassured. Naming a feeling is the first step to handling it.
Feeling words grow the same way other vocabulary does: by meeting them often, in small doses, connected to something real. Younger children start with the big, easy-to-see feelings – happy, sad, angry, scared. Older children learn the in-between ones, like disappointed, embarrassed and relieved, which are harder to spot on a face and often need the story of what happened.
What a Face Tells You
Three parts of the face do most of the work, and the face maker lets children swap each one and see what changes:
- Eyebrows. Pulled down in the middle usually means angry or frustrated. Pushed up in the middle means worried, sad or scared. Raised high means surprised or excited. One up and one down means confused.
- Eyes. Wide-open eyes go with surprise and fear; half-closed eyes with being tired or bored; eyes looking away with feeling shy or disappointed.
- Mouth. A smile, a frown and an open “O” are the easy ones. A wobbly mouth often means worried or upset; clenched teeth can mean angry, nervous or embarrassed, depending on the rest of the face.
Extras give more clues: tears, blushing cheeks, a drop of sweat, steam, or “Zzz”. A sweat drop with a wobbly mouth looks nervous, but the same drop with a smile and closed eyes looks relieved – a good one to try in the face maker.
Text Emoticons: Faces Made From Letters
Long before emoji pictures, people drew faces with the keys on a keyboard. Sideways emoticons such as :-) and :-( are read with your head tilted to the left: the colon is the eyes, the dash is the nose and the bracket is the mouth. Upright emoticons, often called kaomoji (“face characters” in Japanese), are read straight on, like ^_^ for happy, T_T for crying and >_< for frustrated.
Building them is a good puzzle for children: which symbol looks most like a wide-open mouth? Why does a semicolon make a wink? The emoticon maker shows the feeling each one is usually used for, and Show it as a face draws the same feeling in the face maker so children can link the symbols to a real expression. Emoticons are a nice way into talking about how feelings come across in messages, where nobody can see your face.
The Feelings at Each Level
Each level adds new feelings to the ones before it. Every feeling has a face clue and an idea for what to do when you feel it.
| Feeling | Face clues | When you feel it, you could… |
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Faces Are Clues, Not Rules
Real faces are not as tidy as cartoon ones. People sometimes hide what they feel, show it differently, or feel two things at once – excited and nervous before a concert is very common. That is why the face maker sometimes says a face “could be” two feelings, and why the “How would you feel?” challenge reminds children that other answers can be right too. The best way to know how someone feels is to ask them.
How to Use This Page
- Play in the face maker first. Ask your child to make a happy face, then change just the eyebrows and see what happens to the feeling.
- Choose a level and a challenge. Starter has six big feelings for K2 and P1, Explorer adds seven more for P2 to P4, and Expert adds the in-between feelings for P5 and P6.
- Make this feeling asks your child to build a face; Name the feeling shows a face to name; How would you feel? describes something that happens and asks which feeling fits best, then suggests what to do.
- Make a text emoticon from keyboard symbols, copy it into a message, or tap Show it as a face.
- Print a feelings sheet for faces to draw, faces to name, and a space to draw how they feel today.
Ideas for Parents and Teachers
- A daily feelings check-in. Let your child make today’s face in the face maker each morning or after school. It is often easier to show a face than to answer “How was your day?”
- The mirror game. Take turns pulling a face in a mirror while the other guesses the feeling, then check it with the face maker.
- Feelings in stories. When reading together, pause and ask how a character feels and how you can tell. Our reading comprehension practice has many questions of this kind.
- Name your own feelings out loud. “I’m frustrated because the car won’t start, so I’m going to take a breath” teaches more than any worksheet.
If a child often seems very worried, sad or angry, or a feeling gets in the way of school, friends or sleep, talk to their teacher, school counsellor or doctor. This page is for learning feeling words; it is not a test of how a child is doing.
Nothing to Install, Nothing Stored on Our Server
The face maker runs entirely in your browser on any phone, tablet or computer. There is no account and no download. The last level and challenge you chose are remembered on this device; the faces your child makes and their answers are not sent to us. Saved pictures go straight to your own device.
Frequently Asked Questions
A child who can say “I feel frustrated” can ask for help instead of throwing the puzzle. Naming a feeling is the first step to handling it, and children with more feeling words find it easier to explain what is wrong, to understand other people, and to calm themselves down.
No. Faces give strong clues, especially the eyebrows, eyes and mouth, but people sometimes hide their feelings, show them differently, or feel two things at once. The faces here are cartoon clues to talk about, not rules. The best way to know how someone feels is to ask them.
Yes. Save picture downloads the face as a PNG image, and Print a feelings sheet makes a one-page worksheet with faces to draw, faces to name, and a space for your child to draw how they feel today.
Yes. There is no account, no download and no limit. It works in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and the faces your child makes and their answers are not sent to us.