I love finding different tools to help my daughter learn certain skills. So I am always on the lookout for different ways to review things that we are working on. Since we are spending a lot of time talking about big emotions and good manners lately, I was thrilled when we were given the opportunity to check out a line of flash cards from TestingMom.com aimed at teaching kids about emotions & social situations!

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TestingMom.com is a website offering test prep resources and educational products to parents who want to work with their kids. We had the opportunity to check out the Social Emotional Learning deck of flash cards and they have been fantastic!

This set is aimed at Pre-K to Kindergarten aged kids. The deck includes 72 cards and over 350+ learning activities. The cards are illustrated with adorable monster characters who teach kids to identify feelings and handle difficult social situations. One of the cards includes a mirror and a long list of emotions, encouraging parents and kids to discuss the different emotions and attempt to act them out.

Learning about Different Emotions

There are several reference cards in the deck that give kids tools for recognizing and handling their emotions, as well as reacting properly to social situations. These are illustrated by different monsters that show familiar behaviors and feelings that kids will recognize. There are cards for lots of different feelings, with tons of synonyms for the emotion pictured.

In addition to providing kids with an emotional vocabulary, this deck also provides references to help kids internalize different reactions and strategies for dealing with common social interactions. There are cards illustrating how different kinds of monsters respond to different situations, showing kids the consequences of certain reactions. The cards with “calming tools” on them provide kids with actionable coping strategies that they can apply to their lives.

Related Post: Teach Kids about Feelings with the Moodsters

Using Social Stories to Teach Important Lessons

The majority of the deck is made up of illustrated cards that include a short story about a social situation. The cards include questions and conversation starters on the back for parents to ask their kids in order to further their learning and understanding. I really liked that each card had multiple learning activities on it, and that they encourage families to start deeper conversations. These cards would be great for learning on the go, or for addressing specific social situations that kids are dealing with. By providing kids with familiar situations in story form, they can relate to the characters and imagine a similar time in their own lives as well.

Related Post: Children’s Books for a Bad Day

Why We Love These Cards

My daughter and I really enjoyed these cards. She likes the adorable characters, and I like that there were so many ways for us to use them. In just a few uses, we have been able to increase our vocabulary of emotions. She has been asking to “play the card game” almost every day. I can already see a difference in her answers to the questions, and she is also using the language she learns on the cards in real life. By providing her with this background knowledge and shared experience with words like “compassion” and “empathy”, I am able to shift her learning from these cards to real life.

If you are working on teaching kids about emotions, then you definitely want to check out these amazing cards! They offer so many learning opportunities, while also keeping kids engaged and having fun! Head over to their website to learn more, and to check out the other card decks that they offer!

How do you teach your kids to handle their emotions? Share in the comments below!

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