I have been working in the field of special education for over a decade and, for as long as I can remember, these "how do you feel today?" visuals have been around. And I used them for many years, even though they didn't make a lot of sense to me.
When I look at these photos, I don't see the expressions that I make when I feel these emotions. I also noticed that children used a variety of facial expressions to reflect happy, sad, angry, and frustrated.
Station Option 1
So I started using a mirror in my feelings stations. Feelings and pictures of feelings are still there so I can have discussions but children have the opportunity to look in the mirror and see their own face when they are experiencing anger, sadness, excitement, happiness, and other emotions. This way, they learn what emotions look like for them.
Station Option 2
And because children learn best through repetition, we talk about emotions every single day.
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