A Circle of Make-Believe Learning Game for Preschool Children
GRUMBLES MAKES FRIENDS
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GOALS: What Children Will Learn
• Helping children understand feelings (happy, sad, angry), and how to respond correctly
• Skills for making friends: politeness and cooperation
• Problem solving
• Practicing fine motor control (drawing)

Grumbles Game from Circle of Make-Believe video.
1. WHAT YOU NEED
"MATERIALS" FROM THIS WEB SITE:
• Feelings Pictures
• Colors
FROM YOUR HOME OR SCHOOL:
• Paper plates and crayons or non-toxic markers
2. BEFORE YOU PLAY
• Show children the Happy, Sad and Angry Faces. Ask them to describe the feelings of each face.
• Help children draw Happy Face, Sad Face and Angry Face masks on paper plates. Ask them to use the Colors Chart to find the color to draw on each mask: green or yellow for Happy, blue for Sad, and red for Angry.
3. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING THE GAME

TELL THE STORY:
Let's play the Grumbles Game! “Grumbles” has no friends, because Grumbles is always angry and makes terrible "grumbling” sounds like this…Grrrr! (Make funny grumbling sounds). Let's help Grumbles learn how to make friends.

PLAY THE GAME:

  1. Masks & Feelings: Use the masks to explore happy, sad and angry feelings. Encourage children to use words to describe their feelings.
  2. Happy. Show Happy Mask to children. Ask them to make a “happy face” and to say what makes them feel happy.
  3. Sad. Show Sad Mask to children. Ask them to make a “sad face” and to say what makes them feel sad. Help children talk about what to do when they or someone else is sad.
  4. Angry. Show Angry Mask to children. Ask them to make an “angry face” and to say what makes them feel angry. Ask children what to do if someone is angry. Help them talk about the importance of using words to say how you feel and asking for adult help.
  5. Helping Grumbles Make Friends: Grumbles, the grouch, walks in with the Angry Mask. Grumbles is angry, rude, makes grumbling sounds (Grrrr!), and complains about having no friends. Ask children to tell Grumbles what to do to make friends. Help them talk about being polite, showing respect, sharing, and making other people feel happy. Grumbles takes the children's advice and behaves nicely to them. Grumbles asks to be their friend, and they say “yes”. Grumbles puts on the Happy Mask. Dance a happy dance with Grumbles.
  6. Play the game again with a different child acting the role of Grumbles each time.