Making funny faces

Playing with facial expressions with your infant

Materials Required

  • This experience doesn't require any resources other than you!

Play experience profile

Play Experience Preparation

This play experience could be incorporated into many different times of the day such as during nappy changes, tummy time, meal times, running errands (e.g. grocery shopping), walking with your baby in a pram - any time you have the opportunity to be face to face with your child.

Experience Steps

  1. Position yourself so that you are face to face with your child.
  2. Make different faces to your child e.g. poke out your tongue, wink, wiggle your eyebrows, make an exaggerated sad face, make an exaggerated happy face, make a shocked/surprised face etc.
  3. Take your time, there is no rush with this play experience, enjoy being in the moment with your child.
  4. Pause between your funny faces, giving your child time to respond. Watch carefully for any forms of communication your child might give you e.g. verbalisations and body language and respond to these.

What to talk about, or questions to ask during the experience

  • Narrate your actions e.g. I can poke out my tongue
  • Label the emotion you are portraying e.g. this is my sad face, this is my happy face
  • Emotions: happy, sad, surprised, angry, confused, scared, disgust etc.

Build on this...

  • Provide a mirror for your child to explore their face.
  • Read a book about different emotions and portray those emotions as you read.
  • Play peek-a-boo.

WHO guidelines for physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Provide evidence-based public health recommendations for children, adolescents and adults on physical activity. Learn more

Try making faces with your child during tummy time to incorporate physical activity into this experience.


EYLF Outcomes

The Early Years Learning Framework has been designed for use by early childhood educators working in partnership with families, children’s first and most influential educators. View PDF

  1. Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
  2. Children feel safe, secure, and supported

EYLF Principle

Principle 1: Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships. Through a widening network of secure relationships, children develop confidence and feel respected and valued.

EYLF Practice

Practice: Learning through play. Play can expand children’s thinking and enhance their desire to know and to learn. In these ways play can promote positive dispositions towards learning. Children’s immersion in their play illustrates how play enables them to simply enjoy being.


Author:

Madelaine Lawler

Early Childhood Teacher / University of Wollongong

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