Smile Power Day | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Smile Power Day. Smile Power Day is an unofficial observance celebrated annually on June 15th. As an unofficial day, there is no single founding organisation to credit.

Understanding Smile Power Day in EYFS & KS1

Let's spread some happiness and share a big smile! 😊✨ Smile Power Day is a special day celebrated every year on June 15th. It's all about celebrating the wonderful feeling we get when we smile and when we make someone else smile. A smile is a powerful tool—it can show someone we're happy, it can help a friend feel better, and it can even make us feel good inside! This day reminds us to be kind to ourselves and to others, and to use the simple power of a smile to brighten our own day and the days of those around us.

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully positive and crucial theme for exploring emotions and feelings, mental health, kindness and friendship, and personal well-being. It’s about empowering children to understand their feelings and the feelings of others, fostering empathy, and teaching them how to build positive connections. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about emotional intelligence and kindness both essential and wonderfully heartwarming!

Why Is Learning About Smiling & Emotions Important for Young Children?

Integrating Smile Power Day and themes of emotions, kindness, and mental well-being into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) helps with social, emotional, and personal development.

• Fosters Emotional Intelligence: Helps children recognise, understand, and talk about their own feelings and the feelings of others.

• Promotes Positive Mental Health: Encourages children to think about what makes them happy and how to feel good.

• Builds Empathy & Kindness: Teaches children how to be a good friend and how a small gesture, like a smile, can make a big difference.

• Enhances Social Skills: Gives children tools to connect with others and build positive relationships.

• Encourages Self-Expression: Provides opportunities for children to express their feelings through drawing, music, and play.

Engaging 'Smile Power' Activities for Smile Power Day (EYFS & KS1)

Let's celebrate the power of a smile for Smile Power Day with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on embracing happiness and understanding that it’s okay to feel other emotions, too! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated ‘Mental Health’, ‘Emotions and Feelings’, and ‘Kindness and Friendship’ resources.

Here's some inspiration for celebrating Smile Power Day in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken. Emphasise that all feelings are okay and that kindness matters.)

Exploring Emotions & Happiness

• Understanding Feelings:

  • Use a variety of emotion cards and fans to help children identify feelings, such as 'Emotion Cards - Emojis', 'Emotion Cards', 'Emotions Fan - Emojis', 'Emotions Fan', and 'Basic Emotions Fan'.

  • Create a display with 'Emotions - 'Emotion Of The Day' - Display (Large)' to talk about different feelings.

  • Use the 'All About Me - Feelings Station Display' to encourage children to share how they are feeling.

  • Use our playdough mats such as 'How Are You Feeling Today? Playdough Mats' and 'Blank Faces - Playdough Mats' to express emotions creatively.

  • Get children to draw and write about emotions with 'Draw Emotions', 'Write Emotions', and 'Draw Yourself Smiling! Activity Sheet'.

• What Makes Us Happy?:

  • Use 'What Makes You Happy? Sheets' to prompt discussions about things that bring joy.

  • Explore emotions through stories with 'Emotions - 'This Story Makes Me Feel...' - Mark Making'.

  • Use activity packs like 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Happy?' Activity Pack' to discuss the causes of happiness.

• Working with Difficult Feelings:

  • Remind children that it’s okay not to be happy all the time. Use resources like 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Sad?' Activity Pack' to discuss sadness.

  • Use 'When I Feel Worried - Prompt Templates' or the full versions for both worry and anger to help children understand and manage these emotions.

  • Discuss strategies for dealing with feelings using 'Emotions - 'What Happens When You Feel...' - Prompt Cards'.

Kindness & Connection

• Spreading Kindness:

  • Discuss the theme with posters like 'Be The Reason Someone Smiles Poster'.

  • Use 'Let's Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's Show Kindness - Activity Prompt Cards' to inspire acts of kindness.

  • Teach children about connecting with others using 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Cards'.

  • Welcome others with posters like 'Welcome - 'Happy Faces' Display Posters', 'Welcome - 'Hands On Heart' Display Posters', and the various 'Languages Poster' resources.

Creative & Expressive Learning

• Music and Emotions:

  • Connect emotions to music with ''This Music Makes Me Feel...' Emoji Cards Activity' and its various accompanying resources, including playdough mats, banners, and colouring pages.

• Art & Colouring:

  • Use 'Emotions Colouring - Emojis' or the simpler 'Emotions Colouring' to provide a creative outlet for emotional expression.

  • Use 'Blank Faces' and 'Blank Faces - Playdough Mats' for children to create their own emotional faces.

• Active Learning:

  • Use 'Let's - Get Moving - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's - Get Moving - Activity Prompt Cards' to link physical activity with a happy mind.

Mental Health & Well-being

• Promoting a Healthy Mind:

  • Use resources like 'Mental Health - 'Healthy Minds' Poster' or the full display pack to discuss what it means to have a healthy mind.

  • Use 'Mental Health - Mood Booster Activity Cards' or the full version to find fun ways to boost happiness.

  • Create a welcome display with 'Hands On Heart Poster/ Wall Art/ Discussion Prompt'.

• Explore More: To explore our extensive catalogue of resources on these themes, please visit our ‘All About Me’, ‘Colours’, ‘Emotions And Feelings’, ‘Kindness And Friendship’, ‘Mental Health’, ‘Music and Sound’, and ‘Nursery Rhymes’ pages.

These activities offer great inspiration for making Smile Power Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering emotional intelligence, kindness, and a lifelong appreciation for the power of a positive outlook.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Smile Power Day’

Free ‘Smile Power’ related resources and activities for EYFS & KS1 from our ‘Mental Health’, ‘All About Me’ and ‘Emotions’ collections:

‘Smile Power’ related resources for EYFS & KS1 from our ‘Posters & Displays’, ‘Welcome’ collection:

‘Smile Power’ related resources and activities for EYFS & KS1 from our ‘Mental Health’, ‘All About Me’ and ‘Emotions’ collections:

‘Smile Power’ related resources and activities for EYFS & KS1 from our ‘Music and Sound’ collection:

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for June

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

SEARCH ‘LITTLE OWLS Resources’ USING THE FOLLOWING MENU BUTTONS…

Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Smile Power Day'. This is an unofficial observance and, as such, there is no single founding organisation to credit.