Inside Out + A Fun Emotions Game

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The movie Inside Out was the very first movie we took A to the theater for, so as soon as it released I headed to Walmart to purchase it. If you haven’t already you should too, it’s such a fun filled movie! I remember us eyeing Inside Out for a couple months before taking her to see it in theaters. On Father’s Day, we headed there both nervous and excited about how she would like her first big movie. She was captivated by the big colors and the fun characters. Since it was her first movie experience, I wanted to make sure we had Inside Out in our collection to remember that special day!

If you are a parent or are around young children, you are no stranger to the fact that toddlers are all about emotions and some days it’s an emotional roller coaster. Happy one minute, disappointed and angry another, then happy and then sad something didn’t work out their way. It’s all a normal (and important) part of the age, as they are learning and identifying feelings that they are experience day to day. 

I decided that it would be a lot of fun to create a game that was geared towards the toddler and preschool age that navigated through emotions, so I created one. I created a board game with a variety of character cards that discuss emotions, asks questions and more. We used the characters : Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness, as well as, a Wild Card that features Bing Bong that is filled with fun, silly questions and activities. The characters navigate through the memory balls in a race to see who reaches the console first. 

After the game was completed digitally, we printed out the game on card-stock and cut out all the cards that we created. We assembled everything and spread things out to play! Since we had so much fun with the movie, we added an another dynamic to the game by adding TOMY Toy Inside Out character figurines to navigate through the game to add some extra fun. In our game Sadness and Anger all navigated through the memory balls to try to race to Joy at the console to put their memory ball inside. We took tuns rolling the dice and counting the “memory balls” and selecting the cards that matched. Each card that I created had my daughter in mind and we had so much fun!

“Make a joyful face!”

“Would worms on your pizza be yummy or DISGUSTing?”

We were laughing and having a great time playing the game. When someone landed on a Wild Card space (the pink ones!) we added even more fun by getting to push the Bing Bong Bow-tie, making him say and sing silly things from the movie, before drawing a fun card!  We had such a great time playing with A (who turns 3 today!!) playing this game. It gave us the opportunity to talk about feelings, and also get a little bit more inside her head and see what she thinks about things! I made the game shorter than originally planned but the two page game board was the perfect length for getting her to pay attention long enough to stay engaged. 

I put so much time getting this game ready for my own kiddo that I wanted to make sure that as many people who want it and will enjoy it can have it, too! So, we put together a zip file filled with all of the documents needed to play the game that are ready to print. If this is a game that you think your toddler or preschooler would have a blast playing too, click here to receive the game files to your inbox.

The zip file includes:

• Instructions (we have 2 fun and easy ways to play)
• Game Board
• Joy Cards (1 page – 10 cards)
• Anger Cards (1 page – 10 cards)
• Sadness Cards (1 page – 10 cards)
• Wild Cards (1 page – 10 cards)
• Disgust and Fear cards (1 page – 5 cards each)
• Spinner and Dice
• Characters Cut-Outs for Game Pieces (or use the TOMY toys for even more fun, if you choose!)

Once you receive the game files, they will be all ready to print out for you. The cards are all ready to print two-sided so all you have to do is make sure your printer is ready for it to print that way. I recommend printing on card stock for durability for the cards, character print outs and the game board & additional pieces. Cut out the cards by using the character side as a guide and tape the game board together for a full board. You can trim one board so they fit together seamlessly before attaching. 

I left a few of the cards for Joy, Anger, Sadness & the Wild Cards so you can write in your own activities & questions based on your child and environment. Here are some ideas you can add using your own cards:

• Questions about day to day. “Does it upset you when your (brother/sister) takes your blocks without asking?”
• Silly Activities “Sing if you are happy and you know it!”
• Bible verses about the emotions
• Food dislikes (if applicable)
• …the possibilities are endless!

 
So, join in on the fun and head to your local Walmart to pick up your own copy of Inside Out and at some select stores you’ll be able to purchase the licensed TOMY Inside Out Toys to make our game even more fun!  

If you plan to have a fun game night using the game, we’d love to see to see you having a good time with your kiddos. Give us a tag on twitter or Instagram @joyfullysmitten!  I can’t wait to hear how your little ones love the game!