Friendship day activities for kindergarten

While many preschool students innately learn how to make friends, become friends, and be good friends, it is extremely important for their social growth to have explicit opportunities to practice and learn about friendship. Families with strong social bonds make it easier for children, but those that do not have these bonds tend to struggle and take a little longer to learn these skills. Read below about 26 fun activities you can do to help preschoolers learn and practice friendship. Thanksgiving is a time that many of us utilize to teach thankfulness, but what about friendship? This kit includes fun activities for preschoolers centered around celebrating not only being thankful but thankful for friendship. Use it as a complete class party, or simply restrict your class to just the activities. Learn More: While this particular version is made for Kindergarten, it can easily be tweaked for preschool by changing a few of the options around. It gets kids up and moving as they decide if they like or don't like specific things, and helps them determine who in their classroom has the same preferences! Learn More: Mo Willems is an amazing author who catches the interest of all kids. His characters, Elephant and Piggie teach kids how sharing is an important part of friendship in this adorable and hilarious book. Couple it with this read-aloud activity of friendship ice cream to complete the perfect lesson. Learn More:

Friendship and social play skills are key capabilities for young kids to develop in the early years of school—they form the foundation of long-term success in school and in the community. In your inclusive classroom, you’ll probably have students who need some extra support to develop and strengthen these skills. Today’s post gives you some tips and activity ideas you can use to promote friendships and encourage social play among children with and without disabilities. Excerpted and adapted from DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY, Second Edition, by Kathleen Ann Quill & L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, these ideas were developed to build social and communication skills for students with autism, but they’ll also have benefits for a wide range of learners. Give these a try in your classroom, and see which ones are most helpful to your students. Try a greeting game. For this activity, have everyone in the group take a turn going around the circle and saying “Hello.” Every time a peer successfully greets everyone, cheer for the person. After a learner with support needs has watched one or two other people take a turn, have him or her go around the circle greeting peers. Play tag. Start a game of tag with a group. For learners who need some support to join, have them watch the group play for a while and then encourage them to join the game. Prompt them to ask, “Can I play?” and then prompt them to join in. Fade your prompts as the child becomes more independent in joining in the game. Make a gro...

Share on Pinterest Friendship, like sharing and learning how to use a fork, is a skill that kids need to learn. In preschool, they’re discovering what a friend is. In middle school, friendships both deepen and become more challenging. Learning how to get along with others is an essential part of a child’s day-to-day life. As with most things, the best way to teach kids is to make the lesson fun. A vast number of friendship games and activities for preschoolers and middle schoolers can be found online. These are some of our favorites. Share on Pinterest As adults who know how difficult it can be to make friends, the ease with which preschoolers develop friendships is amazing. At this stage, friendship is more about proximity and interests: Who is around me and do they want to play the same thing I am playing? That’s all it takes to make a friend. For example, preschoolers can go to the park for an hour and come home and tell you about the new best friend they made, but whose name they can’t remember. Friendship activities for preschoolers are focused on the building blocks of relationships: knowing someone’s name, seeing that different people can have things in common, and learning that other people have different points of view. 1. The Good Friend List This is a simple, straightforward activity in which children are asked to list what qualities make a good friend. For example, someone who shares toys, someone who doesn’t yell, etc. 2. The Matching Game Every child gets a m...

Besides helping children connect and gain a sense of belonging, a friendship theme also offers opportunities for them to learn math and language arts concepts. Children that know how to share, take turns, and express their feelings, generally experience success more than those without these basic skills. Read below for ideas to help students learn each other’s names with art, pattern and graph activities, a counting game and a rhyming song. Easy class name book Start a Friendship Theme with a class name book to help students learn each other’s names. Read the book every day for a while to help the students get familiar with all the children’s names. Materials: • 12 x 18-inch piece of paper with the words, ______ is a new friend, printed on or glued on the bottom • photo of each child • markers • crayons Procedure: • Give each child a 12 x 18-inch piece of paper with the words ______ is a new friend, printed on the bottom. • Each child makes one page of the class book • Children draw a picture of themselves • Keep a mirror nearby (not glass) so children can look at their eyes and hair • The child completes the frame sentence by adding their name. • The teacher also makes a page. If the children’s printing is unrecognizable, print it underneath in large printing so the other children will become familiar with it. Staples the pages, read as a group and put in the library for the children to read. Handprint patterns Materials: • long sheet of paper (cut 12 x 18 inch pieces of ...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15 activities to celebrate International Friendship Day • Tuesday 16 July 2019 • International Friendship Day is a time to consider the importance of friends in our lives. Try these 'friendly' classroom activities to understand and celebratethe positive effects of friendships. • Prepare and give small presents, like biscuits or chocolate, tied in bundles of cellophane with bright ribbon. • Make a friendship band. • Make a special 'friendship book' for a good friend, with photos, a drawing, poems or a story about your friendship. • Read and share stories about friends. Discuss things you may do or feel that are similar. • Discuss how we can best be a good friend. How can we make school/home a happier, friendlier place? How do you feel when someone is kind to you? How do you feel when you are kind to someone? • Create a poem titled 'A friend like you', or write an acrostic poem using the word 'FRIENDS'. • Write about what a friend means to you. How do you help each other? What do you do? What makes a friendship special? • In small groups, brainstorm to make a list of what friends do together. Share the lists, combine and create a...

Share on Pinterest Friendship, like sharing and learning how to use a fork, is a skill that kids need to learn. In preschool, they’re discovering what a friend is. In middle school, friendships both deepen and become more challenging. Learning how to get along with others is an essential part of a child’s day-to-day life. As with most things, the best way to teach kids is to make the lesson fun. A vast number of friendship games and activities for preschoolers and middle schoolers can be found online. These are some of our favorites. Share on Pinterest As adults who know how difficult it can be to make friends, the ease with which preschoolers develop friendships is amazing. At this stage, friendship is more about proximity and interests: Who is around me and do they want to play the same thing I am playing? That’s all it takes to make a friend. For example, preschoolers can go to the park for an hour and come home and tell you about the new best friend they made, but whose name they can’t remember. Friendship activities for preschoolers are focused on the building blocks of relationships: knowing someone’s name, seeing that different people can have things in common, and learning that other people have different points of view. 1. The Good Friend List This is a simple, straightforward activity in which children are asked to list what qualities make a good friend. For example, someone who shares toys, someone who doesn’t yell, etc. 2. The Matching Game Every child gets a m...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15 activities to celebrate International Friendship Day • Tuesday 16 July 2019 • International Friendship Day is a time to consider the importance of friends in our lives. Try these 'friendly' classroom activities to understand and celebratethe positive effects of friendships. • Prepare and give small presents, like biscuits or chocolate, tied in bundles of cellophane with bright ribbon. • Make a friendship band. • Make a special 'friendship book' for a good friend, with photos, a drawing, poems or a story about your friendship. • Read and share stories about friends. Discuss things you may do or feel that are similar. • Discuss how we can best be a good friend. How can we make school/home a happier, friendlier place? How do you feel when someone is kind to you? How do you feel when you are kind to someone? • Create a poem titled 'A friend like you', or write an acrostic poem using the word 'FRIENDS'. • Write about what a friend means to you. How do you help each other? What do you do? What makes a friendship special? • In small groups, brainstorm to make a list of what friends do together. Share the lists, combine and create a...

While many preschool students innately learn how to make friends, become friends, and be good friends, it is extremely important for their social growth to have explicit opportunities to practice and learn about friendship. Families with strong social bonds make it easier for children, but those that do not have these bonds tend to struggle and take a little longer to learn these skills. Read below about 26 fun activities you can do to help preschoolers learn and practice friendship. Thanksgiving is a time that many of us utilize to teach thankfulness, but what about friendship? This kit includes fun activities for preschoolers centered around celebrating not only being thankful but thankful for friendship. Use it as a complete class party, or simply restrict your class to just the activities. Learn More: While this particular version is made for Kindergarten, it can easily be tweaked for preschool by changing a few of the options around. It gets kids up and moving as they decide if they like or don't like specific things, and helps them determine who in their classroom has the same preferences! Learn More: Mo Willems is an amazing author who catches the interest of all kids. His characters, Elephant and Piggie teach kids how sharing is an important part of friendship in this adorable and hilarious book. Couple it with this read-aloud activity of friendship ice cream to complete the perfect lesson. Learn More:

Besides helping children connect and gain a sense of belonging, a friendship theme also offers opportunities for them to learn math and language arts concepts. Children that know how to share, take turns, and express their feelings, generally experience success more than those without these basic skills. Read below for ideas to help students learn each other’s names with art, pattern and graph activities, a counting game and a rhyming song. Easy class name book Start a Friendship Theme with a class name book to help students learn each other’s names. Read the book every day for a while to help the students get familiar with all the children’s names. Materials: • 12 x 18-inch piece of paper with the words, ______ is a new friend, printed on or glued on the bottom • photo of each child • markers • crayons Procedure: • Give each child a 12 x 18-inch piece of paper with the words ______ is a new friend, printed on the bottom. • Each child makes one page of the class book • Children draw a picture of themselves • Keep a mirror nearby (not glass) so children can look at their eyes and hair • The child completes the frame sentence by adding their name. • The teacher also makes a page. If the children’s printing is unrecognizable, print it underneath in large printing so the other children will become familiar with it. Staples the pages, read as a group and put in the library for the children to read. Handprint patterns Materials: • long sheet of paper (cut 12 x 18 inch pieces of ...

Friendship and social play skills are key capabilities for young kids to develop in the early years of school—they form the foundation of long-term success in school and in the community. In your inclusive classroom, you’ll probably have students who need some extra support to develop and strengthen these skills. Today’s post gives you some tips and activity ideas you can use to promote friendships and encourage social play among children with and without disabilities. Excerpted and adapted from DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY, Second Edition, by Kathleen Ann Quill & L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, these ideas were developed to build social and communication skills for students with autism, but they’ll also have benefits for a wide range of learners. Give these a try in your classroom, and see which ones are most helpful to your students. Try a greeting game. For this activity, have everyone in the group take a turn going around the circle and saying “Hello.” Every time a peer successfully greets everyone, cheer for the person. After a learner with support needs has watched one or two other people take a turn, have him or her go around the circle greeting peers. Play tag. Start a game of tag with a group. For learners who need some support to join, have them watch the group play for a while and then encourage them to join the game. Prompt them to ask, “Can I play?” and then prompt them to join in. Fade your prompts as the child becomes more independent in joining in the game. Make a gro...