Friendship Skills & How to Make Friends

When I asked the children what we need to do to make friends, Matthew remembered how I end every yoga class:  Kind hearts, kind words, kind thoughts.  We put our hands over our hearts, mouths, and heads.  To explore more, we watched this 2 minute video on friendship skills.  What happened?  The friends found a way to share, and solve their problems by talking about their feelings.  But HOW were they able to do that?

Where were their eyes doing?   Were they closed?  Opened?  Looking at the other person.

What sorts of things were they saying?  That hurts me,  you can use it after me.

How did they know what to say?  Because they heard it.

The children working hard on their cards

Damon: Hey it flies like wings !

Allye:  It's just like my smile see !

Lunchtime fun: We are Friends !!

Elaine:  I like to smile; Please see me; I feel happy; Friends need to hear me

Eva: If you smile I will want to play with you; it is important to  look because they think you are nice; It is important to listen so your friends an talk to you;  This might make you  fee happy.

Matthew: It is important to smile because you want to make friends; You need to look at them or they will feel sad; You can play if they say you can so you have to hear; You need to look at them or they will fell sad; I feel happy when I get to play with my friends.

Zoe:  it is important to smile because it is kind; It is important to look so you can talk to them; When I am making friends it is important to hear music; It feels like I wan to play.

Nico: Because if you moosh you face I will not want to play with you; If you do not look at them they will be sad; You must listen because I call my friends and my moony to come play with me.  This make me feel happy.

Allye:  It is important to smile because it makes everyone happy; If you don't look at people then they will say no I don't want to talk;  it is important or listen because it makes people happy and makes children laugh and play.

On Thursday the children finished their friendship cards, and had some time to play with the train board and the friendship puzzles.  While Matthew and Allye were able to name each friend they had some trouble reading the names.  Allye came up with the idea that they could look at the cubbies !  So they matched the names and faces on the cubbies with the names and faces on the train - brilliant problem solving!