A friendship Recipe
We talk to children on daily basis about making friends and being a good friend, but what does that even mean? What is a friend and how do we build, nurture and maintain friendships?
This life skill is our main focus this month in our ‘Mindful kids’ resilience program.
Among the issues young people face, making friends is one of the most important to them. Young people who have more friends tend to do better in school, have higher grades, and participate in more extracurricular activities.
We refer to “friends” in our resilience program as peers. You will hear it in the context of “Are you being kind to your friends?” “Are you using gentle hands with your friends” ” Friends; it’s time to sit on the mat for group learning” etc.
The acronym for friends
In our ‘Mindful” Kids resilience program positive social development offers coping skills and valuable strategies for managing fear, worry, stress and sadness. Friends stands for;
F= FEELINGS– My body gives me clues to help me know how I’m feeling. I can recognise that I’m feeling worried because my palms are sweaty, I feel nervous because I have butterfly’s in my stomach, I’m scared because my heart is beating fast. It’s my body alarm telling me to do something to calm down. All feelings are ok, but its what i do with them that matters.
R =REMEMBER TO RELAX– I can choose to relax with yoga and meditation or intentional breath work.
I = I CAN TRY– I can give it a go. It doesn’t matter if I make a mistake, that’s how I learn.
E = ENCOUARGE – I can learn new things that are difficult for me by taking bite size steps towards my goal. I can feel proud of myself with each new step I achieve.
N = NURTURE– There are many special people in my life to offer support. My family, friends and teachers can help me learn and try new things.
D =DON’T FORGET TO PRACTICE– I can practice being brave and confident about all sorts of things. I can practice tensing my muscles and relaxing them, being kind, being a good friend and making good choices.
S = SMILE! STAY CALM– I can stay calm and happy because I can breathe to help me calm down and focus on the environment around me.
What is a friend?
Before we can speak to a child in abstract, we must first teach in concrete. What does that sound like?
“Be a good friend” is speaking in abstract.
Concrete teaching sounds like this…”A friend is a person who;
- Talks to each other;
- Spends time together;
- Helps each other when they are in trouble or hurt;
- Admires their friends skills; and
- Encourages them to make the right choices.”
Teaching at the foundation level before building upon that knowledge until it’s consolidated into ” be a good friend”
How to teach friendship building skills
- Play a greeting game with the children.
- Play a game of tag.
- Have children co-author a story.
- Give them a puzzle to work on together.
- Partner them together on a scavenger hunt.
- Build skills together with building blocks.
Classroom Friendship Recipe
The classroom recipe is our guideline that we refer to when our friends aren’t making good choices.
Click on the link below to print out any of our printable’s.
https://www.brightkidscentre.com.au/printables/
Tips to maintaining a good friendship
- The first step is actually valuing the friendship. Friendship is a two way street.
- The Importance of Empathy. Empathy is the most valuable asset of a positive relationship.
- Being There for friends when it really matters. It’s the art of developing positive relationships.
- Having a good sense of humor. Knowing when to have a good laugh and take a joke.
- Being a good confidant. Trust is the staple to all long term relationships.
- Be Loyal. When it comes to building positive long-lasting relationships, loyalty and honesty are the holy grail.
It is sometimes difficult to know which comes first: the involvement in the activities or the friends. Either way, it is beneficial for kids to be involved in extra-curricular activities and other areas of interest to meet like-minded children and develop relationships.
That’s all from Mr John and the Snakes (Jomgwongs) children, until next year.
May you all have a safe and happy Christmas.
Also please follow our Facebook and Instagram Pages and stay up to date
