We all want our children to have good friends, that treat our kids kindly, and build them up. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. This is a fun activity to help our kids understand what a great friend is like, and to be able to share that with their friends.
Isa had a ‘friend’ who teased her at school but was nice to her outside of school. We often talked about the strategies she was using to manage this situation. One of her responses is to always be kind. Kind and firm. To stand-up to, or simply to walk away from the teasing. Most of the time, she simply walked away.
We talked about just keep being nice, modelling how we would like this friend to respond us.
Last night, I offered Isa this Friendship Frame activity to do while we were putting the twins to bed. When I came back, she shared two stories with me. The first, was that her friend was now being nice to her at school, including her again and not teasing. She said she was proud of how she had responded and thought that what she had done, had helped the friend reconnect. A proud Mummy moment.
The second thing she shared, was that she misses one of her friends that moved school. So, she had written her a letter to let her know she misses her and invite her for a play. We're sending her the letter in the post, just for some extra fun. Who doesn't love receiving something in the mail!!
The third things she had done was start a picture for her best friend. She would like us to spend some time making it really bright - that's how a great friend makes her feel. That will be tonight's activity.
The activity evoked such rich conversation. If you haven't already, register for our freebies and you can download this activity to do with your kids.
Once they complete the frame they can hang it on the wall in their room, if they are having troubles with friends, it can be used as a tool to have the conversation about what a good friend is like, and to help them come-up with ways they might overcome their troubles.
We hope you enjoy the activities, and the conversations that come with it! We’d love to hear how you go, so please share on insta or facebook @kidswhoshine or email me sarah@kidswhoshine.com