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In this post I’m sharing a friendship activity my kids and I did to discuss how to be a friend to others.
We started by reading the book How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them
The kids enjoyed the book, and on the whole I thought it was very well done.
The book talked about who can be a friend, ways to be a friend, and making up with a friend when you have argued with them. It also discussed ways to NOT be a friend, such as calling names, teasing, and not sharing.
Although a few of the examples were more appropriate for school age kids than my preschool age kids, this did not take away from the book’s value. My kids really enjoyed it, especially when we talked about ways to NOT be a friend. They got a real kick out of discussing the mean things others sometimes do. 🙂
After reading the book, we did a paper doll activity. Talk about nostalgia for my childhood!!
To prepare the paper doll, I (1) started with a half sheet of paper. (2) Then I folded it in half. (3) Then I folded it in half again. (4) I unfolded it so I could see where the creases were. (5) Then I refolded it along the lines, but this time in an accordion fashion. (6) Finally, I drew an outline of a person on one side of the paper, taking care that the arms and legs both went all the way to the side of the paper.
I assisted the kids to cut along the lines to make their paper dolls.
Unfortunately, my son ended up cutting off one arm of his dolls.
He was upset about it at first, but then he remembered a friend of his that was born with no arms and decided that these dolls were just like his friend.
Once the kids cut out their dolls, we opened them up to make the paper doll chain, or for our purposes, a group of friends holding hands.
Although my son cut off an arm, he left the legs intact so his dolls were still able to link together.
Finally, the kids and I discussed ways to be a friend that we head read about in the book. I asked them to give me ideas, and I wrote their ideas down on each of their dolls.
As you can see, my kids had some pretty good ideas for how to be a friend!
More literacy resources
More literature studies from Gift of Curiosity:
- Color Zoo book study
- Mouse Paint book study
- Jump, Frog, Jump! book study
- Activities inspired by The Lorax
- Activity inspired by The Teddy Bear’s Picnic
- Activity inspired by Sail Away
For more activities that go with books, see my Connections to Literature page and my Activities that Go with Books Pinterest board.
I love the idea–and precious of your son to remember his friend and keep his “dolls” like him!
–Gena
This is a great idea and great conversation starter. I am pinning for my all about me unit!
cute idea. I like the exercise of thinking about what would make a friend happy. This would be a great activity for a unit on cooperation. Thanks for sharing this idea!
Thanks! I love the idea of using it for a unit on cooperation.
What a fun idea to go with the book! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
The idea of making paper dolls for this purpose is great! I like it very much! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been looking at your site and find it to be a great resource. Thank you for sharing your ideas. Even after 30 years working with children you’ve showed me new ways to present concepts to the children. Thank you so very much!!!
This is a cute idea for young kids. I love pairing reading with projects. Thanks for sharing your ideas on teaching kids how to make friends and be a good friend.