Friends Have Feelings

What We Are Learning

relationship skills, emotions

critical thinking

tracing

counting

In The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld, a child is sad because their block tower has fallen. The moral of the story? Everyone feels better in their own way, and that’s OK! text pairing

SEL: Feelings Charades

Materials: none

Give children practice reading emotions through words and body language.
Have children take turns acting out an emotion. Encourage them to use their words and bodies. For example, they could squint their eyes, cross their arms, and growl to show anger. (Tell them not to say the emotion out loud) Then the class gets to guess! Keep going until each child gets a chance to act out an emotion. relationship skills/emotions

SEL: A Friendly Invitation

Materials: Hula-Hoops

This simple activity can be quite impactful!
Place Hula-Hoops on the floor or make circles using rope. Have a child stand in a circle and ask someone to join them using phrases like, “Please come play with me” or “Would you like to join me?” Children can take turns inviting and being the invitee.
When you’re done, ask how it felt to be invited. Talk about ways to include friends at school. relationship skills

Materials: construction paper, scissors, markers, bag

This activity goes hand in hand with the “Can You Be a Good Friend?” video, which you can find in our online archive.
In advance, cut hearts out of construction paper. Decorate so each has an identical match. Put the hearts in a bag.
Gather children on the rug, and watch the video. Ask, “What are some ways to be a good friend?” It can be things they heard in the video or other ideas they have. Record their answers on chart paper.
Have each child take a heart out of the bag. Then have them sit with the child who has the heart that matches theirs. Each child can share about a time when their partner or someone else was a good friend to them. Then put all the hearts back in the bag and do it again. relationship skills/matching