Having New Friends and More Than One

 First grade is the year of everyone is friends, but you start to create your "close" friendships. There is nothing wrong with that.  But, this causes drama...and a lot of it.

The amount of parent emails I get throughout the school year of students not playing with other students. It is crazy.  I tell the students that we can be everyone's friends. We don't just have to have one friend.  So before I get all of these emails.  I am going to try to stop it before it happens.  

First, I ask do we need to add anything to our "How to Be a Good Friend Chart"? I gave them time and wrote down what they said. Today someone said, "If someone is lonely, ask them to play".  It was perfect timing because it goes along with my read aloud. 

After writing down their ideas, I read the book "You Will Be My Friend!" By: Peter Brown. It is about a bear that trys to make a new friend. She goes through the forest looking for a friend. She finds one at the end, but has troubles finding a new friend along way.  

We have a classroom discussion about the story.  Then I we talk about how it might happen at our recess.  We don't have to play with the same people every recess.  There are more people to the is school.  So if someone doesn't want to play with you, find someone else.  That doesn't mean that the person isn't going to play with you ever again.  It is okay to play with other people. 

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Extension: We play! But I put them into groups of people I think they don't always play with. This will get them to talk to other people in the classroom.  This will build community within the classroom.  

**TEACHERS DON'T SIT YOUR DESK DURING THIS. PLAY WITH THEM!! Build you relationships during this time!