Circles of Friends #1 - How does friendship work?

This week the Water group began to explore the concept - function of friendship.

I asked the children how does friendship work? Most of them had a puzzled look. To help them process this idea, we brainstormed together. Below are some of their thoughts:



Andrew: Friends sing together because it makes them feel good.
Mila: Sometimes friends cry together.
Pippa: Friends swing together.
Natalya: Friends help each other because it's caring.
Peter: Friends play together because they can have fun together.

They agreed that friends sing, play together and help each other. Everyone said they feel happy when they are with their friends but Aiden mentioned that sometimes he gets mad at his friends or his friends get mad at him. To help the children understand this idea, I read the book Matthew and Tilly by Rebecca C. Jones to them. When I finished reading, the group was silent with serious expressions on their faces. Below is our dialogue:

Natalya: They said 'sorry' to each other and they're friends again.
Aiden: Yeah! They were mad then they said sorry and then they're friends again.
Mary: Is it okay for friends to be angry at each other?
Enxin: Yes, it's okay. They just need to be by themselves and then say sorry and play together again.

We expressed our thoughts of a friend through poetry.