IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Today we had an engaging discussion on how to keep the close community in our classroom instead of it going sour (ex. arguments, friends getting hurt feelings, etc.). Heaven suggested we make a sign that shows what “friends” look like and what “friends” do not look like. Malachi suggested we have a meeting at the end of the day focusing on how we were friends that day. Then Makayla talked about how we need to make people happy so we are happy inside. The children all agreed and were already discussing how they do that for their friends. Maggie explained that that was the Golden Rule which was a beautiful connection.

So at the end of the day we had a Friendship Meeting where the children celebrated when and who they saw being good friends within our classroom community. You should have seen the smiles on our friends faces when other people noticed how they were being good friends to each other.

The last thing we did was we made a list of things\traits that friends have or show: some of the ideas were:

Friends-help, share, are fair, are nice, care for their friends…

We will continue to explore this idea and continue to celebrate the friends in our class being great friends!

Oh, and we also learned a song that some of my friends learned last year-F-R-I-E-N-D, F-R-I-E-N-D, F-R-I-E-N-D, that’s what friends are for.

What I strive to do each day is to provide a safe and supportive environment for each child in our class. By us focusing on friendship on occasion, and making the children conscious of their choices in a supportive manner,I feel that the community will continue to strengthen. I believe in each child in this class, and each child brings something so vital to the community. Through this exploration of what friendship is, we are focusing on the children thinking about how they are treating each other and really highlighting those beautiful interactions they are having each day.

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