Make a Buddy Bench

Activity Overview

Help your student create an area in the home where family members can go to practice peaceful problem-solving. Making the Buddy Bench is a way to signal to all family members that there is a neutral, safe place where everything else is left behind and caring for our feelings is the only purpose.

What You Need

• Bench or chair in a quiet area of the house or backyard

• Materials to make it special and cozy – pillows, fabrics, student artwork, signs

Steps

1. Share with your student that you are going to work together to create a safe space where we can solve problems when they happen.

2. When we are in this space, we practice deep listening, we share our feelings and show patience with each other’s words and thoughts.

3. Model how to communicate at the buddy bench with your student. Feel free to role play a variety of emotional states. Use the peace talk to frame your practice with productive communication.

Guiding Questions

• How does it make you feel when people use kind words with you?

• How can we use kind words with our friends or family?

• What is a compliment? How can we give compliments?

• What are some questions we can ask to know how someone is feeling?

• What can you do to help a buddy feel good?