A good friend shows that they care about you by their words, thoughts and the way they act. It is important to learn what things make a healthy friendship and what things make an unhealthy friendship. Being a great friend to someone and having a friend who is caring and kind to you, makes you feel happy and good about yourself.

What is a Friend?

Listen to the book, A Friend is Someone Who.... Did you hear the different qualities and characteristics that good friends have? Can you think of any others that weren't mentioned in the book?

You can listen to the book anytime, to help you with the activities below.

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PDe-3: Communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others

Click the image to download the activity sheet. Trace the words that make a good friendship and write one of your own. Ask a teacher/parent or adult to help you. You could also click here to make your own Healthy Friendship Flower, to help remind you of the things you need, to make healthy friendships grow!

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PDe-3 communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others

Growing Healthy Friendship Flowers

Watch the video on What Makes a Good Friend. Listen carefully to the different friendship qualities mentioned in the song. Can you think of any others?

If friendships were flowers, what would you need to add to the soil to make the plants grow and flower? With your teacher, parent or trusted adult, identify what needs to go into the soil (these would be the things you heard in the song, What Makes a Good Friend,) for example, 'A good friend shares' so you would need to add 'share' to the soil. 'Good friends take turns' so you would need to add 'take turns' to the soil, and so on. Remember at the end of adding things to the soil, you will need to water it with 'kindness' because all healthy friendships grow with kindness.

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PDe-3 communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others
PDe-2 identifies people and demonstrates protective strategies that help keep themselves healthy, resilient and safe

Sourced and adapted from the Region of Peel: Healthy Sexuality Program - Changes In Me: A Puberty and Adolescent Development Resource for Educators Junior Grade Level, Second Edition

https://www.peelregion.ca/health/commhlth/bodyimg/changes-in-me/lessons/pdf/LessonSeven.pdf

Healthy Friendship Traffic Lights

The things friends do and say to each other give us clues as to whether the friendship is healthy or unhealthy. Just like the colours of traffic lights tell us whether it is safe to go, or if we should slow down or stop, these rules can apply to the behaviours of our friends and also our own behaviour in a friendship.

Click on the image to download the activity sheet. Colour and cut out the traffic lights and tape them to some pop-sticks or paper straws to make a set of traffic lights. You can also make a different traffic light, like the one on this video.

Now watch the video and listen to the different stories about friendships.

If it is an unhealthy/bad sign in a friendship, hold up the red traffic light.
If it is a warning sign in a friendship, hold up the orange traffic light.
If it is a good/healthy sign in a friendship, hold up the green traffic light.

It's important to know what things make a healthy friendship and what things make an unhealthy friendship. It's also important to be aware of things that might be the start of an unhealthy friendship.

LINKS TO THE CURRICULUM:

PDe-3 communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others
PDe-10 uses interpersonal skills to effectively interact with others
PDe-2 identifies people and demonstrates protective strategies that help keep themselves healthy, resilient and safe

Using Skills to Build Healthy Friendships

Jimmy and Keisha are friends but sometimes they do things that good friends shouldn't do to each other. Watch this video to see how they solve their problems. What were some of Jimmy and Keisha's emotions (that means the things they were feeling)? Have you ever felt some of these emotions/feelings too?

Watch the video, What is a Good Friend? Listen to the different things that make a healthy friendship. Choose a friend and role-play some of Jimmy and Keisha's problems and the way they solved them. Think of some other problems that can sometimes happen with friends and work out where where you need to use friendship skills to solve them.

Same, Same!

A game about finding friends with things in common!

The group/class/family sits on the ground. One person stands in front of the group and shares a fact about themselves, or a good friendship quality they possess, eg, I’m a good listener, I take turns, I’m a good sharer, I say sorry or my favourite food is chocolate, I like to sleep in, etc. After each statement, anyone who also shares that favourite thing/friendship quality stands up and yells, “SAME, SAME!” The first person who jumps up, goes to the front to have a turn sharing something about themselves.

Sourced and adapted from: https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/friendship-activities#Preschool-Friendship-Activities

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PDe-10 uses interpersonal skills to effectively interact with others
PDe-1 identifies who they are and how people grow and change

Friendship Jigsaw

Friendships are like jigsaws. When the the pieces fit together without being forced or pushed, and they are flat and smooth and look right, it is a healthy friendship. On the other hand, when the pieces don't fit together with ease, and they look bumpy and uneven, and they don't make the right picture, then it might be an unhealthy friendship.

Click on the image to download a template of a puzzle piece. Decorate it with your name in the centre. Write the characteristics/qualities that make you a good friend. The puzzle pieces can then be displayed by joining them together to creating a class/family friendship puzzle.

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PDe-1 identifies who they are and how people grow and change

Friendship Chatterbox

Just for fun! Click on the image to download the template of the friendship chatterbox. Cut and fold the Friendship Chatterbox. Share some things about yourself and your friend by following the instructions and/or answering the questions on the Chatterbox.

* You may need an older friend, teacher or trusted adult to help you with this activity.

LINKS TO THE CURRICULUM:

PDe-1: Identifies who they are and how people grow and change
PDe-3: Communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH OUTCOME:

PDe3: Communicates ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others

Jesus Was a Good Friend

There are many stories in the bible that tell us about the different people with whom Jesus became friends. He had his very close group of friends, the disciples, and he had other good friends too. He also made friends with people who were not liked by the community because they were sick, they were from a different town or had a different religion, or they had made some bad choices that hurt and upset others.

Jesus was a good friend and showed us what a good friend should be like. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Click on the image to download the activity sheet. Using the activity sheet, look at the pictures and ask someone to read to you, the sentences underneath. Put a circle around each picture if you do the same things with your friends, as Jesus did with his.