Buddy Bench

At our Peace Pole celebration in 2015, Houghton Elementary introduced their very own Buddy Bench to our children and parents. Six fourth grade students helped children understand how to use the Buddy Bench by acting out two short skits during this celebration. The idea of the Buddy Bench was originally suggested by Mrs. Stoever, one of our second grade teachers at the time, who had heard about Buddy Benches on the news. Our Buddy Bench was placed in a central location at recess and is pictured below:

In short, the Buddy Bench is a simple idea to prevent loneliness and foster friendship at recess. The Buddy Bench is a tool that children can use when they are feeling lonely or bored at recess. By sitting on this bench, a child can let other children and teachers know that they would like to find someone to play with or something to do. Other children will have the opportunity to demonstrate kindness by asking this child to play.

The idea of the Buddy Bench began in Germany and was brought to the United States by a second grade student named Christian who went to school at Roundtown Elementary School in York, PA. He brought up the idea to his principal who was able to make this idea a reality in 2013. Since this time, Buddy Benches have become popular and are now on playgrounds throughout the United States. We are lucky enough to have one of our very own that was graciously purchased by our wonderful PTO.