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10 Fun Friendship Activities for Youth Leaders and Students in the Classroom

10 Fun Friendship Activities for Youth Leaders and Students in the Classroom

Friendship and social connections are important to everyone throughout their life span. As a youth leaders and role models we can help nurture the importance of friendship in their children and students. Youth leaders can play an important role as peer mentors in helping younger students navigate friendships and social situations to make and maintain friendships that may last a lifetime.

To honour Friendship Day in July, we can encourage students of all ages to reflect on what friendship means, what being a friend means to them, and what qualities are valued in a friendship. Here are some friendship activities for youth leaders and teachers to increase awareness in students about their friendships.

Friendship Activities for Students

1. Friendship Awards Ceremony

Celebrate kindness and generosity by holding a friendship awards ceremony where kids recognize each other’s friendship acts. Hand out certificates or ribbons.

2. Keep a Friendship Journal

Encourage children to keep a friendship journal of positive things that friends have done for them and also that they have done for others. This fosters a habit of reflection and positive behaviour.

Friendship activities

3. Friendship Theater

Allow kids to show their creative side by holding a time for performances of short skits or plays where they showcase behaviours of friendship that are positive. This is a fun way for kids to act out what it means to them to be a good friend.

4. Board Games

Board games offer an enjoyable way for kids to have fun and grow a bond. This is an entertaining environment where they can laugh, discuss strategize together, and have fun while doing it.

5. Compliment Circle

A compliment circle helps to reinforce positive interactions and helps with self-esteem. Gather in a circle and provide genuine compliments to each other.

6. Decorate Friendship Rocks or Kindness Rocks

Decorate small, smooth rocks with different friendship qualities. The kids can exchange them as reminders of what a good friend is and it can be a token of their friendship.

7. Random Acts of Kindness Challenge

Ask that kids perform random acts of kindness for their peers. Provide a list of kind deeds they can choose from, such as writing anonymous notes of encouragement or helping a friend with a task. After this is done, they can talk about how these acts of kindness made them feel and how it impacted their friendships

8. Compliment Collage

Provide the materials for students and youth to create a collage of compliments. Using magazines, scissors, glue, and large sheets of paper, ask kids to find words or images that represent compliments or positive qualities and add them to their collage.

9. Friendship Time Capsule

Have kids bring small items or notes that represent what they like and what their personality is like. These can include drawings, favorite quotes, or small trinkets. Seal the items in a container and set a date in the future (e.g., six months or a year) for the group to open the time capsule together, to see how they’ve grown as friends and how things have changed for the better (hopefully).

10. Friendship Recipe

Have kids work together to create “friendship recipes” together. Each child has to include one ingredient and state why it’s important to build strong friendships. Create a poster or book with all of these ingredients to serve as a reminder of the key elements of friendship.

Youth and Friendship Activities

Building friendships requires care and patience, just like planting seeds in a garden. Teach kids to be kind and open and genuine and friendships will grow and bloom, just like a flower that is nurtured.

Let students know that everyone is unique, different, and special in their own way. Embrace the differences and cherish the moments that are shared together. Good friends are hard to find and being a good friend requires work – but it’s worth it!

For more inspiration on creating friendships and making a difference in the world, check out the 365give.ca website and sign up for a program today. Or check out the following blogs for more inspiration:

Everything You Need to Know about Celebrating International Friendship Day

25 Inspiring Social Media Friendship Quotes for International Friendship Day

 

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I am a mom of 2 amazing teenage boys, I work in the healthcare field in Human Resources. I love spending time with my partner, Tim and our kids. I enjoy reading, going for walks, spending time at the beach and hanging out by the fire pit delighting in bonfires in the summer months and going for long country drives, stopping to grab an ice creram somewhere along the way. My passion in life is to help others and be the change we want to see in the world and hence why I am a part of the 365give.ca team and movement.

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