What is a Friend?
"A friend is a person to help you when you have a problem. " ~AG
Friends play together and don't fight over what they want. Keithen wants to play with these dinosaurs and I want to, so we share them, we take turns. ~AG
Children's relationships in a classroom with one another are in a constant state of change. They shift and grow in complexity as connections and experiences continue to unfold. As children are "in the moment", friendships can shift within every moment, from feeling exciting, joyful, frustrating, confusing, or uncertain.
As a way of supporting the meaning that the children are making of their experiences, we support children to reflect on how they are feeling in these moments. This offers children the opportunity to share their perspectives with one another in real time. We also offer more formal invitations to the whole class, such as, researching the question, What is a Friend? Their thinking is made visible through community dialogues and individual reflection as they draw and paint their response to the question.
One person pushed and the other fell down. She helped her up and then she hugged her. ~RM
A friend is somebody who you love. A friend is someone who cares. A friend is someone who shares.
A friend is someone who pretends to touch each other and pretends to eat each other. I was a Dromaeosaurus and I was trying to eat them and they were too fast for me! ~KF
This is me giving love. Friendship is love and getting hugs from each other. Sometimes children get love from each other and boys get love from each other and kitty cats get love from each other but sometimes they scratch people. ~SE
Friends dream together and play together and care together. We live in a castle and we’re dreaming. Me and Sabatino are dreaming about love. Keithen is dreaming about all of us going to see Lily. Alijah is dreaming about going to see the dinosaurs. ~IH
This is me smiling at my friend and they smile back. ~SS
SM's Image of "friends"
TC's Image of "Friends"
Friends play together and take care of each other. We're playing starwars and we're all holding hands. ~LB
I'm going to make a flower for my sisters, and they're going to say, "We love that flower."
~MT
These friends are thinking of each other and holding hands. ~SS
This is all of us, my friends, we're blasting off! ~SP
Below is an excerpt from the dialogue, where children reflected together on the question, "What is a Friend?" Following the dialogue, some children chose to draw, paint, or demonstrate their ideas through play.
A friend is a person to help you when you have a problem. ~AG
A friend is someone you love. ~SS
My mommy and daddy let me play all day without a nap. They’re my friends. ~SP
My sisters are my friends. ~MT
My brother is play with me always all day. ~TC
Pets can be friends. ~IH
Colorland is our friend. And the SUN is our friend! ~TC
A friend is, like to keep you company. Friends like to play together. ~LB
A friend is usually someone that comes over to your house. ~OA
A tree can be your friend, like Lily (tree) is our friend. Because we go to visit them just like Zoom! ~SS
LG and EB chose to research what friends look like by playing together in the blocks. As they worked to create spaceships for turtle and blue jay, they combined their ideas. Other friends came to join and were included in their play.
