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Article Post
Jul 30 2022
International Friendship Day: Activities to help your students celebrate in 2022
Friends are a key part of every child’s school and family life; and, with friendship having been proven to be good for your health—maybe even helping us to live longer—International Friendship Day is a fantastic chance to spend time with, get to know, and celebrate our friends!
But what’s the best way to mark this day? Let’s find out with these fun-filled friendship activities…
Create a friendship promise poster!
With positive friendships having such a major place in children’s lives, it is important that children are good friends to each other and understand what makes a great friend. And, as so many of our children’s first friendships come from within their family circles, where better to start?
Why not use this fantastic resource from DK’s I Am, I Can: 365 Affirmations for Kids to get students to think about the sort of friend they want to be? Using it as inspiration, children can create their very own friendship promise poster, detailing how they will be a great friend this International Friendship Day!
Make friendship bands!
As well as exploring what makes a great friend, International Friendship Day is the perfect time for children to get together in groups for arts and crafts—such as making friendship bands for each other.
A simple and easy-to-make token of friendship, children can make friendship bands for others in their class, for themselves or for family members. With just some twine or thick thread, and these easy instructions from I Am, I Can, children can craft bright and colorful keepsakes for their friends in three simple steps!
Write a friendship journal
How about helping children understand the importance of friendship by creating a friendship journal? With some plain or lined paper, ask children to create a colorful front cover with their name on and what type of friend they want to be, and then ask them to think and write about what makes each of their classmates special. Giving children a chance to look at each friendship journal is a great opportunity for them to learn just how special they are!
Build your perfect friend
What do you need to be a perfect friend? A question that is sure to get children talking this International Friendship Day!
Ask students to draw their ‘perfect friend’ before labeling what makes their friend so perfect! Using this amazing resource from DK’s How to Make a Better World as a starting point, children can begin to think about the characteristics of a great friend, and what makes the friends they have so great! For an extension activity, why not ask children to complete this activity in groups, or even present their final ‘perfect friend’ to the rest of the group?
And, after you’ve created so many wonderful posters, journals, and friendship bands, why not finish the day with an International Friendship Day quiz? Gather facts about all the children in the class, and ask them to match up each fact to their classmate! This is a great way for children (and teachers!) to get to know each other, and provides a fun-filled finale to your International Friendship Day!
Jonny Kay is Head of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at a college in North East England. He has previously worked as Head of English and Math in FE and as an English teacher and Head of English in secondary schools. He tweets @jonnykayteacher and his book, Improving Maths and English in Further Education: A Practical Guide, is available now.
