Friendship Flowers Script

Warm-Up: Share One Kind Act (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Welcome, my wonderful friends! I'm so happy to see you all today. Let's start with a quick warm-up. I want each of you to think about one kind thing you did recently, or something kind you saw someone else do. Maybe you shared a toy, helped a friend, or said something nice. You can draw a quick picture or write one word on your whiteboard or paper. We'll share in just a moment."

(Give students about 2 minutes to draw or write.)

Teacher: "Alright, let's go around our circle. When it's your turn, please share your kind act. Everyone else, remember our listening rules: look at the speaker, and think about what they are saying. We want to show our friends we care about their words."

(Facilitate sharing, offering brief positive affirmations after each share.)

Introduction: What Makes a Friendship Bloom? (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Thank you for sharing those lovely acts of kindness! Kindness is such an important part of friendship. Today, we're going to talk about how we can grow our friendships to be strong and happy, just like beautiful flowers!"

(Advance to Friendship Flowers Slide Deck - Slide 2: What Makes a Friendship Bloom?)

Teacher: "Look at this slide. Imagine your friendships are like beautiful flowers. What do real flowers need to grow big and strong? Think about what we do for plants."

(Pause for student responses: water, sun, soil, care.)

Teacher: "Exactly! They need water, sunlight, and lots of care. Well, guess what? Friendships also need special things to grow strong and healthy. What do you think friendships need? What do good friends do for each other?"

(Pause for student responses: sharing, playing, talking, being nice.)

Teacher: "Those are wonderful ideas! We're going to discover some special 'Friendship Petals' that help our friendships bloom. These are like the sunlight and water for our friendships."

(Advance to Friendship Flowers Slide Deck - Slide 3: Friendship Petals: Grow Good Habits!)

Teacher: "Here are some of our special 'Friendship Petals'. We have Sharing, Listening, Kind Words, Helping, and Smiling. Let's quickly talk about each one. What does it mean to share? Why is listening important? How do kind words make someone feel?"

(Briefly discuss each, asking for simple examples if time permits.)

Activity: Friendship Petal Power (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Now for a super fun part! We are going to make our very own 'Friendship Flowers'!"

(Advance to Friendship Flowers Slide Deck - Slide 4: Activity: Friendship Petal Power!)

Teacher: "I have some flower shapes here for each of you. Each petal on your flower is going to be one of those special ways to be a good friend, or another good idea you have! You can write a word, draw a picture, or do both on each petal. Think about the skills we just talked about, like sharing, listening, or saying kind words. What makes a friendship grow stronger for you?"

(Distribute flower shapes and art supplies. Circulate to offer help and encouragement. Remind students to create 3-5 petals for their flower. As students finish, guide them to assemble their flowers using tape or glue.)

Teacher: "Take your time and make your friendship flower beautiful, just like your friendships can be! Once you've decorated your petals, you can attach them to the center of your flower."

Discussion: Sharing and Caring (7 minutes)

Teacher: "Wow, these friendship flowers are amazing! It's time to share our creations and talk about the important skills we chose."

(Advance to Friendship Flowers Slide Deck - Slide 5: Let's Share Our Flowers!)

Teacher: "We're going to go around the circle again. Each of you will get a chance to show your beautiful 'Friendship Flower' and tell us about at least one social skill you put on a petal. Please explain why that skill is important for friendship. Remember to listen carefully to your friends."

(Facilitate sharing. Encourage students to elaborate and ask gentle follow-up questions from the Sharing and Caring Discussion material.)

Teacher: "What great ideas! It's clear you all know many wonderful ways to be a good friend."

Cool Down: One Seed of Kindness (3 minutes)

Teacher: "Our time together is almost done, but our friendship learning continues every day!"

(Advance to Friendship Flowers Slide Deck - Slide 6: Keep Your Friendship Garden Growing!)

Teacher: "Every time you use a friendship skill, you're like a gardener watering your friendship garden, helping it grow. Before we finish, I want you to think of one specific social skill from today that you will try to practice before we meet again. Maybe it's sharing your crayons, listening carefully to your teacher, or giving someone a compliment. You can whisper it to me, or draw a quick picture of it on your whiteboard."

(Give students a moment to think and respond individually.)

Teacher: "Excellent! I know you all have wonderful hearts and can make your friendships truly blossom. Thank you for being such thoughtful and kind friends today! See you next time!"

Sharing and Caring Discussion

Objective

To encourage students to articulate the importance of various social skills in building and maintaining friendships, and to practice active listening.

Facilitation Guidelines

• Create a Safe Space: Remind students that this is a supportive group where everyone's ideas are valued. Encourage respectful listening.
• Active Listening: Reinforce looking at the speaker and thinking about what they are saying.
• Encourage Elaboration: Use follow-up questions to help students expand on their ideas.
• Positive Reinforcement: Praise students for sharing their thoughts and for listening respectfully.

Discussion Prompts and Questions

Part 1: Sharing Our Friendship Flowers (During the activity)

(As students are assembling their Friendship Petal Activity and before the main sharing, you can circulate and use these questions to engage individuals or small groups.)

1. "Tell me about the special skills you chose for your flower. Which one was the first you thought of?"
2. "Why did you choose to put [Specific Skill, e.g., sharing] on your flower? How does that help a friendship?"
3. "Can you think of a time when you saw someone use this skill? What happened?"
4. "If a flower needs water and sun, what does this petal give to a friendship?"

Part 2: Group Sharing and Deeper Understanding (After activity, as a whole group)

(When students present their completed Friendship Flowers to the group.)

1. "Who would like to share their Friendship Flower first? Please show us your beautiful creation!"
2. "What is one important social skill you included on your flower? Can you tell us why you think it makes a friendship grow stronger?"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. "Does anyone else have that same skill on their flower? What makes it so important?"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. "Can anyone think of a time when not using a social skill, like not listening, made a friendship a little difficult? What happened? (Emphasize that it's okay, we all learn!)"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. "How can we remember to use these skills even when we feel a little frustrated or shy?"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. "Looking at all our amazing flowers, what new idea did you hear from a friend that you might want to try?"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Friendship Petal Power!

Objective

To creatively identify and represent key social skills that help friendships grow.

Materials Needed

• Pre-cut flower shapes (one center, 5-7 petals per student) or paper for drawing
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
• Glue stick or tape

Instructions

1. Get Your Flower Parts! You will receive a flower center and some petals. If you don't have pre-cut shapes, you can draw your own flower parts!

2. Brainstorm Friendship Skills! Think about all the ways we can be good friends and help our friendships grow. Remember what we talked about:

   • Sharing
   • Listening
   • Saying Kind Words
   • Helping Others
   • Taking Turns
   • Smiling

3. Decorate Your Petals! On each petal, choose one special friendship skill. You can:

   • Draw a picture of what that skill looks like (e.g., two friends sharing a toy for "Sharing").
   • Write the word for the skill (e.g., "Kindness").
   • You can even do both! Make each petal unique!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

4. Assemble Your Flower! Once you have decorated all your petals, use the glue or tape to attach them around the center of your flower. Make sure they are secure!

5. Prepare to Share! We will soon share our amazing Friendship Flowers with the group. Think about which skill on your flower you want to talk about the most, and why it's so important for being a good friend.

Kindness Cool Down: One Seed of Kindness

Objective

To encourage individual reflection and commitment to practicing a specific social skill learned during the lesson.

Instructions

1. Reflect: Think about all the wonderful social skills we discussed today – sharing, listening, kind words, helping, and smiling. Which one feels most important to you right now?
   
   
   
   
2. Choose One Skill: Pick just one social skill that you will try to practice either today, tomorrow, or sometime very soon before our next group meeting. It's like planting one tiny seed of kindness!
   
   
   
   
3. Quiet Promise: You can whisper your chosen skill to your teacher, or quickly draw a picture of yourself using that skill on your paper or whiteboard. This is your personal promise to help your friendship garden grow!