Build Relationships
Dear Subscribers:
If you have limited time to read through the entire blog, here are a few play-based activities focusing on activities to support your child’s growth in developing relationship skills. Practicing good manners and being kind and polite or showing feelings of empathy, appreciation and thankfulness — these are the foundations of building strong relationships in the home and at school.
1. Read and Sing together 📚
Click on the links below to read and sing about relationships and manners:
- Thank-you, Mr Falker (18: 17 mins.)by Patricia Polacco, now a beloved children’s author, but once, she was a little girl named Trisha starting school who could paint and draw beautifully, but found words to be a jumble on a page. A very special teacher, Mr. Falker recognized Trisha’s dyslexia and supported her to overcome her reading disability. This is a real-life, classic story teaching compassion for a dyslexic girl and appreciation for the teacher who would not let her fail.
- Thanks a Ton! by Sabrina Moyle. This is a story about gratitude and shows kids many different ways to express thankfulness.
- Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins. (4:09 mins.)Who knew that cakes were so rude? In this deliciously entertaining book, a not-so-sweet cake—who never says please or thank you or listens to its parents—gets its just desserts. Mixing hilarious text and pictures, this laugh-out-loud story can also be served up as a delectable discussion starter about manners or bullying, as it sweetly reminds us that even the rudest cake can change its ways. This story illustrates the importance of being kind and considerate if we want to make friends.
- Good Manners Song (22:09 mins.)
- Use your manners (2:21 mins.)
2. Create together: Puzzles, Crafts, Singing, Drawing and Constructing 🧩
- Click here to watch the story Kindness is a Kite String by Michelle Schaub (3:56 mins.) then complete some writing and drawing activities in this booklet.
3. Explore together 🌍
- Looking for an inclusive cooperative version of tag that focuses on helping each other out? Kids will enjoy playing Magic Wand Tag
- As we support children to become more mindful of their behaviours and in touch with their feelings and as we support them to gain more self-control, consider this drawing and cutting activity to manage and promote their Self-Control or to exert more control over their Anger or together make a Calm Down Jar.
4. Engage and Interact: 👭
- Encourage children to enjoy the outdoors with friends on a Gratitude Amble or support them to make a Gratitude Flower to give to their friend. Both ideas are included in these 13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises and Activities. What a positive way to support children as they learn how to build and deepen relationships and friendships.
5. Reflect: Thoughts of the Day – Gratitude and Building Relationships — are expressed through feelings of thankfulness, kindness, helping others and giving 💭
