Social skills and friendships are the cornerstone of Kindergarten! All of our students are entering Kindergarten at different levels with different experiences with social skills and friendships, and some of our newest students may need a little extra, targeted instruction in the ways of making meaningful friendships. Keep reading to find 8 fun, engaging Kindergarten friendship activities that you can use in your small group counseling lessons!
Kindergarten Friendship Activities
1 – Anatomy of a Friend
What makes up a friend? Do they have listening ears or ignoring backs? Have students label a picture of a friend with arrows describing the make up of a friend! Include some arrows that don’t describe friends – these can go on the outside or the bottom. This activity helps students think about how friends treat one another and is a great first session activity to gauge what students already know.
2 – Friend Glyph
What do you like in a friend? Create a friend glyph to show what qualities students look for in a friend. Give students 2 alternative choices for things they might like in a friend. Each choice corresponds to a color or feature, and students can use these to build their friend glyph. Check out this blog post to see an example.
3 – Greeting Circle
Practice being warm, inviting friends with a greeting circle. Students will sit in a circle, and the counselor will call 2 students to the center. Students will greet each other with a smile and a wave, high five, or hug depending on comfort level. Then, students can ask one another a thoughtful question to end their turn.
4 – Red Light Green Light
Want to practice respecting personal space boundaries? Play red light, green light! One student will be it, and the other students will line up across the room. The student who is it will say, “Green light,” and the other students will walk or hop toward that student until the student says, “Red light” to indicate that students are approaching their personal space comfort zone.
5 – Roll & Respond
Practicing active listening, being open to learning more about others, and sharing ideas and thoughts with friends in a simple roll and respond activity! Create some question prompts, grab a dice or dice and you’re good to go! Students can take turns rolling the dice and answering questions. If you want to add a level of difficulty, have the next student repeat back what the previous student shared before taking his or her turn.
6 – You Pick, I Pick
Sometimes friends want to do different activities! It’s okay to do different activities, but sometimes it’s nice when a friend joins you for something that you enjoy (and vice versa). In You Pick, I Pick, students partner up. One partner chooses the activity for the first 5 minutes, and the second partner picks the activity for the next 5 minutes. This is a really easy activity to prep for students to practice doing something a friend picks and waiting for a turn to do what they pick.
7 – Magic Carpet Ride
This activity is all about teamwork and inclusivity. Place a rug, blanket, or beach towel on the floor. Challenge your group to fit everyone on the rug. Then, fold some of the rug over to make the surface area smaller. Students continue working together to fit everyone on the rug. Keep folding more of the rug away until it’s no longer feasible. Encourage students to use inclusive language like, “We can help you fit!” to make everyone feel included.
8 – Compliment Circle
Friends give genuine compliments! Teach kids about compliments that are specific, true, and focused. While compliments about appearance are nice, genuine compliments about effort and skills feel really good! Students can sit in 2 facing circles or 2 facing lines and practice giving each other genuine compliments! Rotate around the circle, partnering with different group members each time.
Get More Kindergarten Friendship Activities
Need group curriculum that’s ready to print and use now? You’ll love this 9-session group that promotes positive friendships!
