What is a good friend? There is a quite big list of words about the qualities good friends should have. In the month of August, International Friendship day is celebrated and lots of children enjoy celebrating this day.
The importance of friends
Friends come in all shapes and sizes. They may be someone we met as a child, a classmate at school, someone we met at work, or through other friends. They may be friends who live at a distance in another country or virtual friends we’ve made online. Whoever they are, however, we met them, there is a special connection based on a shared history and interests, enjoying doing things together or simply talking and understanding each other. Friends are there to help us at difficult times and to celebrate the good times. Doctors say that friends are very important for both our physical and mental health at all stages in life.
Not only homes but also different schools celebrate this particular day. One of the leading and prominent CBSE schools in the Howrah district, the – Sudhir Memorial Institute Liluah also celebrates this day every year.
Children use to bring friendship bands and tie them in their friend’s hands. Here are given few friendly classroom activities to understand and celebrate the positive effects of friendships, celebrated at the CBSE-affiliated schools in Howrah.
- Children prepare and give small presents, like biscuits or chocolate, tied in bundles of cellophane with a bright ribbon.
- Make a friendship band.
- Make a special ‘friendship book’ for a good friend, with photos, a drawing, poems or a story about your friendship.
- Read and share stories about friends. Discuss things they may do or feel that are similar.
- Discuss how they can be best a good friend. How can they make school/home a happier, friendlier place? How do they feel when someone is kind to them? How do you feel when you are kind to someone?
- Create a poem titled ‘A friend like you, or write an acrostic poem using the word ‘FRIENDS’.
- Write about what a friend means to you. How do you help each other? What do you do? What makes a friendship special?
- In small groups, CBSE School in Howrah district to make a list of what friends do together. Share the lists, combine and create a class list for display.
- Make a class friendship book. On each page, select and write an idea from the group brainstorming. Illustrate each and bind to create a class booklet.
- Write clues to describe a friend. Display. Allow students to guess who they think it is.
- Design a ‘Friendship’ poster with words like fun, love, trust, honesty, etc.
- Make a friendship rainbow. Trace around students’ hands. Paint groups of them in different rainbow colors. Cut out and write names on the hands. Arrange to make a colorful friendship rainbow.
Conclusion
This is how friendship day is celebrated in most schools. The teachers of the top CBSE School in Howrah tell their students the stories of friendship day. Stories are a great way to teach children about friendship day and the stories are based on different characters who have various personality traits so children can identify who is and who is not a good friend.
