Social and Emotional Development - Friends

You will need:

• Friends by Helme Heine.
• Masks of the pigs and the wolf.
• Crayons and/or markers.
• Drawing paper.

What to do:

• Read Friends to the children.
• Have them draw a picture of a friend, and tell you about him or her (or it!). Take dictation on what they say.
• Ask about the relationship between the wolf and the pigs. Could the wolf and pigs be friends? Have them rewrite the story so that they can be friends.
• Using the masks, have them act out their new story.

Open-ended Questions:

• What is a friend?
• What did Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and Percy do together as friends?

Variations/Extensions:

• Make an album of friends with the children's drawings, and leave it in the reading area.

Related Resources:

• Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
• Smokey Nights by Eve Bunting
• Record: Won't you be my friend? by Hap Palmer
• Poem: "Hug O' War" by Shel Silverstein
• Wolf! by Becky Bloom
• Who's in a Family? by Robert Skutch

Suggested Benchmarks:

• Showing empathy, and caring for others.
• Developing relationships with children and adults.