Preschool Friendship & Kindness Theme Activities
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Below you can find preschool activities about family, friends, and your home!
Use the ideas on this page to plan your lessons! Pre-K Printables Club Members
Club members can download all of our Friendship and Kindness Activities for free! Not a member? Find out more about our membership
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Friendship and Kindness Theme
Free Friendship and Kindness Preschool Lesson Plan
Collaborative Art Piece
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Foster friendships by creating artwork for the learning environment.
This invitation to decorate a branch was shared by Building Blocks Family Child Care.
Find more fun art processes to explore on the Exploring Process Art blog post.
This invitation to decorate a branch was shared by Building Blocks Family Child Care.
Find more fun art processes to explore on the Exploring Process Art blog post.
High 5 Color MixingInvite your preschoolers to explore color mixing with a friendly art exploration.
Find these printable High 5 Color Mixing sheets in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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*Group CollageWork together to create a group collage, where everyone can contribute to the piece.
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Friendship Painting
Partner children up with a box, a ball, and paint. Have the two children stand together holding and moving the box that has paint and the ball inside. Watch them create the project together!
Pass Along Picture
Have your student work together to create an art piece. Choose the topic such as a flower garden, or outdoor scene. Have your student draw an image, and pass it to a friend.
More Creative Ideas
Support Friendships through PlayCreating a space for dramatic play is a great way to support children as they develop friendships. Setting up invitations for dramatic play encourages role playing, problem-solving and communication skills to help children develop the skills needed to form lasting friendships. Read the Create a Space for Dramatic Play blog for ideas for this space.
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*Plan a Tea Party
Have your students create invitations, plan activities, and decorate for a class tea party.
Pretend Slumber Party
If they haven't yet preschoolers will likely be experiencing their first slumber party in the next few years.
This theme offers a fun opportunity to get in some practice and learn about what a slumber party is.
Set out sleeping bags or blankets, pillows, and a variety of games for the kids to play. They may wish to create a fort to have their sleepover in. Invite stuffed animals as extra participants as desired/needed.
Complete the experience with an invitation to create a pretend breakfast in the housekeeping area.
This theme offers a fun opportunity to get in some practice and learn about what a slumber party is.
Set out sleeping bags or blankets, pillows, and a variety of games for the kids to play. They may wish to create a fort to have their sleepover in. Invite stuffed animals as extra participants as desired/needed.
Complete the experience with an invitation to create a pretend breakfast in the housekeeping area.
Inspiration for your construction
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Learn how to make your own blocks!
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Group Building Challenge
Invite children to complete a building challenge together. Try out one of the ideas in our fall team building set.
Say it Hear it Build it
Set children up in pairs. Each pair sits back to back, one child will have a set of building materials in front of them. The other child should have a good understanding of the assortment available to the other child through a photo of having one of each type of block in front of them.
The child with the building materials will be listening to directions given by the other child to construct a building. For example: Child 1 "start with one long rectangle. Put a square block on top. Put a blue block next to the rectangle".
This may look and sound very different depending on the ages of the children. Consider providing a demonstration ahead of time. This activity is great for team building, spatial skills, and listening skills.
The child with the building materials will be listening to directions given by the other child to construct a building. For example: Child 1 "start with one long rectangle. Put a square block on top. Put a blue block next to the rectangle".
This may look and sound very different depending on the ages of the children. Consider providing a demonstration ahead of time. This activity is great for team building, spatial skills, and listening skills.
Use the word wall cards from the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack in your games this week to promote literacy.
Here are a few ideas:
Here are a few ideas:
- Hide the word wall cards around the room, as children discover the cards read each one together then hang it in your group time area. When all the cards have been collected challenge children to recall where they found each card using words to describe the location. Encourage and model spatial language such as under, above, beside, on top, and beneath.
- Slip the word wall cards into a sensory bin for children to find.
- Use for sorting! Use these cards along with people counters for children to practice sorting.
Learn Compound WordsTake two words and make them best friends to create a new word!
Try this fun way of learning compound words, included in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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All About My Friends Book
Set up an invitation for your preschoolers to create a book all about their friends.
Assemble books by folding 3-5 sheets of white paper in half and then stapling along the folded edge. For the front cover consider printing squares with titles such as "My Family" so children can glue the title on themselves. Next, encourage children to create pictures of their family or friends. On each page ask the child to say something about the person they drew, write down what they said on the page.
Assemble books by folding 3-5 sheets of white paper in half and then stapling along the folded edge. For the front cover consider printing squares with titles such as "My Family" so children can glue the title on themselves. Next, encourage children to create pictures of their family or friends. On each page ask the child to say something about the person they drew, write down what they said on the page.
Friends Letter MatchingInvite your preschooler to engage in a friendly letter matching game!
Challenge them to match lowercase to lowercase or uppercase to lowercase, both versions are included in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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Counting Letters in Names
Make a grid for each child, then invite the child to decide which names they want to count up. If needed assist in writing the names on the paper, one letter in each square. Next, work together to count up the number of letters each person has in their name. Write the numeral at the end of the line.
Extension: Look for similarities in the names: How many names have an e in them? Which names contain the same number of letters? How do the names on one child's paper compare to those on another? |
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Make a card for a Friend
Sending a card or a note is a nice way to let a friend know that you are thinking of them. Have your students make a card for a friend. Have you student draw the pictures, and practice writing their friends name. Help them dictate their notes.
*I Have....Who Has...GameThis game is great for working on team building and communication skills.
This low prep game (simply print and cut) is available inside the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
*A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
*A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
*How Many Friends in the Photo
Take a variety of pictures of the children in your group. Include a different number of children in each photo, including one with the entire group (for the solo photo consider a selfie). Print the photos and provide them along with index cards with numbers on them. Challenge children to sort the photos by how many friends are in each photo.
Math Task CardsGrab a friend and some basic math supplies along with the task cards and recording sheet from the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack for this fun math learning activity.
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Measure your Friends
Graph and Compare Height of all the kids in the group.
Number ordering with FriendsWork on number ordering by placing these friendship cards in numerical order! Find these in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack
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Copy Patterns
Set out materials children can use to create patterns (magnet tiles, math counters, unifix cubes, playing cards etc.). Invite children to work in pairs to create, copy, and extend patterns. Child 1 begins a pattern and the other child either copies or extends the pattern.
Ten-Frame Friend PuzzlesEach of these puzzles is holding a ten frame that represents a different number. Count up the number on the left and match it up to the correct number.
Included in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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Friendship Matching Game
Print out 2 copies of a photo of each child in the group, paste onto card stock. Children can use the set as a matching game.
Who Said it?
Record each child saying something of their choice, later during small group time play the recordings one at a time and challenge children to figure out which friend said it!
Sense of Touch
Work on sense of touch with this activity. Have one child pick an object and place in in a paper bag. Other children then try to guess what the object is using only their sense of smell and touch.
Plant a Friendship Tree
Invite children to plant a tree or flowers together. They can work together to take care of the plant and watch it grow. Take a picture every month or year of the friends in front of the plant.
Make Friendship Bread
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Make Friendship Amish Bread & a Starter to share with each child in the group or other friends and family.
We have all the details on our blog, members can download a free printable recipe in the blog post after logging in. |
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*Three Legged Race
This fun classic is a great addition to this theme. Encourage children to work as a team to complete the obstacle. Use a bandanna or other fabric gentle enough for preschoolers to lightly tie together the right leg of one child to the left of another.
Describe the objective prior to creating teams. Rather than a race consider have the kids work together to walk as far as they can.
After a few rounds engage in discussion about what they thought was difficult or easy about the activity.
*Be sure to pair kids together that are of similar size.
Describe the objective prior to creating teams. Rather than a race consider have the kids work together to walk as far as they can.
After a few rounds engage in discussion about what they thought was difficult or easy about the activity.
*Be sure to pair kids together that are of similar size.
Relay Race
Encourage children to work together to reach a goal with a relay race.
Here are some ideas:
Here are some ideas:
- Spoon with a hard boiled egg on it, walk as carefully as you can to the other side, then transfer the egg to your friend to return the egg to the starting point.
- Dress-up relay
- Paper race: One child will lay down paper or newspapers on the ground creating a path from the starting point to the finish line. The other child goes from start to finish only stepping on the papers the first child put down.
Class Puzzles
Create puzzles using photos of children in the class or the class pet. Print on cardstock or laminate and then cut into puzzle pieces. Full page prints are great for this activity.
Parachute Play
if you have a parachute in your classroom I encourage you to bring it out. This is an activity that takes collaboration and teamwork.
Friendship Bracelets
You can use pipe cleaners or string for your bracelets, use beads, cereal, cut up straws and put the fine motor skills to work by making bracelets. You can have your students give each other bracelets, they will have so much fun creating these for one another.
*Friendship Paper Chain
Work together to make a paper chain. Children can decorate the chains to make it more personalized if they choose. Hang it in the room as décor or use to count down to a fun day.
Good Friends
Have a conversation about how to be a good friend.
This sorting activity included in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack is a great follow-up as children explore what it means to be a good friend. |
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Recognize EmotionsLearning to recognize and properly identify emotions is an important part of development for preschoolers and supports them in their interactions with friends and families.
Set up an invitation for your preschoolers to explore and create emotions with play dough. Use the mats and playing cube included in the Roll & Create Emotions Dough Mats set. Roll the playing cube and then create the emotion shown. |
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Pen Pals
Introduce pen pals to your group. You can collaborate with another program somewhere far away or contact a nursing home. Children can draw pictures and dictate letters to send as a class.
Friendship Tree
On a large piece of paper, have the children do their handprints in various colors creating one
large classroom tree.
large classroom tree.
We are the same, We are Different
Learning to recognize how people are similar and different from one another is important for promoting inclusion and acceptance.
Create a graph or simply have a discussion! Talk about what color eyes each friend has, what color hair, what color their shirt is, how long their hair is, how many ears...and so on. Challenge children to lead the conversation by asking them to take turns talking about how they are similar and different than their friends.
Create a graph or simply have a discussion! Talk about what color eyes each friend has, what color hair, what color their shirt is, how long their hair is, how many ears...and so on. Challenge children to lead the conversation by asking them to take turns talking about how they are similar and different than their friends.
How to play with friends from Powerful Mothering
Learn to Say Friend in other Languages
Learn the word for friend in other languages. Learn how to Greet in Many languages with Ella Jenkins.
EDUCATOR RESOURCES : GROUP ACTIVITIES, CIRCLE TIME, & PARENT ENGAGEMENT
*Play Who Has?This is a fun game that promotes communication and language development.
Give each child in the group a card, then the child with the apple starts. They say "I have an apple, who has a butterfly?" then the person with the butterfly goes! This game is included in the PKPF Friendship & Kindness Activity Pack |
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Create a Friendship Book
Work together with your students to create a friendship book. Encourage children to contribute ideas about what they think it means to be a good friend. Add photos of children throughout the book with their contributions.
Table GamesIntroduce fun table games that children can play in pairs or small groups such as tic-tac-toe, memory, I spy, and fun simple board games.
Learn some fun ways to use cards as learning games in my blog post Card Games for Early Learners |
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The More We Get Together
If you haven't learned this song from Raffi yet now is the perfect time!
Team Building ActivitiesWork on team building skills with your group of preschoolers with this set of Fall themed Team Building Activities. This set includes descriptions for the activities, learning goals and a variety of printable activities.
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Play Groups
Teaching your preschooler at home can be very rewarding. One of the challenges can be helping your young child to learn what friendship means. Consider joining, or starting, a play group in your community. Regularly attending a play group will support your child's social-emotional development.
Try introducing some of the ideas on this page to the group.
Try introducing some of the ideas on this page to the group.
Bee a Good Friendby learning how to spell the names of peers and family members with this set of Editable Name Activities.
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Create a Friendship Book
Invite your preschooler to create a friendship book where they can put pictures and tell stories about the friends they meet over time.
Friends of All Ages
Contact local nursing homes or Senior Centers to see if any allow visitors of non-family members.
Make a friend or two that you can visit and share a story with.
Make a friend or two that you can visit and share a story with.
