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We consider friendship as one of the most important values to develop in the education for peace inasmuch as it is defined as: Personal affection, pure and disinterested, shared with another person, that is born and is fortified by means of the interrelations between human beings.

In order to develop friendship in the child it is necessary to form notions, knowledge, abilities, emotions, experiences, feelings that prepare them to live harmoniously.

To know who is a good friend and why, how good friends behave, how to maintain a good friendship: to worry about their classmates, to make an effort to do something useful in benefit of their friends, the friend child is the one that does not fight with his classmates, he shares his toys and he talks with the other children, he tries to help a classmates who has done something bad explaining the impolite thing about his performance to him, he tries to convince his friend that he has infringed the rules without going to complain to the teacher.

When there is friendship, children notice when one of them is glad or on the contrary, is sad and make an effort to cheer him, to play with him, etc. As we emphasize that friendship is a value or general concept that includes others that are more specific.



ACTIVITY No 1
"MY FRIEND"


Summary of the activity: This activity will talk about friendship, the first activity will be made by means of a conversation of the educator with the children on the subject, in a second activity the children will make postcards for their friends, and finally, in a third activity, they will give the postcards made to that or those who they consider as their friend.

Objectives: To develop in the children knowledge about friendship.

Procedures:
• Conversation
• Observation
• Demonstration

Material Resources: Pictures, photos, films, fine cardboard, coloured paper, coloured pencils, stickers, scissors.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
The educator will begin by exploring through a dialogue what the children think about friendship, whom they consider friends and why.

2nd Part
To tell the story "Two friends":

Once upon a time two boys who were friends for a long time were walking through the forest, when suddenly a great and fierce bear, imposing with his sharpened claws, and giving strong roars turned up. Oh, what fright before that so ferocious animal! The fear was so much that one of the boys started to run, and without watching backwards nor worrying about anything, climbed a tree and hid among the branches, so that the bear could not see him and thus be able to escape later. The other boy, terrified, remained paralyzed with fear, and seeing that he could not escape from the imposing animal, and that his friend was out of danger, he remained in the middle of the path, laid down on the ground and pretended to be dead.
The bear, surprised, approached him and started to smell him, passing its nose through all his face, ears, neck, chest, legs, trying to observe if there was some reaction. The child held his breath, because he knew that if he made any strong movement the bear could realize that he was trying to deceive it. Again the bear returned to smell his face, it licked his cheeks, scrutinized his ears, giving low but calm grunts.
After a long time smelling him, the bear, thinking that the child was dead and was no danger for it, moved away.
When the fierce animal had left, the other child came down fast from the tree and he asked with laughter to the one who had remained thunderstruck in the path:
- What has the bear whispered to you in the ear?
- It has told me that those that leave their friends in the moments of danger are not true friends.

After telling the story, the educator will ask the children to comment on what happened in the story, he will guide the conversation towards the critic that is done on the bad attitude of the character who did not help his friend, he will speak to the children about what friendship is all about and how they have to treat their friends, he will define the good actions among these examples of affection, the help that is to be given to each other, so that they understand what friendship is, and how the relations between friends must be.

3rd Part
The educator will invite the children to make cards to give to their friends.

First he will talk with the children on the importance of making cards to give to their friends, explaining to them that this is a good example of friendship.

Later he will show how a card can be made, and he will show one or several models to them.

There will be a table prepared with the necessary materials for the preparation of the cards and each child will select what they need, the children must have enough materials to avoid possible conflicts and if some conflict arises the educator will take advantage of the opportunity to speak to the children on how to avoid and solve the conflicts between friends.

Finally the children will make cards, which will be displayed in an exhibition.

4th Part
The educator invites the children to give their cards to their friends and say why they chose that child as their friend, helping them with questions until they can with their own words give an elementary description on friendship.

For this we can make a small party, using a collective birthday, or simply "inventing" a party, for which he will organize the children for the preparation of it.


CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They had at the beginning of the activity notions about friendship.
 
 
 
They knew how to make a right critic about the negative character of the story.
 
 
 
They showed interest in making a gift to their friend.
 
 
 
They established positive relations with the children who they consider their friends.
 
 
 
They helped the children who they consider their friends.      
They have enriched their concept of friendship at the end of the activity.      


ACTIVITY No 2
"WHO IS MY FRIEND?"


Summary of the activity: Conversation about friendship, giving examples of characters of a story or any other literary work, or of facts that happened in the group, or in the families, or with the domestic pets, for example: the dog, a kitten, etc. The children will answer the questions of the educator based on the conversation.

Objectives: To develop in the children feelings of friendship towards other people.

Procedures:
• Conversation
• Observation

Material Resources: A poem or rhyme, a picture, newspaper clippings with photos of adults in fighting attitude, and others with a friendly attitude, etc. Small wrappers with flashy paper that look like candy.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
The educator will start a conversation, for example:
"Adults say frequently to you that it is necessary to be friendly, to live harmoniously, but you know what friendship is? We are going to pay attention to what I am going to tell you so that we can understand and express how good friends must act."

He will show drawings or photos from the press, where there are children or adults, one that can be with angry and threatening faces, (but never with the action of fighting in it) and another one with friendly attitude.

The educator will ask the children about what they observe in the drawing or photo, what they see in it and what they think about what the people are doing.

Later, he will tell them a story based on a tale, or in an anecdote of something that happened in the group or to known people, etc. In this way, he will speak to the children about friends, their actions, interrelations, performances, etc.

2nd Part
The educator resumes with the children the conversation of the first part of the activity doing a brief summary of what they commented and formulates questions to the children about friendship, who are their friends in the school, in their neighborhood, and why they are their friends, trying to have them describe the qualities that define friendship, if they do not know what to say, then, the educator will guide them through new questions until the children make an elementary description of these qualities.

Examples of question:
How must good friends act?
How do we know that two children are good friends?
What is necessary to be a good friend?

If the answers of some children are not correct or are incomplete, the educator will give them the necessary help.

Finally he will make a summary of everything that the children have expressed and will expand on what they said by emphasizing the value of friendship, in which friends do not fight against each other, etc.

The educator will try all the time, by means of remarks and observations on attitudes of the children of the group and other children, to wake up emotions about friendship, taking advantage of the typical descriptions from the children, telling anecdotes of friends, etc.

3rd Part
The educator will ask the children to sit in a circle; one of them will be placed in the center of the circle and will say the poem:

I bring in my little hands
many sweets
and I will give them
to the friend that I like

He will give a sweet to the boy or girl that he has chosen and will say what he would do to his friend.

The child who has been given the sweet occupies the center of the circle and repeats the activity. Thus, until everybody finds a friend (the educator will be paying attention so that everybody has a corresponding friend and then he ends the activity).

In the end the friends give their hands to each other and form a great circle, in which they can sing the following rhyme:

One, two, three
This is my friend

CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They identified inadequate conducts displayed in the engravings or photos.
 
 
 
They considered many classmates as friends.
 
 
 
They answered questions on how good friends must act.
 
 
 
They showed friendly conducts towards other children in the games and activities.
 
 
 
They showed joyful or pleasant emotions in their friendly relations with their classmates.
     


ACTIVITY No 3
"FIND THE HIDDEN TREASURE FOR A FRIEND"


Summary of the activity: The educator will create a circuit in which he will hide objects that the children must find to give them to a friend.

Objectives: To develop in the children experiences of friendship.

Procedures:
• Conversation
• Observation
• Exploration
• Elaboration
• Search

Material Resources: Diverse objects that will serve as treasures: shells, coloured stones, flowers, engravings, photos, drawings, paper to decorate, envelopes, coloured crayons or markers.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
The children will prepare a gift for their friend. It can be a drawing, a pretty stone, a photo, something that they choose between their things.

They will keep the gifts in envelopes decorated by them or wrap them in gift paper decorated by them.

2nd Part
The educator prepares a circuit in the psychomotor room or preferably outdoors, with different obstacles for the children to find their hidden treasure, and where the children will have to jump, to border, or to go under obstacles.

In turn, they will leave to look for the hidden treasures and they will give them to the children they have selected as friends from the ones that remain in the group. Those that have received gifts go on the circuit so that everybody receives a gift.

The educator will emphasize how happy our friends become when we give something to them.


CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They show happiness when they gave their friend something.
 
 
 
They showed happiness when they received a gift from their friend.
 
 
 
They showed pleasure when they prepared the gift.
 
 
 
They were touched when they found the hidden treasure.
 
 
 
They looked for the objects to give with interest.
     


ACTIVITY No 4
"I GIVE A FLOWER TO YOU"


Summary of the activity: The children will collect flowers to give to their friends, the educator and the children will talk about giving and receiving.

Objectives: To develop in the children emotions and feelings of friendship towards their group classmates.

Procedures:
• Collecting the flowers
• Conversation

Material Resources: Natural or artificial flowers.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
The educator will remind the children about what has been talked about in previous activities about friendship and will insist that a way to demonstrate friendship is to give their friends flowers which are pretty gifts.

The children will collect artificial flowers for their friends in the garden of the institution or the early childhood center, which have been placed in the shrubs, or those that have been brought from home, which they will place initially in vases and they will give them to their classmates in the group. The educator will make sure that there are no children left without flowers.

2nd Part
The educator and the children will talk about the importance of flattering our friends, that friends give help and things, they do not fight, in general to speak about the good relations that there must be among friends. He will take advantage of this activity to reinforce environmental education to preserve the natural flowers that are in their plants.


CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They showed pleasure when they gave the flowers.
 
 
 
They strove to collect pretty flowers.
 
 
 
They showed pleasure while they prepared the gift.
 
 
 
They were touched when they received the flower gift.
 
 
 
They made comments about not taking flowers from their plants.
     


ACTIVITY No 5
"LET´S VISIT"


Summary of the activity: The children will make an outing to visit a park, a near farm or any other place to know new friends. They will take special precautions with any obstacles in the route, to help their friends.

Objectives: To develop in the children knowledge on how to help their friends.

Procedures:
• Observation
• Conversation

Material Resources: Suitable and necessary clothes and accessories according to the place that will be visited, camera or camcorder.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
As preparation for the visit we will talk with the children about the place that is going to be visited and orientate them on the activities to be made, emphasizing that they will make new friends and how they must help each other during the route because shallow ponds of water will be crossed, they will go up and down small elevations of land, and for it they must give their hand and help each other as good friends do.

We will orient them on the suitable clothes and the accessories that must be taken to the visit.

2nd Part

During the visit the educator will guide the children in the route and he will orient them on how to cross the different obstacles in the way, walking near another classmate, sometimes holding hands, other times one will cross first and stretch out the hand to his friend, etc. If it is possible photos or video films will be taken.

3rd Part
In the hall of the classes the photos taken in the stroll will be exhibited and the video film will be projected.

The educator and the children will talk about what happened in the visit and will make a joint evaluation on the new friends they made and of how the children helped each other to arrive at the place of the visit.

The educator will make a summary where he will emphasize how mutual help is part of friendship.


CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They offered help to their companions during the route.
 
 
 
They paid attention to the orientation given by the educator on how to help others.
 
 
 
They made comments on the help offered or received during the visit.
 
 
 


ACTIVITY No 6
CRITICAL EXPERIENCE FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE BLOCK


Summary of the activity: When finalizing the block of activities, the educator can make an activity in which he shows a situation to the children with the objective of evaluating those aspects of the block that need to be verified, or to determine to what extent they have been understood and internalized by the children.

Objectives: To verify if the children have understood what friendship is and how the relation between friends must be.

Procedures:
• Observation
• Questions and answers

Material Resources: One or several games of wood pieces or plastic to make buildings.

Development of the activity:
1st Part
The educator will invite several children to make constructions, the others will observe, the construction equipments will be distant from the children who construct, but near the rest of the group that observes it.

The educator will tell the children who observe “How far are those materials from the constructors! They are going to have to walk a lot and they will get tired, if we could do something to them!”

If the observers do not help the constructors spontaneously, the educator will say to them:- Jorge is carrying material to make a building. What would a good friend do when he sees that it is necessary to look for them in such a distant place?

It is indispensable that the children who construct do not hear neither the commentary nor the question of the educator, because later they will be the observers.

Later the children who were constructors will be observers and we repeat the activity.

Finally the educator will lead a critical evaluation with all the children about what happened in the situation, he will stimulate them so that they express about:
Who are your friends?
Why are they your friends?
Why is it necessary to help friends?
Tell me everything about how good friends must be?
How do you behave with your friends?
Tell any history that you know on your friends?

Based on the observed conducts, the answers to the questions, or any other fact or commentary from the children, the educator will make the following criteria evaluation.


CRITERIAL ASSESSMENT
Observed conduct
YES
NO
Comments
They have enriched the notions that they had on friendship at the beginning of the activities of this block.
 
 
 
When finalizing the block they have formed the concept of a good friend.
 
 
 
They only have some notions on friendship.
 
 
 
They needed much help to speak about what friendship is and how a good friend must be.
 
 
 
They showed in a spontaneous way a good attitude towards a friend.
     
They needed some critics or signals to have a good attitude towards their friend.