I love International Friendship Day! It is about friendship, caring, kindness, empathy, and so much more! This special day is coming up quickly and is a great way to celebrate friendships in your preschool classroom! Here are some great ideas to get your students engaged in activities for International Friendship Day. Before I jump right in, have you downloaded my Kindness Freebie yet? Click on the image below to grab them.
When is International Friendship Day?
International Friendship Day falls on July 30th. However, different countries celebrate the holiday on different days! Let me help you out a little! Argentina, Brazil, and Spain celebrate “friend’s day” on July 20th. In India and the US, International Friendship Day is on the calendar for the first Sunday in August. But, The entire month of February in the U.S. has been declared Friendship Month. Finally, in Finland and Estonia, Friendship Day is celebrated on the same day as Valentine’s Day or February 14th. If you don’t live in one of these awesome countries, a quick online search will tell you when your country celebrates.
Background Information
International Friendship Day was announced in 2011. The main idea behind the day was to build friendships between people, countries, and cultures and help inspire the notion that friendships between peoples, nations, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts to build bridges between communities.
Fun International Friendship Day Celebration Facts
- Winnie the Pooh is the official ambassador for International Friendship Day. He was appointed in 1998.
- The day is also known as World Friendship Day.
- The idea of celebrating friendship started in 1930 with the Hallmark Card Company.
- Friendship bands are exchanged in countries like India, Nepal, and South America.
How is International Friendship Day Celebrated?
International Friendship Day is celebrated in many countries. People may celebrate by going out to eat or sharing a meal in their home, and they may give small gifts to each other such as flowers, books, and jewelry. No matter where it is celebrated, the simple notion of being friends is vital.
Bringing creative ideas for friendship day into the classroom is a great way to help your students learn about friendship and other countries! Here are 7 activities to help celebrate International Friendship Day.
Activity #1: Recipe for Making a Good Friend
Using a friendship recipe as an International Friendship Day lesson plan is always fun! It is a great idea to discuss friendship. Ask your kiddos questions like What makes a good friend? How do they make you feel? Are there ingredients you wouldn’t put into the pot? Add an interactive activity that involves cooking up a good friend and creating the perfect recipe for each child!
Activity #2: What Being a Good Friend Looks Like
Preschoolers are just learning to make friends, and sometimes they are not always sure what a good friend sounds like or looks like. Try using pictures to show what good friends do, have students role-play different friendship scenarios, or use puppets to show the difference between being a good friend vs. not being a good friend. Try out this friendship sorting activity after your students have practiced and gained some invaluable friendship information.
Activity #3: Make a Card or Draw a Picture
Create cards or pictures for friends. The picture or card may be given to someone in their classroom, on the bus, or in their neighborhood. Have your students think about why that person is a good friend and why they appreciate them!
Activity #4: Friendship Books
Grab as many books about friendship as you can! Sit together as a class, in partnerships, or listen to an audiobook. Reading books with different friendship scenarios and themes will help your students learn, and they are super fun! Check out this blog post here for a list of great friendship books your preschoolers will enjoy!
Activity #5: Friendship Bracelets
Creating friendship bracelets is one of my favorite International Friendship Day activities! I love making friendship bracelets with my students. Over the years, we’ve made simple paper bracelets that we’ve colored in and we’ve also made bead bracelets. Each bead represents a different trait someone may have, like-kind, creative, happy, etc. Both ideas are super doable with little ones!
Activity #6: Friendship Book for the Classroom
Design and create a friendship book as a class. Some ideas you could include in your friendship book:
- Have students draw pictures about what friendship means to them
- Include their recipe for friendship
- Write down friendship quotes the students come up with
- Take photos of friendships in your class
Collect and put together all the pages to create your very own class Friendship Book!
Activity #7: Celebrate for More Than One Day
Don’t just celebrate with friendship day crafts or friendship day games for just a day! Make your friendship day events last a week or even a month! As a teacher, it is essential always to make sure students cultivate friendships and connections. Making it a priority in your classroom will make your school year easier by building a sense of community and connection between students!
International Friendship Day Activities for Preschoolers
This special day is an excellent opportunity to bring some fun friendship day activities, friendship day games, and friendship day projects. Having students look into friendship and what makes a good or bad friend is a life lesson, and they will be able to use these skills every day!
Looking for other ways to bring friendship lessons into your classroom?
Check out these blog posts:
???? 5 Ways to Easily Fit Preschool Friendship Activities into Your Day
???? 3 Main Areas to Focus on When Teaching Friendship Skills to Preschoolers
❤️ 7 Fun and Engaging Activities about Friendship for Preschool Classrooms
