Supporting Friendship Skills and Creating a Culture of Friendship

Having a friend in early childhood is linked with some many positive, long-term outcomes! And while so many children in our programs can easily develop relationships with their peers, this isn't easy for every child -- especially children with disabilities, children who are multi-language learners, and children who have experienced trauma. These groups of children need more individualized support to build relationships with their peers. In this workshop, we will talk about easy ways teachers in early learning settings can create a culture of friendship, ways to help ALL children develop friendships with each other, and strategies for supporting peer relationships for children who need some more help. Friendship skills are the building blocks of so many other social emotional learning skills, and we must intentionally help children develop friendships with one another! We'll share a google folder with lots of different visual supports and a guide for creating a "Friendship Kit" for your classroom!