Learning also means making friends. Young children are still learning the confidence and social skills needed to introduce themselves, take turns talking, listen to others, share, cooperate, and how their words and actions affect how someone else feels. These friendship games offer Pre-K through 2nd grade students enjoyable ways to develop those abilities while getting to know their classmates better.
So let’s make your classroom a pleasant environment where everyone can become connected! These 6 friendship activities are easy to add to your school day and excellent for commemorating National New Friends Day, from conversation openers and companion games to compassion challenges and team exercises.
6 SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR NATIONAL NEW FRIENDS DAY
National New Friends Day is a wonderful opportunity for young students to practice kindness, inclusivity and communication skills. Some children might find it simple to make new acquaintances, and some children might be bashful or not know how to meet someone they don’t know yet. Classroom activities can be easy and provide students a safe, joyful practice opportunity to greet, ask questions, listen and include others.
These activities provide a hands-on approach to creating friendships for Pre-K through 2nd grade. As students develop a classroom community where everyone feels like they belong, they can practice conversation starters, active listening, taking turns, sharing interests, and welcoming new classmates.
1. Hello, New Friend!
Kick off with a high-energy greeting game that tricks children into becoming social legends. This activity replaces awkward mumbles and intense shoe-staring. This simple practice is a terrific method to assist young students get more comfortable conversing with peers, especially when welcoming a new student to the classroom.Have the kids sit or stand in a circle. Select a child to start. The child looks at a friend and says, “Hey! My name is _____. What’s your name?” The other child says their name and asks a basic question such as “What is your favorite color?” or “What is your favorite animal?”
The first child answers the question and the second child asks another student to say hello. Keep going around the circle until everyone has had a chance to introduce themselves and learn something new about a buddy.
To make it more engaging, tell youngsters to speak in a nice voice, look at the person they are talking to and listen carefully to their classmate’s response.
For younger students, provide children with simple sentence starters, or post them on a classroom chart, to help them feel confident during the conversation.
- “Hi! My name is ____.”
- “What’s your name?”
- “I like ____.”
- “Do you like ____?”
- “My favorite color is ____.”
- “What is your favorite ____?”
Pro-Tip: Use simple questions and allow children sufficient time to respond. Use visual options or picture cards so Pre-K and kindergartners can respond easily. Or have a buddy who is supportive for shy students or practice with the teacher first.
2. Friendship Question Cards
Get your young students to discover what they have in common with their classmates with these Easy Friendship Question Cards! Create a deck of colorful question cards with simple, kid-friendly questions to help pupils talk, listen and learn something new about each other.Some questions might include:
- What is your favorite animal?
- What is your favorite color?
- What game do you like to play?
- What is your favorite snack?
- Do you like drawing?
- What do you like to do outside?
- What is your favorite book?
Team students up and have them take turns picking a card. One student reads or poses the question, the other responds. Then change roles and select another card. Encourage children to listen intently and ask a simple follow-up question, like “Why do you like it?” or “Me too!”
Pro-Tip: Utilize basic, encouraging, open-ended questions that invite conversation. Have students write their own friendship questions and place them in a classroom question box. During morning work, circle time or transition time, encourage a student to select a mystery question for the class to answer collectively.
3. Find Someone Who...
Make friendship building a fun classroom movement activity! This easy game gets kids up and moving, meeting lots of different peers and figuring out what they have in common.Give students a “Find Someone Who...” Checklist with basic descriptions. Students stand up and walk around the classroom, talking to different peers to discover a match for each item.
For example:
Find someone who...
☐ Likes cats
☐ Has the same favorite color as you
☐ Likes to draw
☐ Has a favorite food you enjoy
☐ Likes to play outside
☐ Has the same favorite animal
Model how to approach a student gently before you start the activity. Students can ask questions like “Do you like cats?” or “What is your favorite color?” When students locate a match, they can write the name of the classmate, draw a picture or check the box.
Encourage children to talk to a different classmate for each item whenever possible. This provides children with opportunity to interact with classmates they might not otherwise play or work with, and additional opportunities for all to form new connections.
Wrap up the session by bringing the class together and asking a few students to share something fascinating they found out. You might say: “Did you find someone who likes the same things you do?” or “What new thing did you learn about a classmate?”
Pro-Tip: Make the activity more inclusive by creating a mix of easy-to-match and conversation-starting prompts. Use visuals instead of written language so that kids can focus on asking and answering questions. It can be a cat picture for “likes cats” or a crayon picture for “likes to draw” for example. Teachers can read each prompt aloud and assist students write down their classmates’ answers.
4. Friendship Partner Challenge
Give children quick partner exercise that promotes communication, collaboration and a common purpose. It's a terrific method to let kids interact with classmates they might not ordinarily pick to pair with and realize that working with someone new can be fun!Pair students who don't usually work together and give each pair a simple challenge, such as:
- Build a tower with blocks.
- Complete a puzzle together.
- Draw a picture together, taking turns adding details.
- Sort classroom objects by color, size, shape, or type.
- Create a paper monster using different shapes and craft materials.
- Build something using recycled materials, such as cups, cardboard, or paper tubes.
Before you start, spend a few minutes talking about what makes a good relationship. Ask children to listen to each other’s ideas, share materials, take turns, use kind words, encourage their partner and ask respectfully when they need help.
You can provide children easy sentence starters to help make conversations easier:
- “What do you think we should do?”
- “Would you like a turn?”
- “Can I help you?”
- “That’s a great idea!”
- “Let’s try it together.”
As kids work, move across the room and spot positive examples of teamwork. You may say something like, “I saw you shared the blocks with your partner,” or “I like how you listened to your partner’s ideas!
Pro-Tip: Keep the challenges short and low-pressure so students can focus on connecting rather than simply finishing the task. After the challenge is complete, bring the class together for a short reflection. You can ask:
- “What did your partner do that helped you?”
- “How did you work together?”
- “What was fun about working with someone new?”
- “What can we do to be a good partner next time?”
5. The Kindness Introduction
The easiest way to establish a new friendship is to make someone feel welcome. This fun activity gives young students practice in the use of kind words to include and thank others. Give each child a little paper heart or friendship card. Ask them to think of something nice to say about a classmate. Ask pupils to think of words that would make a person feel happy, included and valued.
Get them started with some examples on the board:
- “I’m happy you’re here!”
- “Would you like to play with us?”
- “I like your drawing.”
- “Would you like to sit with me?”
- “You can join our game!”
Once children have selected their message, have them personalize their cards with crayons, markers, stickers or simple designs. When they are done, each child passes his or her card to a classmate. Teachers can help with writing the message for younger learners, or give them phrase starters to copy.
Pro-Tip: Have kids explain how it feels to receive kind words to give the task more meaning. Ask questions like, “How did it feel when someone said something nice to you?” or “How can we help a person feel welcomed in our classroom?”
6. Our Classroom Friendship Web
To close your friendship lesson, create a visual reminder that your school is a community where everyone belongs. This simple game shows young students how they can be connected to one another by their words, actions, and connections.Arrange the students in a circle. Take a ball of yarn and hold one end. Tell a positive attribute of friendship like “A good friend listens. Then, maintaining hold of your part, gently roll or pass the ball of yarn to another pupil.
The student who receives the yarn offers another friendship attribute such as, “A good friend takes turns,” “A good friend helps others,” or “A good friend includes everyone.” Then they take their share of the yarn and give the ball to another student in the class.
Repeat until all the students have had a turn. And when the yarn goes around the circle it will make a big web connecting everyone. When the web is complete, pause and let students look at what they have built together. When the yarn links everyone on the web, the classroom community is more powerful when students encourage, listen to and care for one another.
Pro-Tip: Make the friendship web a permanent reminder in the classroom! Take a picture of the finished web and hang it on a bulletin board under the heading, “We Are Better Together!” Or have children write or draw a friendship promise, such as “I will include others,” “I will listen,” or “I will use kind words.” Add their commitments around the photo for a meaningful classroom friendship display that you can return to throughout the school year.
Tips for Welcoming a New Classmate
Social-emotional learning is huge in terms of building connections, especially for young children who are still learning how to communicate, collaborate and connect with others. Simple, meaningful activities that promote compassion, empathy, confidence and inclusiveness can create a fantastic space for students to develop these qualities in the classroom.
Say to the class, “Being a good friend is not just saying hello, it’s listening when someone else is talking. A warm smile, a kind voice and a simple “Tell me more!” can go a long way in helping a new classmate feel welcome.
Here are some simple tips encourage students to welcome a new classmate:
- Say hello and introduce themselves.
- Smile and use a friendly voice.
- Ask questions and listen to the answers.
- Invite new classmates to join games or activities.
- Take turns and share classroom materials.
- Notice when someone may need a friend.
- Celebrate similarities and differences.
- Remember that good conversations involve listening, too.
Most essential, tell them that it takes time to make friends. We don’t have to be best friends with everyone but we can make sure everyone is feeling appreciated, included and welcome.
FRIENDSHIP SEL RESOURCES FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
These friendship-focused social-emotional learning resources give teachers easy, engaging ways to help children practice conversation skills, recognize emotions, work together, solve simple social problems, and make everyone feel like they belong.
Whether you’re welcoming a new student, celebrating National New Friends Day, or simply building a kinder classroom community, these activities can turn everyday interactions into valuable friendship-building moments.
These engaging read-aloud lessons are designed to help young learners build important social-emotional and classroom skills. With activities focused on self-control, friendship, acceptance, writing, crafts, and more, this bundle provides low-prep lesson plans that make getting back to school easier and more meaningful.
These five back-to-school read-aloud activities are perfect for:
- Whole-group and small-group reading instruction
- Teaching classroom rules, routines, and procedures
- Helping students understand differences and practice acceptance
- Building friendship, kindness, and self-control skills
- Creating a positive, welcoming classroom environment
- Adding engaging writing and hands-on craft activities to your lessons
Remind your pupils that being kind to someone new doesn’t have to be difficult. Sometimes all it takes to help someone feel welcome and included is a smile, a kind “Hello!”, an invitation to play, sharing a toy, or asking a new student to join an activity.
Celebrate International Friendship Day by encouraging your small learners to find everyday opportunities to interact with others. These tiny acts of kindness can help children acquire confidence, improve their communications skills, develop empathy and make meaningful friendships.
So expect lots of smiles, new connections, cheerful talks and maybe even a few new classroom friendships along the road!
We hope you have the best time ever with these friendship exercises! It’s amazing to see how activities like these can boost classroom happiness by over 40%. Keep bringing those OINKTASTIC moments to your school by being such a positive influence for your students.Until next time!🐷
Looking for other socio-emotional learning friendship activities? Here are some of my suggested blog resources: