Looking for a fun community building activity? I {Kayla} teach a preschool class at church and, following a lesson on friendship, my kiddos and I created this friendship quilt to display on our wall. Not only is it an esteem booster - the kids loved reading nice things about themselves - it was a fun way to talk about how each of us is unique and how we all have a special part to play in the classroom, in our homes, and in the community! By themselves, each square is beautiful, but together they create a masterpiece! 

"I like my friend because..."

Not only is it great for students to read nice things about themselves, it's also important for your kiddos to practice saying nice things about others. To make sure no one was left out, I assigned each child a classmate to write about. I admit, for some, the peer assigned to them was not their 'best friend' in class, but rather an acquaintance and to start, it was a bit difficult to get them going. But with a bit of encouragement, they all caught on pretty quickly. First, we discussed what it means to be a good friend {i.e. good friends share their toys, take turns, use kind words, etc.} and then each child completed the prompt, "I like my friend because...", using various graphic art tools to illustrate their quilt square. {I even got to complete a square since numbers were low! :]}

[NOTE: I knew my kiddos would need help writing out their ideas, so I created stickers ahead of time for each student... ex. "I like my friend Marissa because..."]

Friendship Quilt

When your kiddos are finished with their quilt squares, use a hole punch and yarn to tie them all together! I decided to create a title for the display using the center quilt square.

Since we were talking about friendship, I used our focus Bible verse {"A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17}, but you could also find a quote about friendship or simply entitle the display, "Our Friendship Quilt"!

Supplies for this bulletin board...

• 12" x 12" scrapbook paper in various colors
• Graphic art tools
• Single hole punch
• Yarn