{"id":7049054,"date":"2026-08-27T09:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T09:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/how-to-teach-a-preschooler-to-be-a-good-friend\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T09:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T09:11:14","slug":"how-to-teach-a-preschooler-to-be-a-good-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049054","title":{"rendered":"How To Teach A Preschooler To Be A Good Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"


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You can\u2019t expect preschoolers to know how to be a good friend. We have to teach them! One of the greatest resources for teaching children how to be friends is to be there to co-regulate and navigate the tough stuff but we also have to intentionally create classrooms that support developing friendships and respectful classmates. We don\u2019t all have to be friends, but we all have to be friendly.<\/p>\n

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Here are some intentional things I do to support both being a good friend and being friendly and respectful to everyone. <\/p>\n

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How To Teach A Preschooler To Be A Good Friend<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Use books about friendships to teach specific lessons when emotions are calm and receptive.<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

The books in the three links below are just a few of my favorites for preschool and PreK lessons about friendship and respect.
\u200bBooks That Teach Children To Include Others \u200b<\/a> \u200b<\/a>
Books About Friendship \u200b<\/a>
\u200bBooks That Build Community \u200b<\/a><\/p>\n

Teach about emotions! <\/strong><\/h2>\n

We need to work on that to help develop students\u2019 abilities to be good friends. \u200bHere is a great post with books, lesson plans, and activities to learn all about emotions. \u200b<\/a><\/p>\n

Use Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u200bHere are some of my favorite games. \u200b<\/a> Children need to learn to take turns, learn how to lose, and how to win while still being respectful, and this doesn\u2019t just happen if we tell them to. They need to practice before we can expect them to master it! Including board games and \u200bwhole group games \u200b<\/a>in your classroom is key. We try to use some during free choice, and we regularly use them in our \u200bmath small group. \u200b<\/a><\/p>\n

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Name Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/strong>Check out my favorite Name Activities here! \u200b<\/a> Every few years, I get a class filled with little groups of kiddos who are family friends, or sometimes cousins, even siblings. When this happens, we try to intentionally mingle children with other groups while balancing time with more comfortable peers. What isn\u2019t always obvious is that sometimes it may seem like a child is always choosing their bestie \u2013 for example, our child of the day brings in show-and-tell, and they get to choose 3 classmates to ask questions about their item. At first glance, a child always choosing their bestie seems like favoritism, but sometimes it\u2019s just that they are already nervous and don\u2019t want to mess up another classmate\u2019s name! So include many, many name activities and opportunities for children to learn each other\u2019s names. It feels great when you are 4 and a new classmate sees your name on the board and calls it out because they already recognize it. All of the steps that create an inclusive classroom support friendships too!<\/p>\n

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Use intentional small groups, but also make space for small groups in all learning areas.<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

I am a big believer in creating natural opportunities for children to wait their turn, navigate sharing or not sharing, and deal with limited resources. I purposefully don\u2019t have a million copies of popular books or toys because I want my students to learn and practice problem-solving. I don\u2019t tell them how, but I am there to support. That said, young children learn best when they are being social, not alone, so even when an activity could be done alone, make space for it to be done in pairs or a small group. The color mixing activity above can absolutely be done solo, but I always put two pipettes out so it can be done in pairs too! \u200bLearn more about small groups here. \u200b<\/a><\/p>\n

Loop In Families! <\/strong><\/h2>\n

When problems arise, talk to your students\u2019 grown-ups quickly. At least for me, conflicts outside of the class seep into my classroom, and we can\u2019t fix that without parent input. \u200bHere are some tips for feeling confident about talking to parents.<\/a><\/p>\n

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