We kicked off our summer session last week, and it has been so exciting to have new friends to play with! We played the "Friends and Neighbors" game where we examined different scenarios of friends in need, and decided how to help them. This game was helpful in guiding our conversation to different emotions, and why the character felt sad, or frustrated, or hurt.
We played another game where we matched our friends' names with their letter links. This helped us practice saying our friends' names, but also helped us to listen to the way the names sound... especially the beginning sound of the name.
But most of all, we practiced BEING a friend by playing with friends! This is our 'S' for Summer explore table! (Everything in here starts with the 's' sound: sand, sea shells, suns, stars, sandals, sun glasses, stamps, and spoons.)
Friend "Alarm Clock" collected all of the sun rings. She showed her friends how to put them on her fingers, and helped her friends do the same. It was pretty tricky for some of our younger friends to slip those suns on each finger without dropping any!
But it was also cool to have a handful of sunshine too! One of the best things about playing with friends is that they introduce new ideas and new ways to play. :)