TheBeezyTeacher: You are a friend! - Teaching kids about friendship and caring

Saturday, February 19, 2022

You are a friend! - Teaching kids about friendship and caring

February is perfect for exploring friendships skills. Explore different ways that you can show somebody that you care. You can smile, say kind words, or spend time together. Kids may desperately want friends, yet, sometimes they do not know how to treat them.

“Everybody Loves You Mr Hatch” is a story book companion based on the famous book "Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch" by Eileen Spinelli. This is a book with a strong message where the importance of love and kindness is emphasised. It is a story that can be enjoyed year-round but particularly it is great to use the book to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The story will support kids to understand how wonderful it is to feel loved and the importance of helping others feel loved.

Mr Hatch is a lonely man who doesn’t interact with anyone. One day he receives a box of chocolate in the mail with a note that says “Somebody loves you.” Mr Hatch has no idea who has sent the box and he starts to get to know the people that he interacts with every day while he is trying to find out who has sent the box.

He begins to bake treats and help his neighbors but it turns out that the box was delivered to the wrong address and the box of chocolates was not meant for him! Fortunately, a simple gesture from his neighbors shows Mr Hatch that he is loved.

The book shows that you need to be brave when you reach out to others. Sending out love to people around you, magnify the love in your own heart. Liesl - in the movie "The Sound of Music" says, "Love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay, Love isn’t love ’til you give it away”

By using resources that includes friendship activities you support kids to develop building blocks of relationships. Finding out that different people can have things in common and learning how to plant seeds of friendships are vital life skills. Plant lots of friendship seeds in February!