Friendship is such an integral part of life. Some children make
friends easily but some find it difficult to make friends or maintain a
friendship and need a lot of guidance. The reason I wrote Draw and Tell Charlie
is to introduce the concept of friendship to children and to help them develop
the ability to make friends.
You may have heard this say before, “if you feel lonely, go and
find someone who is lonely and be their friend”. In Draw and Tell Charlie the
story begins with an introduction of Charlie who lives in a big blue house with
his family with no mention of any of Charlie’s friends. When you are reading
Draw and Tell Charlie to your children you can point out Charlie has a family
but he hasn’t got any friend yet, but rather than feeling upset about not having
any friends to play with, he decided to introduce himself to his new neighbour
and be their friends. You can role play with your children to teach them how to
make friends by extending you hand and say “Hi my name is ....... What is your
name?”
A new relationship is easier to form when two parties share something
in common. You can point out Charlie and his new friends play something they
both like. A common interest can also maintain a friendship and help it
flourish. If your children are finding it hard to settle into daycare centres or
preschools you can enlist the help of the teachers to find friends for your
children by telling them what activities your children like to do and ask them
to help your children find friends who share their common interests.
Charlie was able to share his big blue house with his new
friends. You can point out how good Charlie is to be able to happily share with
his friends. Sharing is an important concept to introduce to children at this
young age. If you would like helpful tips and activities about sharing, you can
find a few articles I have written about sharing under the DID YOU KNOW label
on this blog.
Helping children make friends is quite important and I sincerely
hope that Draw and Tell Charlie gives you the opportunity to introduce the
concept of friendship to your children and help your children have confidence
in making friends.
Happy reading and making friends!
Till next time....
Simone
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