ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE FRIENDSHIP KIT
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR KIDS
How To Be a Friend by Marc Brown and Laurie Krasner Brown – geared for younger readers, this book discusses how to join a group, how to manage your emotions and what to do when you are shy
The Care and Keeping of Friends (AmericanGirl Library) – This is geared more for girls, this book covers how to start a friendship, what to look for in a friend, and managing friendship troubles.
FOR PARENTS
The Unwritten Rules of Friendship by Natalie Madorsky Elman, PhD and Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD
This is a great book discussing 12 different personality styles of children and different activities you can do to help them manage friendships more smoothly. Often kids fall into more than one category. Please see my review of the book here.
MOVIES TO WATCH AS A FAMILY
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Major themes to think about and discuss….
· Bullying and teasing (Dudley and Harry’s relationship, Harry and Malfoy’s relationship)
· Appearances can be deceiving (Hagrid, Snape, Quirrell)
· Establishing friendships can be a challenge, how you talk and act has an impact on others (Hermoine and Ron & Harry did not get along immediately)
· Finding your place and creating your own support network (Harry in the muggle world with his blood relatives vs. Harry in the wizarding world with his chosen family)
· It is hard to stand up to people you don’t get along with, but harder to stand up to friends (Neville stands up to Ron, Hermoine and Harry
Major themes to think about and discuss…
· Friendship – making new friends and new connections (finding common ground with others, creating a band, being vulnerable with others)
· Change is hard (starting a new school, new people in the family)
· Valuing sports vs. arts (how the principal treats the sports kids vs. the arts kids)
· Bullying (in the cafeteria, at the band’s gig at the pizza place)
· People’s viewpoints of you can change (how other kids look at the members of the band before vs. after their first concert)