Friendship

Four year olds spend a great deal of time talking about “being friends” or “not being friends”.  In an attempt to understand their language, we are diving deep into what it means to be a friend.  This week in the mini studio, we met with small groups to talk about friendship and what it looks like from the children’s perspectives.  The following conversations and images unfolded..

What does friend mean?
"Always together. Never giving up." -ADA
"If you don't have friends, you don't have any happy." -LIAM
"It means you just have to be nice to someone. But if you don’t be nice to them you’re still friends, but they might not play with you." -HENRY
"That you like to be with people all the time. If you're sick, you can't be with a friend." -ADA "And if you're sick, you can't go to school and see your other friends." -LIAM
“It’s like Quinn and Spencer. They love doing things together.” - NICO
How do friends make you feel?
"Happy!" -MADDY
"They make you do the right thing."-HENRY "That you're suppose to do."-QUINN
"Well when they do something that you don’t like, then you feel sad." -QUINN
"Friends make me feel brave." -SYLVIE
"'Cause they love you. They play with you all day." -NICO
"They say happy things to me. Like I love you." -MADELINE R.
"I was really happy when I met Maddie (MPR) as a baby and I said 'Hello' and she said it back!" -SPENCER
How are you a friend?
"Be nice and hug people. Draw with them." -SYLVIE
"to play!" -ADA "Yeah! To play!" -HANNAH
"You like each other. You play together." -MARGOT
"To make a new friend, like you say 'Hi, do you want to play?" -MADELINE P.R.