Friendship activities for preschool: a 5-day plan

This five-day plan of friendship activities for preschool guides children in Nursery (ages 3–4) through the fundamentals of early social connection. Across five structured sessions, children discover what makes a caring companion, celebrate similarities and differences, and practise sharing. Integrated learning links the letter Gg, counting groups up to fifteen, and colour exploration through cooperative classroom experiences.

At a glance

Aspect	Details
Age band	Nursery (ages 3–4)
Length	5 days
Learning goals	Explain what a friend is, notice similarities and differences, identify positive friendship qualities, recognise and write letter Gg, count from 11 to 15, and explore shapes and the colour orange
Key materials	Raw pasta, string, paper, paints, fresh oranges, fruit-salad ingredients, utensils, role-play props, letter Gg cards, chalk, slates, and shape cut-outs
Printables	Nursery Week 9 — Friends (lesson plan) and Combined week package

The five-day plan

This structured sequence balances daily emotional-learning conversations with creative hands-on projects, movement warm-ups, and early academic routines. Each day highlights a distinct aspect of companionship while reinforcing letter recognition, counting, and colour exploration.

Day 1: Introduction to the topic of Friends

The week opens with a circle discussion about what makes a companion special, after which children thread raw pasta shapes onto lengths of string to make wearable friendship bracelets for their peers. Close adult supervision is essential throughout the threading craft because small pieces of dry pasta pose a choking hazard for young children. The group then meets the letter Gg sound using objects like glue and grains before heading on an Orange Colour Hunt around the classroom to collect and count bright items.

Who are your favourite people to spend time with?

Day 2: How are Friends different yet Similar

Working in pairs, children discuss personal differences and shared preferences before taking turns fingerpainting companion fish in a shared bowl using the How are Friends different yet Similar? activity sheet. Confirm any food allergies or dietary needs with families in advance before children handle or taste fresh citrus fruit. Children then sing phonic rhymes for the letter Gg and draw familiar /g/ words before peeling fresh oranges, counting the juicy segments, and pressing them through a sieve into juice bowls.

Who was your first friend? What is it that you like about your friends?

Day 3: What Good Friends Do

Children explore kindness by talking about helpful actions, exchanging a snack treat with a partner to practise generosity (check allergies and dietary needs with families first), and listening to the story ‘Rescuing a Friend’. They reinforce these positive social habits by identifying caring behaviours on the Being Kind and Caring worksheet. During literacy, children present items brought from home, air-trace the letter Gg, and practise letter forms in sand trays before counting collections of twigs and pencils from 11 to 15.

What do you do for your friends?

Day 4: Making Friendship Salad

The class gathers to prepare a symbolic Friendship Salad, combining diced bananas, apples, and sweet toppings (check allergies and dietary needs with families first) where each ingredient corresponds to an important value such as sharing or helpfulness. Children spoon their shared portions into cups and offer them to classmates, demonstrating generosity through cooperative preparation. Learners then paste grains along letter curves with an adult close by using Tracing Letter Gg Symbols before arranging paper cut-outs of lines and geometric patterns into cooperative floor art.

How do friends help you in your daily life?

Day 5: Friends Role Play

Using pretend-play props and accessories, children act out everyday playground dilemmas, practising calm conflict resolution when someone feels left out before crafting decorative paper friendship crowns to gift to a peer. Literacy time features drawing mystery word chits from a bag to practise Writing Letter Gg on slates, followed by numeracy where children mix red and yellow paint to colour over white crayon resist artwork.

How has a friend made you happy with their kind/sweet words?

Adapting the week

• For younger or less confident children: Provide larger pasta tubes with stiffened string or tape-wrapped ends for easier threading, and pair hesitant children with reassuring partners during role-play activities.
• For children who need more challenge: Extend numeracy by counting collections beyond 15, or encourage children to write additional letter Gg words and sound out initial consonants independently.
• For small spaces or limited floor access: Replace large movement courses with tabletop sorting trays, seated stretching routines, and small-group floor mat stations.
• For home learners: Substitute classroom partner activities by collaborating with siblings or family members, using soft toys to model role-play dilemmas, and using everyday kitchen fruit for shared snacks.

Questions teachers ask

How do you explain friendship to 3-year-olds?

At age three, friendship is best explained through concrete everyday actions rather than abstract social concepts. Describe a friend simply as someone you enjoy playing with, sharing toys with, and treating kindly. Use simple group conversations, partner games, and stories to help young children notice how kind actions make others feel happy and secure.

How can you help preschool children resolve peer conflicts during play?

Role-playing familiar classroom disagreements gives young children safe practice before real disputes occur. Provide simple scenarios, such as wanting the same toy or feeling left out of a game, and guide children to use calm words. Practising turn-taking games and collaborative art projects reinforces cooperation, reassuring children that conflicts can be solved with patience and mutual respect.

What materials work best for preschool friendship crafts?

Accessible classroom materials that encourage cooperation work best for this age group. Sturdy paper, paint, brushes, and threading string paired with large pasta shapes allow children to create keepsakes for each other without frustration. Adding sensory elements like sand-tracing trays, fruit for shared preparation, and dressing-up props keeps children deeply engaged while developing fine motor and social skills.

Get the printables

All printable activity sheets, daily schedules, and guided teacher plans for this unit are available in the Superbuddy library. You can download the complete Nursery Week 9 — Friends (lesson plan) and the Combined week package from the Superbuddy library, which is free to start. For more early years teaching ideas and classroom activities, explore the Topic hub: friendship.