Forest Room November What Does It Mean To Be A Friend?

                           What Does It Mean To Be A Friend?
                                                     
                                                         

Two children were running from sharks.  They ran and ran until the first of the two became tired. 

Panting, the first child stopped. 

The second child wanted to keep running and said, "Hey let's run.  They're coming, they're coming!"  

The friend: "No, I don't want to."  

The second said again, "Let's run! They're coming!" When this exclamation  didn't bring about desired results, a push jolted the panting friend. 

Reaching out to them a teacher said, "I wonder what you guys might be trying to tell each other."  To the first child, "What are you trying to tell your friend?" and then to the second child she asked the same question. 

The first said, "I don't want you to chase me." 

The second replied, "I want to run.  Will you play with me?"  

This became a discussion which evolved into a crawling game where giggling, they reconnected with each other for a few moments. 

The first got up and ran again, stopping a few feet away. The latter almost crashed.  With frustration came the question, "Why won't .... play with me?" 

Teacher:  "Sometimes our friends don't want to do what we would like to do.  Do you feel that way sometimes?"  

Her question was met with a nod and a new challenge of trying to balance on a line of raised bricks.


Our work in the Forest Room is grounded by a quest to explore relationships with each other.  "How can I play with you? How powerful are my words? If I want to play with you, will you want to play with me? Can I still be your friend if you don't want to do what I want to do? Will you be my friend if I don't want to do what you want to do? If I push you, will you still be my friend?  Are you OK? Is there anything I can do for you?