Starting in late January, the first and second graders at The New School began a new Subject Study reading books focusing on friendship. Throughout the course of the study, we are reading stories with underlying themes that demonstrate appropriate social interactions, skills needed to develop and maintain healthy friendships, and how to work through conflict with friends. Students are making connections between the stories and their own friendships while reflecting back on their own experiences and applying the friendship skills we are learning.
The students are enjoying the illustrations, engaging in productive discussions, and understanding higher-level metaphors regarding friendship, such as the story “How to Grow a Friend” by Sara Gillingham which compares the effort needed to preserve friendships with maintaining a garden. We hope students are demonstrating these friendship skills in their interactions at home and beyond!