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Friendship theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A friendship theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole friendship week

A day of the friendship theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “What is one kind thing you can do for a friend?”, sing “pat-a-cake”, then Fox and the Hen.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: kindness chain.
  4. Letter K: trace it once, then hunt for K around the room.
  5. Snack: Fruit Burritos, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: partner jobs.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud.

Friendship circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “What is one kind thing you can do for a friend?”
  4. Sing: Pat-a-Cake.
  5. Read: Fox and the Hen (level 1).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Friendship theme books

  • Fox and the Hen (level 1, free on peabody.kids): A fox and a hen who are kind to each other.
  • A Bun for Fran (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Sharing a bun.
  • Stop, Bus! (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A bus that stops to help.
  • Pat, Pat, Pat (level 0, free on peabody.kids): Small kindnesses in a pattern.

Friendship craft: Kindness chain

You need (3): paper strips, crayons, glue stick.

  1. Draw a kind thing on a strip (a grown-up writes the words).
  2. Loop it onto the class chain.
  3. Add a link every time someone is kind.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Friendship song: Pat-a-Cake

The words

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man, Bake me a cake as fast as you can; Pat it and prick it and mark it with B, And put it in the oven for baby and me.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Friendship snack

Fruit Burritos from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Peanut butter → sunflower seed butter; Yogurt → oat yogurt.

Letter K activities

KkK is for kind. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace K and k once, then find K in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Partner jobs

Pairs carry a ball together on a blanket or a towel from one end of the yard to the other.

Friendship theme for toddlersFriendship theme for 2 year oldsFriendship theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30