3rd grade recipe for friends

A great book to read with 3rd graders on friendship is What's the Recipe for Friends? by Greg Williamson. Just like a recipe for a cake or pie needs the right ingredients to taste good, a friendship needs the right ingredients too. After sharing ingredients that make a cake (flour, sugar, butter, etc.) students were asked what ingredients are needed in a friendship (politeness, kindness, sharing, etc.). There are ingredients that can be added to much or that shouldn't be added at all that can spoil a recipe. Students had the opportunity to discuss ingredients/components that would make a cake and a friendship spoiled and/or ruined. After reading the story, students created their own recipe from the book Spectacular Guidance Activities for Kids. Students were able to identify many qualities that are needed for a friendship to be successful and were able to see that we all focus on different components/qualities in our friendships, and that's ok too! It's also important to emphasis to students that we can't expect from others, what we're not willing to give ourselves. It's a great reflective piece to have students think about what they can do to enhance their friendships.