FRIENDSHIP SALAD

This is a great lesson to teach during the first week of school when the kids are learning about room rules and manners! I use it every year and the kids really love it!

Items Needed:
Very Large Bowl
Large Mixing
Spoon
paper plates or bowls
plastic spoons
Several cans of fruit (a variety is good)
Marshmallows
very old and rotten banana

I explain to the kids that the big bowl is like our classroom and that there are many important things that our room needs..especially good friends and happy days at school.
Add one can of fruit...."These are the kind kids in our room."(You can elaborate....they help each other at school, and wait their turn in line...)
Add another can of fruit..."These are the hard workers in our room" (..they get their work done and always try their best, even when work gets hard!)
Add another can of fruit..."These are the kids who share" (...they know how to share their supplies, and they share the toys at center time....)
Add some marshmallows..."These are the kind words being said in our room." (...words like please and thank you, and I'm sorry, when someone gets hurt...)
Add the yogurt...."This is the happiness we feel when we are at school." (...when we laugh, when we learn, when we have treats, and when we get to play at recess....)
Talk about the yummy friendship salad, how good it will tasted and then pretend to begin to peel the rotten banana. The kids have always yelled "Stop!!!" before I even get the banana peeled. I tell them that this is the Rotten Banana that could cause trouble in our happy classroom. This might be a banana that calls names, does not share, refuses to do school work, etc... We all vote NOT to put the rotten banana in our Friendship Salad.
This is your opportunity to talk with the children about why the children do not want this banana in their friendship salad AND how to make the connection with them about the importance of following rules and having good manners. It is fun to hear the children say throughout the year, "We don't want any rotten bananas in here!" or "Don't act like that or you'll be like a Rotten Banana!"