Making new friends

Suzie Harrison

They sat in anticipation, listening intently as their teacher read

to them. They eagerly waited for each new page, because that meant an

opportunity to identify the animal or person she pointed out on the

page. The first-graders were wiggling in their anxiousness to give

their answers.

Students in Kathi Skeber’s class were enjoying their lesson about

friendship and its importance as the teacher read “My Friend.”

“What might it be about?” Skeber asked the class, pointing to the

cover.

The cover showed a girl walking among trees.

Gavin Ryan-Massa, 6, was the first to put her hand up.

“It might be about a girl going to her friend’s house for a

slumber party,” Gavin suggested.

The book took the students on a journey with animals and people,

learning that the two can be friends and learn from each other.

“What do you think it means when it says the ant is exploring the

earth?” Skeber asked.

“Maybe the ant is digging to see what’s underground, to see what

stuff is made of,” suggested 6-year-old Nick Vold.

Skeber asked the class again, after they had read the story, what

they thought it was about.

“They learned how to play,” a student jumped in.

The students were asked to find a friend in class, interview them,

draw their picture, find out their favorite color and later, in their

journal, write a passage about their best friend.

“I’m picking Audrey because she’s nice and we like to play tag,”

said 8-year-old Ericka Shields.

Rebecca Westrup, 6, and Christina Dinh, 7, chatted while they drew

pictures of each other, looking up every once in a while to check

what colors they needed.

“I picked her because she was sharing with me in class and picks

me when we’re doing something,” Rebecca said.

“I picked her because she’s my friend and she is nice,” Christina

said.

They helped each other out by suggesting the length of each

other’s hair and how different things should look.

Sitting in pairs the children diligently colored their friend

while finding out more about them.

“Nick’s my new best friend and I like it when we play,” Liam

Benninger, 7, replied after being paired with him earlier.

David Vasquez and Kevin Pantoja, both 7, talked about how much fun

they have together playing.

“When we came in the first grade we saw each other and became

friends,” David said.

With each question, the class was filled with smiling children --

perhaps understanding the value of friendship.