Children in kindergarten sometimes need encouragement to think about other people's qualities. They may like someone, but they don't exactly know why. Teach students to find characteristics that they like about each other. Help each child to write a sentence that describes something kind about the other students in the class. Children may illustrate their sentences if they choose. Take all of the comments for each student and put them in a book. Every child will then have a reminder of the kind thoughts his classmates have about him.
Gather information from the class to make various types of graphs. You might make a bar graph of birthdays or a tally chart of eye colors. You could also graph numbers of family members, favorite colors and other information that friends usually know about each other. Extend the lesson to include information from other classrooms. The students will be finding out more about more about their schoolmates while learning how to gather and display information.
Teach students about cooperation and taking turns by making a delicious class soup for lunch. Start by planning which ingredients to use. When you make the soup, allow each child to add an ingredient when his turn comes. Students can also use a measuring cup to add water and broth as necessary. When it is time to serve the soup, the children can help serve each other by passing out crackers, bowls, spoons and napkins.
Read "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister. Discuss the choices Rainbow Fish makes and how they affect the fish around him. Then talk about the qualities that make someone a good friend. Divide students into small groups. Give each group a scenario to act out that shows friendly behavior. After they have acted it out in front of the class, demonstrate what would have been a rude and unfriendly response that could have happened.