best friends kids

Weekly Fun Plan: A Good Friend

ByChelsea

*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link*

Welcome to this week’s Weekly Fun Plan: A Good Friend! If you haven’t already I recommend you read my introductory blog post “Faith-filled Fun: What Is It? And Why I Started It”. That post will give you some background into this blog and a little more in-depth explanation of my Weekly Fun Plans and how to use them. 

This Week’s Theme: A Good Friend

It’s been an exciting year for our family. This past fall my daughter started preschool, and it was her first real experience being in a classroom and meeting lots of new kids at once. She was so excited to start school and make some new friends. Now we’re halfway through the school year and I can’t believe all the wonderful new friends she’s made. I’ve got to say, there’s something so incredibly sweet about hearing my daughter talk about all her new friends at school and all the fun they have together each day. 

As easy as it is for little kids to make new friends, the older they get the more complicated friendships become but also the more important they can be for a child. I know, I for one, hope that my children don’t just have friends but have GOOD friends! That starts with teaching my kids what a “good friend” looks like and how to be one themselves. So this week our Bible lesson focuses on what it means to be a good friend. All our craft, snack, and activity ideas are going to be friendship-themed. 

If you try anything in this week’s plan don’t forget to share your experiences on social media! Tag us @faithfilledfun on Instagram or use #faithfilledfun. New Weekly Fun Plans drop each Monday so stay up to date with the blog each week by subscribing to my email list!

Bible Lesson: What to Read or Watch this week

Since this week we are focusing on learning about what it means to be a good friend, here are some great resources to read/watch:

If you have young children (ages 0-8): 

Read:

This week we’re going to learn about what it means to be a good friend. Can you name some of your friends? What qualities make them a good friend?

Just like every important thing in our lives, the Bible has lots to say about what it means to be a good friend. Let’s look at these verses in the Bible and see if we can list the qualities that we should look for when making new friends and more importantly the qualities we should always strive to have as a friend to others.

  • Proverbs 17:17
  • Proverbs 11:5
  • Luke 6:31
  • Romans 12:10
  • Colossians 3:12
  • Hebrews 10:24-25
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11
  • John 15:12
  • Galatians 6:2
  • Matthew 25:35
  • 1 Timothy 6:18
  • 1 Peter 2:17
  • Proverbs 27:17

So according to the Bible, some of the qualities of a good friend are: loving, kind, caring, generous, encouraging, respectful, reliable, sharing, forgiving, helpful, inclusive, honorable, honest, fair, and faithful.

We know that Jesus was all of these things. He was a good friend and he wants us to be a good friend too. By being a good friend we can shine the light of Jesus to others and draw them closer to Him. So if you ever wonder what you should do when it comes to your friendships, look to Jesus and the Bible for the answers and try your best always to be a good friend.

Watch:

“What Makes a GOOD FRIEND? (18 Minutes of Bible Stories & Songs for Kids) | Minno Day Show” on YouTube. This is a fun Minno Day Show episode on friendship by Minno – Bible Stories for Kids and is a perfect compliment for this week’s lesson.

If you have older children/teens (ages 9-18):

Read: the same verses and have the same discussion mentioned above but encourage your older kids to try and find more Bible verses on what it means to be a good friend during their own personal study time. There are lots! Then have them take notes on what they think God is trying to teach them about themselves and what they can do better in their friendships.

Bible Lesson: Questions to Ask Your Kids/Discuss this week

If you read the recommended Bible verses or watched the YouTube video for this week your kids should be able to answer this week’s question:

Where can I find the answer on how to be a good friend? Answer: Look in the Bible!

If you have little ones (ages 0-8):

I would focus on that one question this week, and work on having them memorize the answer. Then see how many different qualities of a good friend they can remember from the list we came up with in the lesson. 

If you have older children (ages 9-18):

Here are some additional questions you can discuss with them throughout the week:

  • What makes you a good friend?
  • How can you be a good friend this week?

Bible Lesson: Memory Verse

Memorizing scripture is vital to teaching our children at a young age. Recalling and reciting scripture that they’ve memorized will help them as they grow and go through trials in life. It will also encourage them, equip them to go out and be little disciples of Jesus, and strengthen their faith as they age.

This week let’s have your kids work on memorizing Proverbs 17:17a

proverbs 17:17a

Memorizing scripture is so much easier for kids if you can find a way to make it fun. Here are some different ideas to try as a family to help memorize this week’s verse:

  • Come up with some simple motions for each word of the verse and make a cheer or dance out of it.
  • Come up with your own melody and create a song out of it.
  • Make it a game. Start by saying one word or phrase of the verse at a time and have your kids repeat after you until you’ve gotten through the whole verse. Then repeat the process saying the words differently every time. Examples: slow, fast, in a silly voice, quiet, loud, etc.

Once your child/children have got it, I recommend practicing reciting the verse each morning over breakfast or before they leave for school and maybe even again before bed. Make it a part of your routine and you’ll be amazed at how fast they will begin to pick it up.

Supplies needed for this week’s activities

Here is a quick list of all the supplies that you will need to complete all the suggested crafts, activities, and snacks for this week’s plan. For a list of my most used craft supplies, and things I will be utilizing often in future Weekly Fun Plans be sure to check out my Links page.

Recipe: Heart Snack Kabobs

This week’s recipe is a fun way to present a sweet and healthy snack to your kids. Serve these Heart Snack Kabobs as a cute breakfast or an afternoon snack, either way, your kids will love them. Follow the link for the full recipe.

heart snack kabobs

Crafts:

For this week’s crafts, we are making “Heart Friendship Necklaces” and this “Hugging Heart Friendship Art”. Both crafts are super simple and great for driving home our lesson on friendship and putting it into practice.

Heart Friendship Necklaces:

Our first craft this week is a cute alternative to common friendship bracelets. Follow the link for easy step-by-step instructions for these Heart Friendship Necklaces.

heart friendship necklaces

Hugging Heart Friendship Art:

For our second craft this week, we have this adorable Hugging Heart Friendship Art. This craft is easy to make and a great way for your kids to remember the qualities of a good friend that we learned about this week! Follow the link for an easy step-by-step guide.

hugging heart friendship art

Activities:

With our theme this week “A Good Friend” here are a few extra ideas for activities to do with your children:

  • Do something kind for a friend (For example: give a friend one of the friendship necklaces you made)
  • Tell a friend what you love about them/about being their friend.
  • Schedule a play date so your kids can play with their friends.

Parenting Tip of the Week:

Our identity and our children’s identity should always come from Christ first and foremost. We are who God says we are and not what the world or other people might say we are. As much as we as parents might know it in our hearts, hear about it at church, or read it in our Bibles, it’s so important to remind ourselves and our children daily what our identity is in Christ. Recently one of my favorite Christian influencers, Lacy Abercrombie, shared a list of Christian affirmations she reads over herself every morning and it stuck with me. I typed up the list and have been reading it over myself and my kids ever since and I think it could benefit you and your family too. So I’ve created a free downloadable Christian Affirmations poster for you to print off and use and have also attached it below for you to read. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Christian Affirmations poster

Prayers:

Lastly, I like to end each Weekly Fun Plan with some example prayers for your week. One is to pray with your kids, maybe before they get on the bus in the morning, before a meal, or before bed, and the other prayer is for you, the parent, to pray over your kids throughout the week.

Prayer to say with your kids this week: 

Dear God, Thank You for giving us your word to study and Jesus to look at as the ultimate example of a friend. Please help me to be a good friend to others. Amen.

Prayer to pray over your kids this week: 

Dear God, Thank You for sending your son, and thank You for your word to teach us. I pray for my child/children and the friendships they will have as they grow. Help them to find good friends who will encourage, care for, respect, and love them and guide my child to do the same for others. Amen.

I hope you have an amazing week and don’t forget to subscribe to my email list and follow me on Instagram @faithfilledfun to stay up to date with the blog!

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