Friendship Bracelets: A Tutorial

Friendship Bracelets

I've been making Friendship Bracelets for years with kids in groups.  It's a great "getting-to-know-you" activity when a group is just starting out.  This activity would be equally fitting for a birthday party, sleep-over, daycare activity or just a rainy day.  Heck, you don't even need a "group" to do it.

What To Do:

1. Gather up some straws. You'll also need scissors and a pipe-cleaner for each participant.

2. Cut straws into equal-sized "beads".  Depending upon the age of the participants, you may need do this beforehand.

3. Give each child a set of "beads" and a pipecleaner. 



Each child should get a set of beads ALL of the SAME COLOR! 

One child gets ALL yellow.

 One child gets ALL green, etc. You'll see why in a minute!

4. Make each color of the "beads" have a corresponding question.  The leader of the group asks a question, or provides a sentence stem, that elicts a response from each participant which helps all members get to know each other. 

Here are some examples:

YELLOW: Tell us your name.

GREEN: What's your favorite book?

BLUE: What's your favorite movie?

ORANGE: What's your favorite sport (whether you play it or not)?

PURPLE: What's your favorite school subject?

RED: Tell about something you can do really well.

As you go around the table and each child answers the question, the child holding the corresponding "bead" color gives a bead to each child.  By the end of the game, each child will have one of each color!

This is an excellent way to help kids get to know each other, yet also have something to do to keep their fingers busy while they practice "listening" to each other as well!

Have you done a similar activity in the past?  How have you done it?  I'd love to hear!

As always from Kidlutions, we wish you Happy Parenting {and Teaching}!



Wendy Young, LMSW, BCD, is  the founder of Kidlutions and co-author of BLOOM: 50 Things to Say, Think and Do with Anxious, Angry and Over-the-Top Kids, co-creator of BLOOM Brainsmarts, and creator of The Joyful Parent. She is the creator of numerous workbooks and resources to help from the preschool through the teen years. 

Join the newsletter and get our Anger Toolbox for Kids for free! Follow her on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, You Tube and Facebook! She'd love to see your smiling face there! Affiliate links may be used in this post. Please see our full disclaimer, located at the top of our page for more information.

Looking for more help with

teaching kids about friendship

and kindness?