I Can Be a Friend

Purpose

To help each child desire to be a good friend.

Preparation

Prayerfully study John 6:1–13 and 11:1–7, 17–44.
Materials needed:
1. A Bible.
2. Picture 1-3, Jesus the Christ (Gospel Art Picture Kit 240; 62572).
Make the necessary preparations for any Enrichment Activities you want to use.

Learning Activities

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Point to yourself and ask, “Who am I?” The children might respond with your name or the word teacher. Explain that you are also their friend, and they are your friends. Explain that friends are people who like each other.

Gather with the children in a circle. Looking at each child in turn, say, “(Name of child) is my friend.” Let each child have a turn doing this, making sure every child is mentioned each time.

We have many friends

Who are your friends?

Allow the children to talk about their friends. Point out that friends can be of any age. Family members can be some of our best friends. Emphasize that each person in the class is a friend.

Show picture 1-3, Jesus the Christ. Explain that the person in the picture is a very good friend to everyone in the class.

Who is our friend in this picture?
How do you know that Jesus is your friend?

Song

Sing or say the words to “Jesus Is Our Loving Friend” (Children’s Songbook, p. 58).

Jesus is our loving friend.
He is always near.
He will guide us when we pray;
Every child is dear.

Story

Tell the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, as found in John 11:1–7, 17–44. Emphasize that Lazarus and his sisters were friends of Jesus. When Jesus was in Bethany, he stayed at their home and had dinner with them.

How did Jesus feel about Lazarus? (See John 11:3, 35–36.)
What did Jesus do for Lazarus? (See John 11:43–44.)
How do you think Lazarus, Mary, and Martha felt toward Jesus?

We can be good friends

How should we treat our friends?

Explain that when we are being good friends, we help others do good things. We care about our friends and want them to be happy. Discuss the importance of treating others the way we like to be treated. Ask how the children could be good friends in situations like these:

You and a friend are playing, and another child comes and wants to play with you.
A new child comes to class for the first time and feels shy or afraid.
A child has been teased and feels bad.

Song

Sing or say the words to “Kindness Begins with Me” (Children’s Songbook, p. 145).

I want to be kind to everyone,
For that is right, you see.
So I say to myself, “Remember this:
Kindness begins with me.”

How do you feel when your friends are kind to you?
How do you think they feel when you are kind to them?

Help the children understand that if they want to have friends, they must be good friends themselves.

Friends share with each other

If you are playing with (name a toy or something else specific), and a friend comes to play with you, what should you do?

Explain that when we let another person play with us, or when we give some of what we have to someone else, we are sharing. Sometimes we can’t divide up what we have, so we take turns with it. This is also sharing.

If one of your friends is hungry and you have food, what should you do?

Story

Show the Bible and tell the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, as found in John 6:1–13. Emphasize that because a young boy shared the food he had, Jesus was able to use his power to make enough food to feed all the people.

Remind the children of the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (told in lesson 32). The widow was blessed because she shared her food even though she did not have very much.

What can we share with our friends?
What can we share with our families?

Song

Have the children stand and sing “Fun to Do” (Children’s Songbook, p. 253), using the phrase “Sharing my (toys, book, or whatever else the children suggest) is fun to do.” Have the children make up actions to go along with the words.

Sharing my toys is fun to do,
Fun to do, to do, to do!
Sharing my toys is fun to do,
To do, to do, to do!

Remind the children that friends help each other, and encourage them to help clean up the classroom as needed.

Testimony

Bear your testimony of the importance of being a good friend. You might share a personal experience about a friend of yours. Remind the children that Heavenly Father and Jesus are our friends and they love us. Encourage the children to be kind to their friends this week.

Enrichment Activities

Choose some of these activities to use during the lesson.

Sing or say the words to “‘Give,’ Said the Little Stream” (Children’s Songbook, p. 236), “Jesus Said Love Everyone” (Children’s Songbook, p. 61), or “Friends Are Fun” (Children’s Songbook, p. 262).
Sing or say the words to “We Are Different” (Children’s Songbook, p. 263). Help the children understand that we should be friends with those who seem different from us as well as those who are like us.
Have the children stand and do the action verse “Dear Little Friend”:

I have the dearest little friend (hug self);

I see her [or him] every day.

I love my friendly little friend.

This is how we play:

We play with dolls (pretend to rock a doll in your arms);

We throw our balls (pretend to throw a ball);

We march like soldiers, too (march quietly in place).

We play in the swing (pretend to swing);

We talk and sing;

Like all good friends should do (fold arms and nod head).
Bring a small treat for the class (check with the children’s parents to make sure no child is allergic to the treat). Place the treat where the children can see it. Mention how good it looks and ask the children if they would like you to share it with them. Ask the children how they would feel if you shared the treat with only some of them. Discuss how others feel when they are not included. Share the treat with the children.
Have each child draw a picture of himself or herself sharing with a friend. Label each picture I can share with my friend.
Tell the following true story in your own words:

The Copper-Toed Shoes

When the pioneers came to live in Utah, most of them were poor. They had spent all their money to buy things for the long trip and to buy the tools they would need to build homes and plant gardens. Because the people didn’t have much money, many children had only one pair of shoes, which they wore on Sundays. They often went barefoot the other days of the week.

One pioneer girl named Melinda had a pair of heavy, ugly, copper-toed shoes that she had worn during the winter. In the summer her family bought her a new pair of pretty, comfortable Sunday shoes, and she was going to wear them in a parade.

Melinda’s best friend, Amanda, had no shoes at all. Melinda felt sorry for Amanda and got her mother’s permission to loan one of her pairs of shoes to Amanda to wear to the parade. As Melinda picked up her old, heavy, copper-toed shoes to take to her friend, her mother said, “If you are going to share, you should give something you would like to receive yourself.”

Melinda thought very hard for a few minutes. She thought about what Jesus would have done. She thought about which pair of shoes she would rather wear, and then she made up her mind. She took her new Sunday shoes for her friend to wear, and she went to the parade wearing her old, ugly, copper-toed shoes. But Melinda felt very happy! She knew she was sharing just as Jesus would want her to do.

Additional Activities for Younger Children

Set out several toys for the children to play with. Discuss the importance of saying “please” and “thank you.” Encourage the children to share the toys when playing and to help each other put the toys away when they are done playing.
As you say the following verse, lead the children in the actions. Repeat if the children desire.

Make Happy Days

Two eyes to see nice things to do (point to eyes),

Two lips to smile the whole day through (smile a large smile).

Two ears to hear what others say (cup hands around ears),

Two hands to put the toys away (pretend to pick up toys and put them away).

A tongue to speak kind words each day (point to mouth),

A loving heart to work and play (hold hands over heart).

Two feet that gladly run (point to feet)—

Make happy days for everyone.
Sing or say the words to “I Have Two Little Hands” (Children’s Songbook, p. 272).