The Best Of Friends® Holiday

A focused introduction to The Best of Friends®

The Best of Friends® Holiday Workshop is a three-hour, psychologist-developed social and emotional learning experience for children aged 5 to 13.

It uses a carefully selected section of the same stories, activities and materials used in the full 10-week The Best of Friends® program, adapted into a shorter, active school-holiday format.

Children learn through games, role-play, creative activities, discussion and guided practice. The aim is to give them an engaging introduction to core friendship skills and practical ideas they can begin using at home, school and in everyday social situations.

Who may benefit

The workshop may suit children who would benefit from extra practice with:

• joining in and making friends
• two-way conversation and listening
• recognising emotions and other people's perspectives
• compromise and flexible thinking
• speaking up appropriately
• managing disagreements and repairing friendship problems

How we form the groups

Children aged 5 to 13 are eligible, but that does not mean all ages attend together.

We form each small group with careful consideration of age, developmental stage and the children registered for that workshop. For example, we would not ordinarily place a five-year-old and a thirteen-year-old in the same group.

Groups are mixed gender. The exact mix of ages and genders varies from workshop to workshop depending on registrations. Our priority is creating a group in which the activities, conversation and peer practice are appropriate for the children attending.

Small-group practice

Groups are intentionally small, generally two to six children. This allows children to practise with real peers while the facilitator can actively support participation, communication and group interaction.

What children practise

The three-hour workshop draws from the broader The Best of Friends® program and focuses on a selection of core social and emotional skills, which may include:

• making and developing friendships
• social expectations and two-way communication
• empathy and perspective-taking
• compromise and cooperation
• managing disagreement and conflict
• peacemaking and repairing friendship difficulties

A shorter version of the full program

The Holiday Workshop uses the same award-winning program materials as the 10-week version, but it is intentionally more concentrated. It provides a three-hour introduction and skills boost, rather than the repeated weekly practice, parent consultations and between-session learning offered in the full term program.

For children who need more time to practise, consolidate and generalise social skills, the 10-week The Best of Friends® Term Program may be the more suitable option.

Award-winning program resources

The Best of Friends® program and resources have received national and international recognition, including from the Australian Book Industry Awards, London Book Fair International Excellence Awards and Speech Pathology Australia.

The holiday workshop draws on selected pages and activities from these beautifully illustrated program materials, using stories, games and creative exercises to make social and emotional concepts easier for children to explore.

Good to know before registering

• The advertised age range is 5 to 13 years, but groups are formed in age- and developmentally appropriate combinations.
• Groups are mixed gender, and the exact gender mix cannot be guaranteed.
• The exact age mix depends on registrations for each workshop.
• This is the three-hour holiday format, not the full 10-week program.
• Some children with existing diagnoses or more significant social, emotional or behavioural needs may require a brief pre-screening to consider whether the group format is appropriate.