📚Unit Plans → 🌱Y0–3 Starter Pack → 3Whānaungatanga
Years 0–3 (Phase 1 Primary) Hauora / Health & PE

Lesson 3: Whānaungatanga — Making Friends & Caring for Others

Phase 1 Primary (Years 0–3). Young tamariki practise turn-taking, kindness (Manaakitanga), and friendship skills, writing Booklet Page 3.

Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua

Friendship Web CircleTamariki pass a ball of yarn, sharing a kind compliment to create a web10 min
Turn-Taking GamePractising 'My Turn, Your Turn' with wooden blocks and playdough15 min
Manaakitanga High-FivesIdentifying 3 ways to show kindness (sharing, helping, encouraging)15 min
Booklet ActivityComplete Page 3: My Friendship Handprint & Kindness Bingo10 min
Friendship CheckHigh-five a friend and say "Thank you for being my friend!"5 min

Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions

Tamariki will know

  • How to make new friends through polite words ("Can I play with you please?").
  • What Manaakitanga looks like in action: Sharing toys, waiting patiently for a turn, helping a friend.
  • How our classroom web holds us together when we care for one another (Whānaungatanga).

Tamariki will demonstrate

  • By completing Page 3 of their Starting School Adventure Booklet.
  • By giving a friend a warm high-five and compliment during carpet time.

Friendship Web Mat Game (10 min)

Whānaungatanga Yarn Web:

"When we hold the ball of yarn and pass it to a friend, we build a strong web! We are all connected in our classroom whānau!"

Action: Children roll yarn across the circle, saying: "Kia ora [Name], I like playing with you!"

Turn-Taking Game (15 min)

Set up three stations with one shared resource each — a tub of wooden blocks, one lump of playdough, one set of stampers. Two or three tamariki per station, deliberately not enough to go round. The shortage is the lesson.

1. The sand timer does the arguing

Put a visual sand timer at each station. Teach one sentence and have them practise it out loud before they start: "You can have a turn when the sand runs down." Children police the timer, not each other.

2. Practise asking, not grabbing

The matching sentence for the child waiting is "Can I play with you please?" Rehearse both lines as a pair before the stations open — most turn-taking failures at this age are missing words, not missing willingness.

Kaiako: step in only when a child is upset. A child who waits badly and then waits is learning; a child rescued instantly is not.

Manaakitanga High-Fives (15 min)

Back on the mat: "Manaakitanga means looking after other people so they feel good in our room. What does that actually look like?"

1. Name the three ways

Build the list with them and draw each one on the chart: sharing, helping, encouraging. Keep it to three — a new entrant can hold three.

2. Kindness Bingo, then a high-five

Tamariki tick off kindness actions they actually did at the stations — helped a buddy, used quiet voices, shared a pencil, said thank you — and high-five the person they did it for.

🎨 Tamariki Adventure Booklet — Page 3: My Friendship Tree

Tamariki open Page 3 of their Starting School Adventure Booklet:

Page 3 Activities:

1. Friendship Handprints: Trace your hand overlapping a friend's handprint to create a Friendship Flower!

2. Kindness Stars: Colour 3 stars for 3 kind things you did for a buddy today.

Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)

Exit Circle Check:

"My Page 3 shows my Friendship Flower made with my carpet buddy!"

Teacher Planning & NZ Curriculum Alignment

NZ Curriculum Phase 1 Alignment (Years 0–3 Health & Physical Education / Relationships):

  • Relationships with Others: Demonstrate willingness to share, take turns, and express care for peers.
  • Whānaungatanga: Build sense of group cohesion and positive peer connections.

Vocabulary: Whānaungatanga, manaakitanga, turn-taking, kindness, friendship.