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Circle of Friends
What is a Circle of Friends?
A COF is a group of peer mentors trained by a facilitator to interact with a child with social/behavioral challenges on a consistent basis.
Why have a Circle of Friends?
Kids with social/behavioral challenges are often ignored or teased by their peers. A COF provides numerous, appropriate social interactions resulting in lots of social skills practice and feelings of belonging.
Who benefits from Circle of Friends?
In addition to the child the Circle is for, the peer mentors benefit by developing compassion and an appreciation for individual differences. Teachers and administrators benefit from fewer class disruptions and office referrals, and the decrease in student feelings of isolation and alienation which can sometimes result in an unsafe school environment.
Who facilitates Circle of Friends?
Any school employee can be a facilitator, including regular educators, special educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, and speech language therapists.
What Does a Circle of Friends Do?
Peer mentors in a COF interact with the child the Circle is for daily. They also meet on a regular basis to learn about the child the Circle is for and ways to interact with him/her. The meetings also provide a time for peer mentors to give feedback on how things are going. Some Circle meetings include the child the Circle is for to engage in a fun social activity.
But we don´t have time to have Circle of Friends.
You don´t have time NOT to! When kids feel accepted by peers and have numerous opportunities to have positive social interactions, behavior problems and office referrals decrease, leaving more time for busy teachers and administrators.
Click here to learn how to implement your own COF, get a list of Circle meeting activities, Book Club study guides for peer mentors, and valuable reproducibles, including parent letters, meeting invitations, and much more! Mary Schlieder's - With Open Arms: Creating School Communities of Support for Socially Challenged Kids Using Circle of Friends, Extracurricular Activities, and Staff Learning Teams