Covid Circle of Friends

Virus or No Virus!

One of the most beautiful fabrics woven into our community over the years has been FRIENDSHIPS built on our core value of Love – including friendships with children of varied abilities. To see the playground alive with groups including students of all different strengths, interests and backgrounds - this is a testimony to the need and desire to include each person within the body of Christ – each one important and valuable. We Are One!

So, if your child has been involved in a classroom with such a friendship, we want to challenge you to discover ways you can continue to have the friends be together and grow together – even when physically apart.

Here are some ideas to get your own creative juices flowing:

REMEMBER TOGETHER:

• Make up a video of a story or time you shared together and send it to your friend. It might be a time on the playground, on a fieldtrip, or a special project in the classroom.
• Put together a card or picture and mail it to your friend. Remind your friend of some of the things you have done together.

PLAY TOGETHER: (games – all sorts) PLAY OVER SOME SORT OF VIDEO CONNECTION.

• Discover a game where you all have the pieces in your home but could share a board or score card. For example, you could pull out Candyland and have one person decide to move the pieces while drawing cards from each person’s home. You could play Yahtzee together – taking turns over video. Consider playing with a few people and enjoying Hangman over DUO or Bingo over ZOOM. 
• Enjoy a home treasure hunt. Have one person put together a list like “something green” or “5 of something”. Make up about 10 items for the list and read them one at a time. Give participants 1 minute to locate that item and show the others on the video call. 
• Enjoy “20 questions”. Have one person put an item in a bag. Have friends guess what might be in the bag asking yes or no questions. Enjoy revealing the item to the others on the video call.

TAKE ON A FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGE:

Put out a challenge within friend groups and take a photo/video of that challenge to send to one another when done. Take a picture or video of things like:

• a snack you made yourself
• a costume you enjoy wearing
• the cleanest bedroom challenge
• the best Lego creation
• the tallest block tower
• the best smile
• record a joke for the others and submit it to your friends for the funniest joke
• record your favorite song for others to enjoy
• the wackiest race
• best sidewalk chalk drawing

WELCOME GOD IN THE MIDDLE:

• Put up a picture of your friend(s) and have a prayer wall. Connect with one another and use post it notes to put prayer requests by the picture of your friend(s). Pray for each other and then find out how God answered that prayer or continue to pray as God answers in the future.
• Take the BLESSING challenge. There is a link that gives more details. https://allbelong.org/home/covid-19-resources/family-blessing-document-covid-002/
• As a family, memorize this beautiful blessing and find a way to say it over your friend:

“God go before you to lead you, 

God go behind you to protect you, 

God go beneath you to support you, 

God go beside you to befriend you. 

Do not be afraid. 

May the blessing of God the Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit be upon you.

Do not be afraid. 

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. 

Amen.”

WHEN RESTRICTIONS EASE A BIT:

• Consider making a friend survival package to drop off on the porch. Do a visit through a window to observe social distancing rules.
• Meet up to do a walk or bike ride in a park or neighborhood.
• Have a Circle of Friends trunk lunch. Choose a parking lot location and back up your vehicles to form a circle and enjoy having lunch by your trunk while visiting with others in your trunk lunch circle. 

CREATE YOUR OWN BRAND OF CONNECTION:

• Be creative – come up with some additional ideas.
• One of the JOYS of my job over many years has been to witness these friendships happening each day. Please send me an email with a picture or an idea you have tried. I would love to be FLOODED with these! 

Have fun and keep those friendships going!