Wanna Play: Friendship Skills for Preschool and Elementary Grades

′This work is very important, especially for children who struggle to make friends. Every educator who wants to make the world a better place should read this book!′ - William S. Hallowell, Cofounder, Majoda Center for Learning ′I recommend the activities to anyone looking for a better way to teach friendship skills to children′ - Dawnylle Cerula, Speech Language Pathologist, Orchard Friends School, Moorestown, NJ ′The authors truly make a difference in the lives they touch. Their program would be a benefit to any school district or child in need′ - Robin Baker, Coordinator of Special Education, Charter High School for Architecture and Design, Philadelphia, PA Youngsters at risk or with developmental delays or disabilities may experience considerable difficulty in learning how to make friends. This practical teacher resource presents the Wanna Play Program™, a curriculum devoted specifically to helping young children develop the social skills they need to interact appropriately with individuals and groups. This teacher-friendly handbook provides over 60 lesson plans involving more than 300 games and activities. With dozens of photocopiables, it offers many instructional options for teachers, including: • Lesson plans outlining teaching concepts, objectives, and attitudinal approaches • Links to Individual Education Program (IEP) goals and reporting categories • Practical, flexible methods of engaging young students in developing friendship skills • Constructive advice for teaching children who exhibit difficult behaviour but may not have been diagnosed with a disability Discover how to foster young children′s ability to develop the relationship-building skills they′ll need in their early years and beyond.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction: Welcome to the Wanna Play Program Guidelines for Curriculum Success How to Use This Book Social Interactive Checklist Unit 1. Discovering Friendship Lesson 1. What is a Friend? Lesson 2. Making New Friends Lesson 3. Building Friendships Lesson 4. Relationships With Different Types of Friends Unit 2. Making Eye Contact for Interaction Lesson 1. What is Eye Contact? Lesson 2. Looking to Talk Lesson 3. Looking to Listen Lesson 4. Looking to Learn Lesson 5. Interest in Others Unit 3. Being a Friend Lesson 1. Fun With Friends Lesson 2. Sweet Words / Kind Words Lesson 3. Safe Body / Body Safety Lesson 4. Playing Together Unit 4. Appropriate Body Behavior Lesson 1. Introduction to Appropriate Body Lesson 2. Body Needs - Strengths and Weaknesses Lesson 3. Personal Play Space Lesson 4. Body Privacy Lesson 5. Modesty / Hygiene Lesson 6. Appropriate Bodies in Different Environments Unit 5. Interacting in a Group Lesson 1. Listening in a Group Lesson 2. Socializing in a Group Lesson 3. Learning in a Group Lesson 4. Adult-Lead Groups Unit 6. Playing Games Lesson 1. Sportsmanship / Cheering and Encouragement Lesson 2. Who Goes First? Lesson 3. Happy Endings Lesson 4. Playing Friends′ Games Lesson 5. Outdoor Games Lesson 6. Indoor Games Appendix A. Friendship Cards Appendix B. Worksheets

About the Author :
Ruth Herron Ross, owner and author of The Wanna Play Program, holds a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Beaver College and a Master of Science in Special Education and Specialty Reading from St. Joseph’s University. She is currently working on her BCBA. Ruth has dedicated her life to the education of children with special needs and the autism community. Ruth has work with children from ages two to seventeen and is trained in a variety of one-on-one early intervention and therapeutic programs such as ABA, Floortime, Son-Rise, and Interactive Metronome. Her 15 years of education experiences, combined with her early intervention training, gave Ruth the foundation of knowledge in autism, language development, and socialization skills needed to create The Wanna Play Program. Over the years she has provided numerous trainings to parents and professional and is a founding member and lead trainer of the Valley Forge Education Services’ community outreach program Caring Kinships: ASD—Matching Families with Sitters. Ruth has been facilitating social skill groups and individual sessions for children as director of the Pennsylvania location for the past ten years and in the New Jersey location for the past two years. Beth and Ruth have been successfully using their education, personal experience, and passion in children’s social development for over a decade. They found that children were not applying the social skills they had learned into school and community settings. There were few programs dealing with socialization that accommodated children on many different interactive levels. They developed a curriculum that was flexible and easily personalized for the specific needs of each child. This insight has evolved into The Wanna Play Program. Ruth Herron Ross and Beth Roberts have been successfully using The Wanna Play Program’s techniques with children for over a decade. They have lectured in schools, parent support groups and conferences on the program’s benefits and application. They have been training teachers, parents, professional and children on social skills as well as the methodology and teaching guidelines suggested in the program.

Review :
"An excellent resource for teachers, parents, or anyone who works with children who struggle with making and keeping friends. I have used the lessons and games from the Wanna Play Program in my lessons and recommend this book to anyone looking for a better way to teach friendship skills to children." "The work done by the authors is very important, especially for children who struggle to make friends. They truly understand the difficulties these children face and give them concrete tools that help them be more successful socially. Every educator who wants to make the world a better place should read this book!" "The authors have been instrumental in using a concrete and sequential social skills curriculum to address students’ needs. The Wanna Play™ program uses an individualized and small group instructional model along with cooperative social experiences and fun, engaging activities for children. It has offered common-sense strategies along with assistance in developing functional behavioral assessments and support plans for many of my students."