Today is my final session for my placement. Reflecting on the past weeks, it has been so clear to me that such an important part of childhood is based on relationships and friendships.

In the different groups there are so many different aspects underlying why a child acts the way that they do. There are many reasons behind different behaviours, and how easily children can form friendships or associate with their peers.

Today it is the last session and it is raining. All the boys and the two girls are here today. One of the girls said to the other ” I am happy you are here”.

We are putting up a shelter and starting a campfire. Each of the children helped with the setting up of the shelter. We all huddled under the shelter for warmth. The boys went out to collect some dry wood to put in the fire. They all went off as a group.

The girls today were learning how to tie knots. One of the girls had forgotten how to tie one of the knots. So the other girl demonstrated how she would do it and the other girl copied, they were working together to expand their knowledge on the different knots. They would ask us if they needed help.

This time I tried to join in on the pokemon game. I had learnt a few of the moves. They invited me to join and I began to play. The play was simple and the invitation allowed me to be fully part of it. There was still the one boy on the outside, who didn’t quite understand the game and knowing he had been invited to play, just like I had.

These small interactions allowed me to understand, that an invitation was essential. It was simple communication that allowed me to join in, they were teaching me while the game was going on without me having to ask questions. I know now I could pick it up from next week.

I couldn’t help but think throughout all of the sessions, there were three siblings who seemed to all struggle. The youngest boy often excluded himself from groups, the middle would be with the younger boys but didn’t understand how to join play and the older girl would only interact with this other girl.

I met their parents at the end of each session. The dad was a very laid back individual and the mum was more on the serious side. My teacher had said they struggled to get a balance between the mum being strict and the dad being too laid back, a divide in parenting. This made me question how much your childhood and family life affects your friendships later on.