GET ACQUAINTED GAMES

STUFFED ANIMAL GAMES Ask children to bring stuffed animals to school the first day. They are great for insecure children and they can be used for many activities. Sit in a circle and one at a time, have children introduce their animals to the group. Then go around again and have the animals introduce their owners. Have children sit with their animal while you tell a story. Ask each animal how it enjoyed the story. Children answer for the animal and get accustomed to speaking in front of the group. Have the animals find the alphabet card with the first letter of their child’s name. Have the animals find the child’s cubby by looking for the child’s name.

PHOTO GAMES When children come to school for orientation day, take head shots of each child. Use the photos to create some classroom games. Make a Memory or Concentration game. Have children find matching pairs of photos. Put photos on cards and put them in a basket. Pull out a photo when you need a helper. Make a Class Album and let children take turns searching for individual children. Blow up photos and make small face puzzles of each child. Place in individual zip-lock bags.

BALL GAME Have children sit in a circle. Roll a small ball to one of the children. Have child who gets the ball, say his/her name. Then have the child roll the ball to someone new. Repeat the action, until everyone has had a turn.

WHO STOLE THE COOKIES? GAME Here is an old favorite of many teachers. Have children sit in a circle. Place a cookie jar in front of you. Start the game by looking in the empty cookie jar and saying, “Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?” Then point to a child and say their name. Such as; “Mary stole the cookies from the cookie jar. Mary responds, “Who me?” Then all children respond, “Yes, you”. Mary responds, “Couldn’t be” The class says, “Then who?” Mary points to another child (who’s name she knows) and says, “Tommy stole the cookies from the cookie jar”. Game continues until all children have had a turn. A fun ending, is for the teacher to confess, “All right, I confess, I stole the cookies from the cookie jar and here they are.” Teacher passes around a plate of cookies for each child to take one.

SPIN THE BOTTLE Place a bottle in the center of the circle and give it a spin. Whichever child the bottle points to when it stops spinning, says her name. That child, then gets up and goes to the middle of the circle and spins the bottle, and sits outside the circle. Continue the game until everyone has said their name.   HOW DO YOU DO? Here is a fun game that includes a little rhyme. Everyone sits in a circle. Turn to the child next to you and shake hands, as you say: “Hello ______ , how do you do.” “Who’s that sitting next to you? If the child next to you is Mary, she turns to the child next to her. When he says his name, she shakes hands with him, and everyone says the rhyme again. Game continues until you have gone around the circle.