The first day at a new school or summer camp can be exciting and absolutely frightening. It feels overwhelming and awkward seeing so many strange faces and knowing you will have to socialize with them if you want to survive in this place.
Most children are known to feel uncomfortable when they meet new people for the first time. Fortunately, all you need are some icebreaker games to ease children into their first day and make them feel welcome.
Icebreaker Games that Children Will Enjoy
Here are some icebreaker games that will allow children to get to know each other. Within no time, they will become friends – you’ll see!
1. Hop to it
If you want to get lazy or sleepy kids moving on the first day of school, Hop to it is the best activity you can find. Not only does it help get kids involved and interested, but it will also allow you to understand them better.
All you need is some colored paper, crayons or markers, scotch tape, and a bunch of questions. These questions can be anything that you want to know about these kids, such as how old they are, their favorite animal, food, or color.
On the construction paper, draw the answers to each of the questions you have chosen. If you feel like that is too much effort, you can even print them out. Then, tape the paper to the floor and ask the kids to stand in a line. Start by asking the questions you have laid out. Each kid will have to jump to the correct answer and then explain their reasoning behind it.
This way, kids will get to know each other better, and so will you.
2. Toss the Ball
Icebreaker games do not have to be complicated. Keep in mind that these games are designed to help kids understand each other and for you to learn more about their personalities.
For this game, all you need is a ball. Get the kids to stand in a circle and then throw the ball to a random kid. Ask them any questions you want, such as “what did you have for breakfast this morning?” After the child is done answering, he will throw the ball to another child and can ask him any question under the sun.
In case some children struggle to come up with questions, keep a list ready and help them out. This will help them understand each other in their own capacity.
3. Book about Me
This is a fun activity that will awaken the creative side of the children in your class. Not only will it keep the kids busy for some time, but the end result will be absolutely amazing. In fact, parents will definitely like to save the final product!
All you need is some cardboard sheets, markers, stickers, staplers, and a list of questions. You can ask things like “how many people do you have in your family?” or “what do your parents do?” or “what do you like doing in your free time?” or the generic “what do you want to be when you grow up?”
Give all children a single sheet for each question. Tell them to draw out their answers. Once done, staple all their sheets together and pass them around the class so each child can understand the other better.