It’s almost that time again ~ Back to School for the kids! This is an exciting time of year for everyone but it can also be kind of an awkward one at the Child Care Center. New kids to school may feel anxious or apprehensive – not knowing what to expect or how to act. Old friends may stick together with those they already know to make themselves comfortable. Meanwhile, Staff may be feeling a bit rusty after coming back to work from a few months off. This is the time when Icebreaker Games and Activities are at their most essential. They will help loosen everyone up a bit, make them smile, and help break out of their shells and get to know one another. Here a few ideas to help get things started:
Leader Led Skits/Songs- Have your Staff take the lead and come up with fun skits or songs to get the kids laughing and involved.
Name Game Toss- Form a circle and find a fun squishy ball to toss around the circle ( I love these bumpy balls from Lakeshore Learning for their great sensory play.) Have a each child state their name and 1 special thing about themselves and then toss the ball to someone else in the circle who has not played yet.
Who am I and What am I Doing? Game- Have the children stand in a circle and turn to the person to their right and ask “Who am I and What am I doing?” Some examples would be, ” A ballerina picking her nose” or “A dinosaur jumping on a trampoline” — the sillier the ideas the better, just be sure to encourage the kids to be safe and keep things appropriate.
Dinner Party- A fun improv game. You may have seen something similar on the the popular show, Whose Line is it Anyway. To give kids the general idea of how the game works you may want to have staff demonstrate the first round. Assign one character to be the Dinner Party Host and keep that person in a separate room until the game begins. Next choose 3 “guests” to attend the Dinner Party. Have the children come up with roles for these guests. Examples include: Astronaut, Clown, Cowboy, Beauty Queen, to name a few. Now bring the Dinner Host return. The job of of the dinner host is to try and figure out what role each guest is playing. Each guest may act out their role but may not answer questions about who they are unless the Host guesses their identity. You will be surprised to see how Comedic their performances can be!
What Icebreaker Activities do you use at the beginning of the School Year?
We have an ice breaker and fun game called TalkAbout. The range of TalkAbout questions can be added to and adapted as a blank set of cards comes as standard.