School, sports, scouts, camp, religious programs, and birthday parties are just a few of the situations kids find themselves in when they may know few or none of the other children present. The following adult-directed games get kids playing while they learn a bit about one another. These aren’t getting to know you games that adults play at workshops and conferences – kids would find those dull.
Games Kids Play
This game allows kids to talk about some of the things that they’ve done in the past. Kids get the opportunity for later storytelling and sharing common experiences. Everyone sits in chairs or stands in a circle with one person standing in the center. (For the first round or two, the adult may want to be the person in the center.)
The person in the center asks, “Have you ever ...?” and names something that they have done. Everyone who has done this gets out of his or her seat and runs to another empty seat. While doing this, the person from the center of the circle, the kid who asked the question, runs to an empty seat.
Whoever doesn’t get to a chair now stands in the center and asks a new question.
Examples of questions, “Have you ever baked cookies?” “Do you have a pet cat?” “Have you visited …?”
Games for Kids
Give each player ten small scraps of paper and a pen. On each piece of paper, players write down an object, person, or place that has some significance to the person. Fold the scraps of paper in half and set in a bowl, hat, or paper bag. Next, divide the players into two teams. One member of Team One takes a slip of paper, reads it silently and then, out loud, describes the item to her teammates.
She has 60 seconds to describe the person, place, or object well enough that her teammates guess the identity. She will toss aside that piece of paper and take another piece of paper. The goal for teams is to correctly guess as many things as they can within the sixty seconds.
After the game, the adult pulls out slips of paper, reads them aloud, and the child who wrote the word raises his hand. The adult can ask a couple of questions, encouraging kids to explain the significance of the person, place, or object to their life.
Fast-Paced Game for Kids
In this silly game, kids answer questions for another child. The adult may want to prepare a list of questions before hand so they can read down the list and keep the game fast. Have the children stand in a circle. Explain that when you look at and point to a child and ask him a question then the person standing to that child’s right will answer the question.
Answers can be intentionally funny. If you ask, “Do you have a dog?” The child standing to the right of the kid you questioned can say, “Yes, his name is Peanut Butter Sandwich because the first day he was at my house that is what he ate.” Answers can be brief or lengthy. If the child you were pointing to answers, she is out; however, she stands in place with her arms crossed to signify that she is out. This makes the game more challenging as kids pay attention to who they must answer for.
These kid-friendly getting to know you games include humor, physical movement, and quick thinking. Try one or all when you find yourself with a group of children who don’t know each other well. These games will help break the ice.
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