25 Alternatives to Handshakes

I always took pride in teaching my students the proper way to complete a handshake. After all, shaking hands is a life skill, isn't it? Well, probably not any more! But we still need to greet each other!

 

Building community in the classroom involves interactions.

 

Children (and adults) need to greet each other each day. The skill of positive interactions is one I am proud to teach because it is one they will need for the rest of their lives.

I think we can agree, handshakes are out. But there are parts to the handshake that have value: a moment of "connection," eye contact, a greeting, and a respect for the other person.

I've come up with a list of 25 different greetings that students can do as part of a morning greeting, and end of school meeting, or simply saying hello to their teacher in the morning. Plus, they can be done in online meetings as well!

Here they are:

#1: Give the peace sign!

#2: Give each other heart hands!

#3: Give air hugs!

#4: Share a squirt of hand sanitizer!

#5: Wave!

#6: Smile with your eyes!

#7: Jazz hands!

#8: Give each other a salute!

#9: Do a "One Second" Dance!

#10: Raise your eyebrows!

#11: Do two claps!

#12: Throw your hands in the air!

#13: Blow air kisses!

#14: Do a fist pump!

#15: Give the "Sup" nod!

#16: Give a thumbs up!

#17: Make a heart with your hands!

#18: Give the "Live Long and Prosper" signal from Star Trek!

#19: Give "air" high fives!

#20: Place your hand on your heart!

#21: Namaste!

#22: Bow to each other!

#23: Wink at each other!

#24: Give each other the home alone face! (Without really touching your face, of course!)

 and #25: Have your class make up your own greeting!

Well there, now you have 25 ways to start or end your day that can be used in a socially distant classroom or during remote learning!

Here are some other ways to build community and team work in the classroom:

Morning Meeting Greeting Activities

Who am I Boom Cards  

Building Friendships Boom Cards

Good Citizenship Boom

20 Team Building Socially Distant Games and Activities

 

Building Social Skills and Academics with Morning Meeting!

I am so thrilled with my schedule this year! Last year my students had RTI first thing in the morning, so I was never able to spend mornings with them. They came in, dropped off their stuff, and ran off to their Tier 2 assigned groups. This made it tough to build relationships with my students, and build community within my group.

 

 

This year, the children stay in the classroom in the morning, and we are encouraged to start our day with Morning Meeting!

Most typical Morning Meetings have these parts:

1. Greeting

2. Sharing

3. Group Activity

4. Morning Message

There are many ways to do each part, and hundreds of references for ideas, but here are a couple: 

     

Why do Morning Meeting?

Morning Meeting helps build social and emotional skills. It builds community and helps children learn to work as a team. It helps children develop a positive tone to their day, and affects their focus and productivity for the rest of the school day. Morning Meeting helps establish a climate of trust and motivates students to feel significant. It builds relationships with classmates and teachers.

Looking for some ideas for the group activity? Try these:60 Team Building Games and Activities for Classrooms.

I did Morning Meetings ages ago (I'd estimate 20+ years!) but I haven't been able to do it recently, so it's like starting over. I'd love to hear what other teachers do during their morning meetings!