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Showing posts with label team building games for kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label team building games for kids. Show all posts

Me, Too! Not a Movement, But a Team Building Game!

Me, Too!

I know what you're thinking... wasn't there a "Me, too" movement a couple of years ago?
Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

I never really thought about that term being used in the classroom until I saw this on Twitter!

This game is great for the beginning of the school year, but it's also great for those times when a child is feeling a little too "different" and feels he doesn't belong. 

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!


It's also a great Morning Meeting activity!


It all starts with one child saying something they like. It can be an activity, or a food, or a toy, or even a subject in school. 

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!


Those students who also like that interest call out "Me, too!" and walk over to form a group of all those who like that item.

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!


After a few rounds, children will be joining with a variety of groups and agreeing with a variety of interests.

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

Soon they'll be learning about the interests of their classmates. 

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

They'll be learning they have things in common with classmates they never realized they'd have anything in common with!

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

After a few times, they'll realize, even though there are some interests they don't share with classmates, there are plenty of interests that they do share!

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

Most important, they will develop that feeling of belonging!

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!

We all know that feeling like they're part of the team is the very beginning of the learning process! Acceptance matters!

Looking for more Team Building ideas? 

Try these posts:

How do you help your students feel like they belong?

Me, Too! Not a Movement, but a Team Building Game! Here's a fun way to get the students thinking about what they have in common with their classmates!



Why Encourage Team Building in the Elementary Classroom?

Why should we encourage Teamwork in the Elementary Classroom? 

This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your students.

I've encouraged children to work as a team in my classroom for many years. Although they're not necessarily going to score better on those high-stakes tests, working as a team helps children develop many important skills!
 
This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your students.

Here are some of the skills children learn from team-building activities:

  • communication
  • collaboration
  • listening
  • time management
  • problem-solving
  • putting others first
  • conflict management
 
Interesting, some might say these are "life skills!" Yes, these are skills that children need to develop to be successful in life, which I feel is far more important than being successful on tests!

 

This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your students.

These are some activities to encourage teamwork in the classroom:

  • morning meeting activities
  • shared stories
  • project-based learning
  • STEM or STEAM projects
  • put on a class play
  • relay races
  • team trivia
  • partner work
  • plan a class party
  • scavenger hunts 
  • educational games, played as teams
I'm sure you can think of plenty more, including activities connected to your curriculum! Make sure to mention that the goal is to "work as a team," and "look out for the others!"

This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your students.
 
Most important, motivate them to encourage others! Make sure these words are used often! 
  • Good job!
  • You can do it!
  • Awesome job!
  • You are incredible!
  • You figured it out!
  • You're on the right track!
  • You make it look easy!
  • That's the way!
  • You've got this! 
  • I can see you're really trying!

Here's an idea: let them make a list of more encouraging words, and display them for children to use as a reference. Be sure to model using encouraging words for your whole class team!

This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your students.

Here are some helpful resources:

Here are some links for more information about Team Building in the classroom:

This post tells some benefits of Team Building activities in the classroom and some ideas for including these class bonding activities with your kids.

A Few Summer Dollar Deals!

Ah, summer! Isn't it a wonderful time of year? 

Summer is the time of year when most people enjoy going to the beach, going camping, or maybe just hanging out with friends. It's a great time to be outside!
A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

If you're still in school or working with kids during the summer, you're probably looking for things to do with the kids that also allow you to enjoy the summer! 

Well, I've got a few resources for you, and guess what... they're all dollar deals or free!

This is great for team building, plus important end-of-the-year review! (And perfect for an Olympic year!)


A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

Here's a science experiment, perfect for warm weather!


A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


Team Building is important all year!


A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

Themed paper can encourage children to write their stories!

Writing Paper With a Camping Theme

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


This Boom Learning resource is totally free! Plus, it can be used any time of year for building general knowledge! (July birthdays love it!)


A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


Here are two different fun ways to practice mapping skills in the summer!!


A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

Mapping with an ocean theme

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


This resource helps children learn about their learning!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

Another totally free resource for July! Thinking questions and/ or writing prompts for every day of the month!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


These questions are perfect to get students talking about the books they read or listen to! They work for any book!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

This game is a favorite! They can play over and over, and practice adding 3 addends!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!


If you're teaching at all during the summer months, I'm hoping these resources help make your life easier!

These deals give you a little more time to enjoy the summer weather and make your teacher life easier!

A Few Summer Dollar Deals! This post shares 7 dollar deals and 5 freebies that can be used at the end of the school year, during summer school, or in the early days of autumn!

The Bulgaria Game: A Team Building Game for Imaginative Children

 Brain research tells us that getting students engaged physically will help learning happen!

This game is a great "filler" that will get the kiddos thinking about communication without words.

The Bulgaria Game: This game is a great filler that will get the kiddos thinking of communication without words. Plus, you can connect it to the curriculum, too!

The game's title only works well if you don't have anyone in your group that speaks Bulgarian. If you do have someone who speaks Bulgarian, you'll have to change the name of the game to some language that no one knows, since the game depends on broken lines of communication.

Here's the scenario: you happen to be traveling through Bulgaria. You need something, so you pull over into a convenience store.

Unfortunately, the people working in the store only speak Bulgarian, which you don't speak. 

Therefore, you have to "act out" what you'll need!


There are a couple of ways to proceed once they know the story:

1. Let individuals think of things to act out.
2. Let groups think of things to act out.
3. Have slips written up with things to act out.

Of course, #3 can be done with individuals or teams.

If you go with #3, you can find ways to use content vocabulary and make it count as academic! 

Yes, it's not very likely that they'll have to pull into a convenience store in Bulgaria for landforms or geometric shapes, but they are usually having so much fun acting out vocabulary words, they don't mind!

 A word of caution: some children are VERY competitive, and try to make it difficult for others to guess their word. Or, they're disappointed if their audience figures it out right away. 

I have to remind them that the goal of the game is to communicate enough information so that their audience understands what they're acting out. If the audience gets it right away, they have communicated successfully!

I know, it's kind of a silly scenario just to get children to act things out, but it's a fun story, and the children enjoy it!

Looking for more team-building games? Try these: 

After all, if it motivates the students to engage, it's successful!

The Bulgaria Game: This game is a great filler that will get the kiddos thinking of communication without words. Plus, you can connect it to the curriculum, too!




Working Summer Camp? Or Summer School? How to Get Started!

Are you going to be working with groups this summer? 
Perhaps you're working at summer camp...
or summer school...
or volunteering at the library summer program...
or helping out at a summer daycare?

Whether you're a camp counselor, summer day care leader, or summer school teacher, here are some fun ideas to get you started this summer!


No matter what type of summer work you're doing, getting started is possibly the most challenging part of the program!

You may have a variety of children. You might have a variety of ages. You might have some children who know each other. You might have a lot of children who don't know each other. You might have very young children, or you might have pre-teens, teens, or older!

No matter who you've got, before the real learning begins, it's important to help children feel comfortable with each other.

Whatever you do, don't put them on the spot or ask them to talk to someone they don't know right away. Some children love that, others can "handle it," but others will clam up and get nervous about the next activity they do with you. 


What we really want is to get them interacting without having to talk... at first! We might even do something that will get them giggling! 

Here are a few games that will get them interacting, possibly giggling, without traumatizing them! (With links to directions!)


Once they get comfortable with one another, it's time to try some games where they'll have to talk to one another:

Still looking for more? 


If you're looking for more games, try the full set: 60 Team Building Games and Activities.

If you are teaching summer school, here are some fun summer-themed activities that focus on reading and math activities for second and third grade: Summer Review Activities

Whether you're a camp counselor, summer day care leader, or summer school teacher, here are some fun ideas to get you started this summer!



Five Team Building Activities for Back to School

As a second-grade teacher, I get many students who struggle with social skills and working with others.  I like to start the beginning of the school year with plenty of activities to build those important skills.

Back to School - Here are five easy "get to know you" activities that can be used at any time to encourage working together.


Here are 5 ideas for Back to School Team Building Activities!

1. Musical Shoes - While sitting in a circle, have everyone take of their left shoe. As the music plays, they pass the shoe to the right while taking the shoe being passed from the left. As the shoes dance their way around the circle, stop the music randomly. Whatever shoe they are holding, they need to find the owner and make sure they know that person's name. They also have to find their own shoe, so there should be a good deal of chatter and giggles as they hobble on one shoeless foot. Teachers can choose for the kids to exchange different information such as their favorite book, number of children in their family, or their birthday month.


2.  Silly Songs - There are plenty of silly songs out there. You can find them on Youtube (like My Aunt Came Back above - guaranteed giggles and requests for repeats) or on CDs, or perhaps you know some from summer camp! Here are some I've had success with:  


John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
There's a Hole in the Bucket
On Top of Spaghetti
Going on a Bear Hunt
Madalina Catilina
The More We Get Together
Found a Peanut
The Hokey Pokey
This Land is Your Land
Make New Friends
I've Been Working on the Railroad

Even if you don't consider yourself a singer, the kids will always remember these songs. Plus, there are even more advantages to group singing: There have been studies that show when people sing together, their hearts start to beat to the same rhythm.

3. Introductions - Children should work in pairs to learn 3 things about each other. After some practice, they come back together to do formal introductions of each other. It might sound like this:  "This is my new friend Mary. She likes gymnastics, reading, and the color pink."

4.  Cooperative Musical Chairs - This is like the traditional Musical Chairs, but with a twist. The game starts with one less chair than children. When the music stops, they all find a chair, but when there's someone left, someone must make room for this student. Remove chairs each time, so the students will keep having to find a way to include everyone in the group. Beware: Giggles will follow!


5.  Who Am I? - Make up cards with famous names on them that the kids will be sure to know. (Book characters are fine!) Each child wears a card on their back so that others know who is Children have to ask questions of the other children to try to figure out the name of the character they're wearing.  (With my little ones, I give loads of hints, and sometimes show them all the cards ahead of time to narrow it down. We want them to be successful!) 

For more ideas on Team Building, see the post HERE.

Looking for more ideas? Check out this video or see: 60 Team Building Games and Activities.


What Team Building Activities do you use in your classroom?




Team Building Activities for Back to School - Here are five easy "get to know you" activities that can be used at any time to encourage working together.
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