Posts Tagged ‘back to school icebreakers’

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New school? New term? New Students? The new school year is nearly upon us. How do you get those kids integrated and off to an enthusiastic flying start? By careful selection and use of back to school ice breaker games. Here's a selection:

Balloon Game

Depending on their age the classic game with the balloons is an absolute favourite with younger kids;  it’s fun, inexpensive and physical and helps reduce anxieties. Have enough balloons on strings for every child to have 2 balloons. Tie each balloon to children's ankles. Make sure the area is safe - lawn or grass is best in case they fall over their strings. Each child has to try and burst another child's ballooon whilst protecting their own. The last child with a balloon remaining is the winner!

Yarn Game

This game is suitable for adults as well as children - just change the questions.

You will need a large ball of yarn and have the class sitting in a circle. Hold onto the end of the yarn and throw the ball to a student. You then ask them a getting to know you question like; where do you live or what is your favourite color, animal, toy, movie etc.  They answer the question and then hold the yarn and then throw the ball to another student and asks them a question. Make sure everyone hold onto the yarn and does not let go. At the end you will have a giant web of yarn that connects the whole class. Explain that whilst we are all individuals we are still connected in some way to each other.

Niceties

This is a great ice breaker for groups who know each other.

Tape a  piece of flip chart paper onto each person’s back. Each person writes something they like about the person who’s paper they are writing on. Even if they don’t know each other very well, they can find something nice to write on the paper…ie, nice hair, great smile, warm and friendly etc. When they read the nice comments they will be ecstatic and it teaches the importance of small niceties and how good it feels to give and receive compliments.

Ice breaker games have been continually used by professional trainers, teachers and group leaders for many years. They are one of the best and most fun ways of "breaking the ice", opening up groups and preparing the group for the main part of any event. Sharon Naylor has been a proponent of ice breaker games for all her career; ever since she took part in an ice breaker! For more fantastic ice breaker ideas to speed up that getting to know you stage for back-to-school classes and any other groups check-out her ice breaker ideas web-site NOW

 

 

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Starting a new school year is probably the most important 

time of the school year. It's when you meet new classes

and establish a firm relationship for the rest of the

school year. Start as you mean to go on; establish new

relationships quickly and get kids looking forward to the

rest of what's on offer!

Here's a simple back to school ice breaker:

 It's a snowball fight! On the first day of school everyone writes three

facts about themselves on a piece of paper. Make sure they don't write their

names and make sure every one is wearing a name tag! Crumple the paper into

balls and throw them around. Everyone grabs one. Each person reads one out

and guesses who wrote it. It's fun and you get to know a bit more about each

other.

Find more fantastic Back to School Ice Breakers, games and ideas in our

Youth Ice Breakers Collection. With more than 30 years of working with youth groups

you're bound to find new and novel ways to get your kids inspired and

excited and eager to hear what you have to say next!

Take a look at our youth ice breaker collection and web-site Now!

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Our kids have just gone back to school today. In some ways it's great but in other ways I love the lack of structure during the holidays. I wonder how they are getting on? New teachers, new school mates? I wonder if they will have an inspiring Induction Week  like some of the schools who are customers of our team building company?

Many schools hire us to go in and run a team building day or ice breaker sessions during their back to school induction weeks. I think these schools are very lucky that their teachers take the beginning of the school year seriously enough to want to set the right tone for the school year ahead.

Running a great ice breaker session at the start of Induction Week can help pupils settle in quickly and look forward to the school year ahead with purpose and commitment. It's also great to see teachers as well as students in a relaxed and fun-filled mood. Having fun together creates a great atmosphere and helps to prepare pupils for the tasks ahead.

We always start an ice breaker session with everyone sitting or standing  in a circle. Generally we don't use tables for most of our events and you might need to move the tables aside -it creates a more inclusive and relaxed atmosphere.

A Quick Ice Breaker:

Introduce yourself and say one thing you like and one thing you dislike. Then ago around the circle and ask everyone in turn to offer their likes and dislikes. You will learn quite a bit about your pupils from this simple ice breaker.

Next move on to something a bit more challenging. Tell them what your goals are for the school year (briefly - no more than 1 minute!) and then ask them to think about what they might like to achieve within the school year. Ask them to write it down and then go around and ask for contributions. You may have to tease it out of them as they may well have not really thought about this before. You might want to keep these goals and put them to together perhaps on display in the classroom. You might also want to re-vist these goals regularly to see if you and your students are on track to achieving them. Students should be able to change goals or set new goals and help each other with their goals.

 Imagine what a great celebration it would be to see all your students achieve their goals at the end of the school year. You could create your own mini class achievement ceremony.

Learn how to run a great ice breaker session at your induction week by visiting our ice breaker ideas web-site. We have lots of great youth group icebreakers to make your back to school induction weeks inspirational and fun-filled for all!