Icebreaker Games for Children

 Ice-breakers are valuable sessions for beginning training children to

• Raising awareness about social interactions.

• Doing simple games with social interaction goals like using balloons or musical chairs in creative ways which help share our day-to-day interactions and expectations about other children, and allow us to take ourselves less seriously.

• Train awareness.

 Game #1-Dress the Mummy        Required: Rolls of toilet paper         Players:   Small to large groups

Set up teams with 2-4 players on each team. One child on each team will be the “mummy” and each team will be given 2 rolls of toilet paper. They will have 5 minutes to complete the game. The team players are to circle around the “mummy” and pass the toilet paper to each other while wrapping the mummy in it. The teacher will be the judge and decide which team has created the best mummy design.

 Game #2 – Gum Art                Required: Bubble gum, popsicle stick and index card                 Players:    Small to large groups
Give each participant a piece of bubble gum to chew, toothpick and index card. Allow them 5 minutes to chew the gum, place gum on index card and then design something on index card using only the toothpick as a tool (No Hands). The person with the best and most creative design is the winner. If you have quite a few players you can have several categories of winners, like “most ingenious”, “most creative” and of course the “What is that?” award.

 Game #3 – Gum Game           Required: Clean garden gloves, packs of gum          Players:     Small to large groups  

Set up teams of five. Each team will receive one pair of new garden or rubber gloves plus one pack of gum (5 pieces per pack). On go, the first child in each team is to put on the garden or rubber gloves, open the package of gum, pull out a piece, unwrap it, chew it, and then pass the gloves to the next person. The first team to complete the task wins.  

 Game #4 – Moo Game                  Required: Just Children                     Players:    Small to medium groups

Pick a child to stand outside the room, while the rest of the group forms a circle.  The teacher gives directions to the group that they are going to “MOO” two times, as loud as they could at the count of three, but to not “MOO” the third time.  The child waiting outside enters and stands inside the circle.  The teacher tells the child in the circle to join in “MOOing” but needs to also listen for the loudest “MOO.”  The teacher counts to three and everyone starts their “MOOs.”  The child in the middle will join in “MOOing” and listen.  At the third “MOO,” the group does not “MOO” but the child in the circle does.  Thus, the child in the middle is the loudest.   It’s really funny.

Game #5 – Circle of Friends                        Required: Just Children                          Players:    Large group

This is a great greeting and departure for a large group and a chance of meeting other children in the room.  Form two large circles (or simply form two lines side by side), one inside the other and have the children in the inside circle face the children in the outside circle. Ask the circles to take one step in the opposite directions, allowing them to meet each new child as the circle continues to move very slowly. All the children have to do is to introduce their selves.  If lines are formed, they simply keep the line moving very slowly, as they introduce themselves.

HAVE FUN!!