Morning Greeting Activities
provides a sense of belonging and recognition to help children learn and use
everyone’s name and lets children practice hospitality. These are primary learned for socialization.
– The teacher sings “Good Morning Mary! Are you here?” The child responds by singing, “Good morning teacher, I
am here!”
Describing Your Name – The
child creates an adjective in front of their first name with the same
letter. Example: Hiccups Harvey.
I’ve Got A Name
– Have the children sit in a circle. The teacher demonstrates by
saying his/her name and by clapping the name at the same time. Then one child is selected to start by saying
their name and by clapping their name at the same time. The group copies that child by saying “his/her
name is _____.” Each child in the circle
follows through with its names. The
coordination between saying the name and clapping the name comes from two
different parts of the brain and it will help coordinate the rhythms within the
child.
Copy Cat Name –
Similar to “I’ve Got A Name” except the child stands up says their
name with an action like a wave or a wink.
The group copies the action and says the child’s name. Each child has a turn and tries to think of a
new action with their name to not copy an action already presented. The group learns names the more times it is
done.
What Did You Have? – The child stands up and says their name and
is asked by the teacher: “What did you have for breakfast?” Each child has a turn to answer and everyone
learns about what the child had to eat for breakfast.
Birthday Bash – Matching
birthday months with the group and then coming up with a cheer. Have the children find the birthday months
with other children. When they are in a
group, make sure the group has at least six.
If not, find a group, which will fit into that group. You should have at least three to four groups
ready to create a birthday cheer. Give
the groups a chance to think about the cheer, practice it and then perform
it.