Getting to Know You Games for Kids to Play
Tricks for Camp Counselors and Teachers to Bring a Group Together
Jun 7, 2009
Summer is just one season that brings challenges for kids going off to camp or participating in recreation programs where they may meet a new group of kids every week. These quick games introduce kids to one another.
Favorite Things Game
Children learn what they have in common with individuals in their group with a few guided questions. Ask a question about things some students may like or be familiar with, such as specific foods, television shows or movies, colors, animals, etc. The set that likes the item moves to one spot while the other students move to another location.
Keep the questions coming so the children keep moving. Questions can be simple: If you like pizza step to the right. If you have made a friendship bracelet in the past, move toward the poster of the ocean. If you like walking in nature, go to the crooked tree. Give a moment between questions so the children can see who else is in their group.
Shared Experiences Game
Ask a yes or no question then go around the circle to give everyone a chance to respond. Example questions: Have you ever seen a turtle in the wild? Have you been to this program before? With each question, have a different student answer first.
Making Connections Game
This activity requires advance preparation. You will need to create pairs of cards. Each pair should have different images that have something in common. (Fox and mouse, tennis ball and racket, paint and easel – print images from online or cut from magazines and paste onto index cards.)
Hand out cards to the group and tell them to mill about to find their match. These pairs then share three facts about themselves.
Meeting New Friends Game
Children can meet more than one other child during this activity. You will need to prepare by cutting construction paper shapes, creating an assortment of colors and shapes. For up to twenty-four children, you’ll want at least two of each shape (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star, heart) each in two colors.
Give each participant one shape. Call out different directions to mix the group around into pairs or small groups. “Find someone with the same shape.” “Find everyone with the same color.”
Each time you create a new subset, ask a question for the children to discuss with their new partner(s). For example, What was the last movie you saw? What was the last vacation or day trip your family took? Do you have any pets?
Using Gadgets and Charms to Learn about Others
This activity works best with children nine or ten years and up whom can make abstract comparisons. You will need to fill basket or container that the children can see into with small toys or charms. Look for inexpensive party favors and beads or charms representing nature, animals, hobbies, etc. Plan to have twice as many items as children.
Introduce the activity by being the first one to select an item and explain the way the item represents an interest, like, or personality characteristic. The metaphoric comparisons will depend on the age of the participants.
These games act as prompts that create opportunities for children to talk to other kids they don’t know. Although the activities don’t allow for in-depth conversations, they do turn strangers into friendly faces whom kids know they have something in common.
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