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The relationship activity I chose is called the Daily Handshake. This activity allows students to release some energy, and to get to know their classmates more. During group time, the teacher introduces the new handshake of the day, like a fist bump. Then, instructs the students to perform this with several of their classmates while asking a daily question to each. Like, What's your favorite color? This activity strengthens the relationships between students and provides an opportunity to create new friendships. As a teacher you can also participate and learn new things about your students.

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The relationship building activity I found is "Team Talk Cards". This activity would be great for students to get to know more about one another. This is a great way to learn what your students are interested in and helps students see we are all not the same. This would be an easy activity to do during circle time. It allows you to give all students a turn to share and also helps children learn how to take turns and not blurt out. This also allows students to break out into different conversations with their friends and learn more about them

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This relationship building activity involves creating a friendship wheel with every student in the classroom. This is a very easy, fun, interactive, and creative way to build relationships between students. To start, you cut a huge circle and then divide it into slices based on the number of students in the class. Then each student picks a slice, and starts by adding their name. Then they start to add drawings that reflect all about them. As children add pictures about themselves, they can talk to the other students about their pictures. A student can't go outside of their slice, but they can take part of a drawing that the person besides them started, and change it, using the same basic shape but then turn it into something about them. Students can draw whatever they want! They can draw their favorite foods, sports, hobbies, animals, and anything else they can think of! This type of activity is a great way to start conversations between students, and a great chance  for them to learn more about each other. This is a creative way for students to share more about themselves, and learn about their peers!!

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I love teaching art and finding a new, creative art project for kids to do. I also love when the art activity is simple enough that all children can be successful doing it. The added bonus to this art project is that it is inexpensive and easy to prepare.

I have been using this art project for kids for many years, with many grade levels of children. I continue to use it because it creates a beautiful piece of art and children always enjoy creating it.

Materials

You don't need a lot of materials for this project. One thing you will need, if you want to create a large friendship wheel, is large paper.

Large White Paper (Or a roll of paper - Link below)

Markers, Crayons, Pencil Crayons (Use what you have available)

I typically use a large roll of paper that I purchased years ago. The roll has lasted me years and many friendship wheels.

If using a roll of paper, measure out two strips of paper, about 1 metre long. I tape the sheets together along the bottom to create one thick sheet of paper.

Then, I cut a large circle into the two taped sheets. Next, fold the circle into sections. If your circle is quite large, folding it into 8 slices gives each child a good size.

If you are using a smaller sheet of paper, you can fold it into less slices. Even 3-4 slices can work.

Keep in mind, the bigger the section, the longer and more detailed children will need to be to fill it.

I like to give children the choice for what medium (crayon, pencil crayon or marker) that they want to use. I have an assortment available to them.

Once you have the paper and something to colour with, you are ready to create!

Art Project for Kids Steps

I often use this art project for kids at the beginning of the year in one of our first art classes, however, you can do it at any time of year.

The first thing that I suggest every child to add to their slice, is their name. They can choose any spot, but I suggest that they make it big.

Once the child's name is on the slice, then they begin adding drawings that reflect all about them. As children add pictures about themselves, they can talk to the other members in their group about their pictures.

As children draw, they cannot go outside of their slice. However, they can take part of a drawing that the person beside them started, and change it, using the same basic shape and turn it into something about them.

For example, a leaf to show a love of nature, can turn into a basketball for another child.

The circle from a watermelon becomes a soccer ball. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it does need to connect in some way.

Children draw their favorite foods, sports equipment, hobbies and even animals.

This twist on this art project for kids, is this added challenge of connecting their drawings to the person beside them.

It can be challenging to find a way to connect their pictures to their elbow partner, but when they are done, there is a beautiful flow to the picture as though it was made by one artist.

My favouite thing about this project is the conversations that happen when children are drawing. They talk about what they are drawing and tell stories to their group members about their pictures.

This is why it is a wonderful team building art project for kids. The friendship wheel encourages children to talk about themselves as they learn about each other.

This is why I love to do this project at the beginning of the year. Children not only have to work together to make their final project, but they learn about each other when doing it.

I also love the fact that this art project for kids requires materials that are usually available at school or home or at least inexpensive to buy.

If you are not able to have children all sit close together, this art project for kids can also work in the same way, but you can cut each slice out of the circle for each child.

Once children have completed their slice, all pieces can be put together.

The pieces will not connect up the same way they would if children were sitting together and working together; however, the completed piece of art is still one of the most beautiful pieces of children's art I have had children create in class.

Extension Activity

When I did this activity with an older group of children, we did it in the same way to begin. Children connected pictures on their slice with with the people beside them to create one huge circular picture.

However, I gave children the opportunity to add to their picture by using as many mediums to colour with - crayons, paint, markers, pencil crayons.

I also set out construction paper for them to add some extra details by cutting out images with the paper and glue them onto their slice.

I typically use this art project for kids in the classroom, however, it also creates a beautiful piece of art for families to create together.

The page of paper that I used is quite large, but the size gives children the chance to have enough space to create and draw. However, you can create the friendship wheel using a smaller piece of paper.

Another way that I have tried this art project for kids is by having the circles cut out and ready and having children walk around and add a drawing to each circle, or each slice.

As they move from each friendship wheel, they leave a little bit about themselves.

Heading Back to School?

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35 Back to School Ideas and Activities include ideas for printables, crafts and activity to do with children in the classroom, or at home on the first day.

My First Day of School product includes a detailed lesson plan and all of the printables you need for your first day.
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More Hands-On Teaching Ideas

If you are looking for more great hands-on activities for kids to do at home or school, check out my other activities including art, science, printables, and even escape rooms.

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Best Friendship Wheel Art Project for Kids - Hands-On Teaching Ideas

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I love teaching art and finding a new, creative art project for kids to do. I also love when the art activity is simple enough that all children can be successful doing it. The added bonus to this art project is that it is inexpensive and easy to prepare.

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This relationship building activity is called "Friendship Blocks". This is all about the relationships that students build with their peers. First, you start with some building blocks (Jenga blocks, etc.) and then talk about what makes a great friend by asking questions like: What do great friends do? What do they sound like? How do they act? How do they make you feel like? And with each response the class builds a tower. You can then go on and talk about how friends aren't perfect, then you can take away a few blocks. It's important to discuss how that doesn't mean that a friendship is over, it just means that you have to keep building!!

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Relationship Building Activity - Alyzabeth Vasquez

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Relationship Building Activity - Alyzabeth Vasquez

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The relationship building activity I chose is called the "Just Like Me Game". The activity consists of the students standing in a circle and taking turns telling a fact about themselves. If a student says a fact about themselves that is also true for another student the second student will step forward and say "just like me". This will continue to go on until every student has had the opportunity to state a fact about themselves. The goal of this activity is for the students to share something about themselves but also create connections with the other students. The students will be able to see the similarities they have with other students and build relationships with their peers. While this benefits the students it also benefits the teacher. It helps teachers get in insight of their students lives and build connections with their students. Overall, this activity is a great way for students to build interpersonal relationships with their peers and their teacher.

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I think that a board game played among the students would be a good relationship building activity because they can find out so much about each other while playing a game. They can figure out fun facts about one another while practicing their counting on the dice. These favorites can really spark conversations and students can find some things in common and build that relationship.

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Relationship Building Activity - Kaitlyn Hanson

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Relationship Building Activity - Kaitlyn Hanson

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The activity I found is called "Bucket Filler Friday" Students are to pick a bucket from the whiteboard and write another student a kind sincere letter. They need to do this before the end of the day. The learning goal for this activity is for students to learn how to demonstrate kindness and respect in the classroom. I would use this in higher elementary. The purpose of this is to initially create friendship and kindness in the classroom.

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The relationship building activity I like is morning turn and talks with a partner/group. Turn and talk topics could be "one fun thing you did this weekend", "one thing you are looking forward to this week", "one thing you are going to try extra hard on this week". It gives each students voice to be heard and it helps builds connections are the classroom. As the teacher you could pop around and listen to the few minute conversations or even contribute to some.

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Relationship Building Activity - Becky Gildea

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Relationship Building Activity - Becky Gildea

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I found a fun idea to do as a morning greeting. When your students enter the classroom you give them a piece of paper. The student then writes their name on that piece of paper, wads it up into a ball, and then when everyone has arrived and has their 'snowball' prepared you say, "snowball fight!". All students begin to throw the 'snowballs' around. After an amount of time has passed all students freeze, pick up the 'snowball' closest to them, and read the name on the paper. Then they find that student, and say hello or good morning. To alter this activity you could add the alternate choice of asking the students a question for each other to answer. This is not an activity I would use daily, but it could be a fun way to perk up a random morning and set a playful tone to the class!

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The relationship building activity I came across and loved is called "New Friend Scavenger Hunt". This activity gets the students to introduce eachother to one another in their classroom. This activity improves social skills in the classroom by sharing, taking turns, listening, teamwork, and cooperation. Friendship is an important concept for students to learn and one that will continue to play a big role in their lives as they grow. By this activity it will incorporate friendship that will help the children develop crucial social skills. The idea of this activity is to write about yourself that describes you in the scavenger hunt. Once you have completed that, then you will go around the classroom and finding someone that has the same idea that you wrote about yourself. For example, my favorite color is Navy green so then I would go around the classroom looking for a student that has the same favorite color as me. This is a great relationship to have in school because you are interacting with others and sharing ideas with students about yourself in the classroom. This allows the students to have conversations in the classroom with students that they really don't know and builds friendships with them.

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The relationship building activity I chose is morning meetings and closing circles. The learning goal for these can vary, but are traditionally focused on goal-setting, communication, and emotional awareness. These meetings also work on skills such as weather, dates and time, and days of the week in younger ages. The children all sit together and discuss their day, emotional state, and anything that may be new. They prepare together for upcoming challenges and ready themselves for the day.

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A relationship building activity I found and would like to implement in my future classroom is 3D All About Me faces. This will help the students at the beginning of the year to get to understand and know each other better. You can get different templates for questions or make your own. You give the students construction paper which will be made into circles. You then let them create a self portrait of themselves using crayons, markers, colored pencils and construction paper for their hair. I think it is a fun activity for everyone to get to know each other, and for students to put their favorites activities or interests. It will help you as a teacher get to know your students more, and for other students to bond over each others interests.

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The relationship building activity I found is m&m all about me. Each child gets a package or handful of m&m's. They must choose an m&m, and answer the question on the key that aligns with the color they chose. This activity can be done as a large group, tables, partners, pods, etc. The kids are learning about each other, but also get to do it in a fun way! The questions on the key can be easily changed to fit the classroom needs and student interests effectively. The learning goal is to provide students with an opportunity to get to know some things about one another. They can relate to one another, find things that they may have in common, or identify ways they might be different. This activity can be extended from day to day if students want a new question to discuss everyday!

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Dec 23, 2013 - First day of school activities and ideas especially for upper elementary third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade students.

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The relationship-building activity I have done is called “Magazine Covers.” Students are given a piece of construction paper, coloring supplies, pictures, and letters. When students are creating their magazine covers, they are putting words or pictures that describe them. If a student loves reading, they can draw a book and put their favorite book on the cover. Students can put their interests, likes, family members, and more if the teacher wants. At the end of the project, the teacher had us present our magazine cover. Then the teacher can hang the magazine covers in the classroom for everyone to see what describes their classmates if they do not remember. This activity helps students and the teacher discover what everyone likes. Students are may make friends with students with similar interests. Then the teacher can incorporate the student’s interests into their learning. If the teacher discovers most of the class likes a certain type of book, they can add it to the class library.

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/152278031133441215/

"All about me bag" is a relationship-building exercise for pupils. Students will paint and design a paper bag, then take it home and fill it with items that reflect their individuality. The next day, they will be prepared to discuss what is in their bag and why it is significant. This will foster a sense of community and allow kids to get acquainted.

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All About Me Bag - FREE | All about me preschool, All about me preschool theme, Me preschool theme

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Aug 30, 2017 - All About Me BagThis is a fun and easy way to get to know your students and for your students to get to know one another.Make copies for each student and attach to a paper lunch bag. Explain the assignment before sending home to students and share your own All About Me bag with them. Send home for s...

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One relationship-building activity I found is called, “All About Me Initials”. It is pretty simple so students can understand it but it is not too simple and students have the opportunity to be creative. Students will use their initials in this activity so if I were participating I would use the letters B and F.  Students will draw or write things about themselves but what they draw or write must start with one of their initials. The students will be provided with printed bubble letters to draw and write in. The teacher can give prompts for the students to follow like favorite foods, things to do, places, etc, or leave it open-ended. One reason I like this activity is that students can choose if they want to draw and represent themselves through pictures or they can use words. I think this activity allows the students to get to know one another better but will also help me make connections with my students. If I were using this activity I would also participate so the students could learn more about me.

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A relationship building activity that I saw done just this week in a classroom was "Two Truths & One Lie". This is something that would be done in an upper elementary classroom such as 4th or 5th grade. How it works is each student gets a turn to think up two truths and one lie about themselves. These could be things like "I have an extra bone in my foot", "I have a hairless cat", "My brother plays for the NDSU football team", "My middle name is snow", and other interesting facts about themselves. After the students think of these things they tell them to the class, and the class has to guess what statement was the lie. I think this is so fun because it allows for the students to try to stump their peers, and maybe the "obvious lie" was actually the truth! The learning goal for this activity would be to get to know some fun facts about your peers that you might not already know, and to use reasoning skills to try to figure out what statement was the lie!

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One of my favorite relationship-building activities I did as a child and would love to implement in my future classroom would be Star of the Week, also known as Student of the Week. Every week, in either alphabetical or a randomized order, a student will take their Star of the Week poster home and decorate it to their liking. I would also give students the option to work on the poster with me instead if that is what they prefer. The poster would then be displayed on the inside of our door for everyone to see. During the week, we will have a designated day and time to present the Star of the Week. The student will come up and share about themselves and highlight their favorite things listed on their poster. We would end with reading the student's favorite book. I believe that highlighting every student is important for relationship-building within the classroom. This will help you get to know the student on a deeper level and allow other children in the classroom to find friends with similar likes and hobbies. You can use the information to build a classroom favorites library or a cookbook with all of their favorite recipes. This is also a great opportunity for students to work on their listening and presenting skills. Star of the Week could also spark meaningful conversation about differences in families, cultures, and beliefs. There is so much community-building that can be accomplished with this simple activity.

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A good relationship building activity that I found is called student shoutout box. The teacher should find a shoebox or tissue box of some sort and decorate it to make it look visually appealing and exciting for students. When a student sees their peer or friend so something that they thought was cool, nice, funny, helpful, etc they should write their "shoutout" anonymously and put it in the box. At the end of the week the teacher should quietly put these shoutouts in the students cubby for them to take and read at home. This will help students know that other people see them in a kind and helpful way while not feeling like it is a competition because it is anonymous.

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Relationship building activity- Morgan Stark

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Relationship building activity- Morgan Stark

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I found this relationship building activity and I think that its very cool! It is called "Walk a day in my shoes". Students take a cut out of a shoe and write facts about themselves that their classmates may not know. This activity can build relationships between students and also give the teacher an opportunity to have insight of what a students life may look like outside of the classroom. This activity gives students the chance to tell their classmates about things that no one may know!

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A relationship-building activity I came up with is "Question of the Day." I work in a preschool and the lead teacher has a new question every day that corresponds with the theme of the classroom. For example, this past week the theme was snowmen. For the question on Thursday, the students were asked if they would rather give their snowman a carrot nose or a button nose. Each student has a magnet with their name on it that they are able to place individually on the board when their name is called. There is a wide variety of questions that can be asked and presented to the children. Simple yes or no questions would likely be easier, but a teacher could also choose a would-you-rather question. While Question of the Day may seem simple and nothing extraordinary, it allows both classmates and the teacher to alike to learn more about a friend in their classroom. This activity is a great way for students to feel that their voice and opinion is heard while also learning about others.

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A fun relationship-building activity that I came across was an end-of-the-day exit slip. This activity is very easy to implement in your classroom and is a quick way to create a conversation between you and your students after a busy school day. In this activity, your students must answer a non-academic related question before leaving for dismissal. This activity may be carried out through writing or in person as they walk out the door. The questions can also be silly or a bit more serious. For example, as your students are leaving at the end of the day you could ask them what their favorite part of the day was or the best thing that they did in specials that day.
http://the-inspired-educator.com/8-quick-relationship-building-activities/

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the-inspired-educator.com - the inspired educator Resources and Information.

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the-inspired-educator.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, the-inspired-educator.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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The relationship-building activity I came across and loved is called "Build-A-Teacher." This activity gets the students to brainstorm some qualities and traits they want their teacher to have. The students will write on shapes the qualities and traits they want in their teacher. For example, one student may say funny or another may say, patient. This opens up a conversation between the students and the teacher on different qualities that are important to have. This activity the teacher could do as well to explain to their students the set standards of qualities that are being asked of them. For example, the teacher could write qualities such as being respectful or kind to show their students what is looked for in each of them. This is a great way to open up conversations on how we should treat one another.

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A fun relationship building activity is a "Me Bag". Each child will be sent home with a little paper bag that they can decorate however they choose. The students will fill their bags with five items that will help us get to know them a little better. Each student will be able to share what they have in their bag with the class and why that item is important to them. These items could include pictures, a favorite food, or toys. This activity will help them grow social emotionally and guides them into getting to know each other on a deeper level. It will also help them identify a common ground with one another, creating a great icebreaker for similar interests. This teaches them to listen and engage in activities or items that mean a lot to someone else and will help each student feel valued and heard, thus creating a positive learning environment.

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'Find Someone Who' Scavenger Hunt - Megan Klein

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'Find Someone Who' Scavenger Hunt - Megan Klein

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My favorite relationship building activity to do in a classroom is the 'Find Someone Who' scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt is great for meeting classmates and getting to know them a little bit better. It is also a great conversation starter and can introduce students who enjoy the same things.
The students will each get a 'Find Someone Who' sheet and they must go around the room and talk to their classmates to find out what they like or have done. When they found a person who applies to one of the boxes on the sheet, they must write their name in that spot. This is also a great game for learning names! Once all of your boxes have a name in it. Everyone sits down and shares something about another one of their classmates. For example, a student could say, "I talked to Sara and I learned that she loves to dance! She has ballet class every Wednesday night". Attached is an example of what one sheet could look like.

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New Friend scavenger hunt is a twist to the typical find a classmate and ask them prompted questions. The learning goal behind this is to allow students to introduce themselves to others in their classroom or find similarities between each other that they may not have known before! The idea behind new friend is that you write about yourself whether it is about your physical attributes or your interests first. After that, you will go around the room and find someone that has a commonality with you whether it be you both have blue eyes or you're wearing the same shoe color! I think that this is a great relationship building school because not only are you writing about yourself, but then you are finding people that have things that you share! I think that this activity could lead to great conversations between to classmates especially if they have something like their favorite food in common.  I think a good idea to this game would be to make a rule that you have to ask every classmate in the classroom a question before you go around and ask the same person a second question. This allows for conversation to happen throughout the room. There should also be enough boxes made to fit the number of students in the classroom so that there is an opportunity to ask a question to each peer. This activity is a great way to show peers a small input into each other's lives!

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One activity that I love to do when I am working at a childcare center is to sing a welcome song during morning meetings. I think morning meeting songs that incorporate every student's name are especially great for relationship building as they communicate that the teacher is glad to see their students and cares about their students' presence and participation in the classroom community. The learning goal for this activity is to have the students learn others' names and to recognize which name belongs to which face. A couple of morning meeting songs that I enjoy are "Do You Know This Friend of Mine?" to the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?", "Good Morning" to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It", and "Choo Choo". I will provide the lyrics to these songs below. When singing these songs, each child's name is inserted into the song and the group goes around the circle until each person's name has been included in the song, including the teacher's.

Do You Know This Friend of Mine?
Do you know this friend of mine, this friend of mine, this friend of mine?
Do you know this friend of mine, his/her name is (person's name).

Good Morning
Good morning (person's name), how are you?
Good morning (person's name), how are you?
We're so glad you came to play
on this very special day.
Good morning (person's name), how are you?

Choo Choo
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Up the railroad track,
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Then we come right back.
First we go to (person's name)'s house,
and then we go to (next person's name)'s.
Next we go to (next person's name)'s house,
and then we go to (next person's name)'s.
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Up the railroad track,
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo
Then we come right back.
(The class repeats the song until everyone's name has been sung. The song is finished by singing "and then we go to school." This song also includes hand movements, which makes it extra engaging.)

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This relationship building activity is called get to know you balloons. For this activity each student is given a slip of paper and a balloon. The students write down a get to know you question. For example, what is your favorite color or what is your favorite thing to do for fun. Then have the students put their slip of paper with their question on it inside the ballon and then the students blow up a balloon and tie the end. After all the balloons are blown up, students can throw them up and play around with them for a couple minuets. Have the students stop playing and have them each grab a balloon and sit in a circle. Next have each student, one at a time, pop their balloon and read the question on the slip of paper and answer the question. The learning goal of this activity is for students to learn things about their classmates and what they may have in common. This can help create new relationships or help grow old relationships. It teaches students how to connect with others and form a positive relationship. This can help students get along with each other, helps them feel like they belong and are safe in the classroom, and create a form of trust.

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The relationship building activity that I remember doing in elementary school was find a friend bingo. The learning goal of this activity was to get the students up and moving around the room, meet new people and learn fun facts about each other. In this activity students are given a bingo card that had things on it like how many siblings do you have, do you have any pets, is left-handed, or I am the oldest sibling in my family. Students then get up and go around the room and ask people if they have anything that could fill out their card. Students can only use one person per square. I thought this was a great relationship building activity because it is a fun way to get to know each other and get up and moving.

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One relationship-building activity I enjoyed as a kid in preschool is an All About Me Week. Each student is given a specific week to share anything they feel is important about them. It is kind of like a show and tell, but they are able to tell their friends and teacher about themselves and their families. They make some sort of visual with any pictures that have meaning to them in any way. There can be facts about their families, birthday, or hobbies. It can really be absolutely anything that they feel is a major part of their life. There was even the chance to bring their parents in to read their favorite book during the week. They even got to bring something so special to them that they could show, or their parents could if it couldn't fit in their bags or was alive like a pet. This was a great way to make the students feel special but also allowed the teacher and the other students to know more about them. Students were able to see traits and similarities in their classmates!