1. Something You Learned Recently:

   • Share one interesting thing you learned recently, either in school or outside of it.

2. A Book or Movie Recommendation:

   • Recommend a book or movie you enjoyed and briefly explain why others might like it.

3. A Personal Achievement:

   • Share a recent accomplishment or achievement you're proud of, no matter how big or small.

4. An Act of Kindness:

   • Share a recent act of kindness you witnessed or participated in. It could be something you did for someone else or something someone did for you.

5. A Challenge You Overcame:

   • Share a challenge you faced recently and how you overcame it or what you learned from the experience.

6. Your Favorite Hobby or Activity:

   • Talk about your favorite hobby or activity and why you enjoy it.

7. A Goal for the Week:

   • Share one goal you've set for yourself for the week and how you plan to achieve it.

8. Something You Appreciate About a Classmate:

   • Choose a classmate and share something you appreciate or admire about them.

9. A Fun Fact About Yourself:

   • Share a fun or interesting fact about yourself that others might not know.

10. A Positive Quote or Mantra:

    • Share a positive quote or mantra that inspires you or helps you stay motivated.

11. Your Favorite Memory:

    • Share a favorite memory from your past and why it's meaningful to you.

12. Something That Made You Smile Recently:

    • Share something that brought a smile to your face recently, whether it's a joke, a moment, or an experience.

13. A New Skill You're Learning:

    • Talk about a new skill or hobby you're currently learning and your experience with it.

14. A Random Act of Kindness You Received:

    • Share a time when someone was unexpectedly kind to you, and how it made you feel.

15. A Goal for Personal Growth:

    • Share a personal goal related to your character or behavior that you're working on for self-improvement.

Divide kids into teams and then provide each team with four different pictures. The students will have 15 to 20 minutes to talk among themselves and then come up with a story about the pictures to share with the larger group.

I liked using popsicle sticks for this greeting, but certainly anything will do! Put #1 on two separate popsicle sticks, then #2 etc…until you have enough popsicle sticks for your whole class (so if there are 24 students, you should have two popsicle sticks with #1, two sticks with #2, two with #3…up to two sticks with #12). Students stand in a circle, hand out the popsicle sticks. Call out a number any way you see fit (even numbers, then odd numbers…the sum of 1+1, 2+2, the product of 1x1…6x2…or just in order 1 through 12…). Students meet in the center of the circle, greet with a friendly handshake or high-five, then return to the outside of the circle. You could adapt this by putting letters instead of numbers…or sight words…or decimal numbers…or vocabulary words…or spelling words!!!

This is just a simple greeting my kids used to enjoy any day of the week! Standing in a circle, students turn to their neighbor and greet by saying “Good morning________” then asking a question like, “What are you doing this weekend?”

As always, it is good to review making eye contact and how to listen politely when your neighbor is talking to you. 

You could change the question to anything you would like…You could have your greeting leader come up with the question… questions could be anything from, “What did you have for dinner last night…what book are you reading right now… what is your favorite ice cream flavor…” and on a Monday, you could switch it to, “What did you do this weekend?”! Have fun!

After a few minutes, have students compare the drawing with the real picture to see how accurate their drawing and descriptions were. This game often leads to some hilarious drawings and teenagers have lots of fun playing this activity.

🤝 Classic & Calm

• Handshake or Fist Bump

• Wave & Smile

• Eye Contact & “Good Morning, [Name]”

• Name & One Word Feeling – “Good morning, I’m Sam and I feel curious.”

• Silent Greeting – wave, nod, or thumbs-up around the circle

🤪 Silly & Fun

• Elbow Bump

• Chicken Dance Greeting

• Robot Voice Greeting

• Opera Voice Greeting

• Animal Sound Greeting – greet like your favorite animal!

🎭 Interactive & Themed

• Mirror Greeting – copy your partner’s movement or face

• Emoji Greeting – greet using a facial expression only

• Weather Report Greeting – “I’m sunny and ready to learn!”

• Foreign Language Greeting – "Hola, [Name]!" or "Bonjour!"

• Character Greeting – greet like a pirate, superhero, or royal

🧘 Calm & Centered

• Breathing Greeting – inhale, exhale, then greet

• Gratitude Greeting – greet and say one thing you're thankful for

• Mindful Greeting – make eye contact, put hands together (like namaste)

• Compliment Greeting – “Good morning, [Name], I like your enthusiasm!”

🚶 Movement-Based

• Walk & Wave – stroll around the room greeting peers

• Skip or Slide Greeting – greet while doing a silly movement

• Dance Move Greeting – greet and show off a quick move

• Freeze Frame Greeting – greet and strike a fun pose

🎲 Randomized or Rotating

• Greeting Spinner – spin to choose a type of greeting

• Greeting Cards – pick from a deck of greeting types

• Mystery Greeting – teacher chooses a surprise each day

• Partner Dice Roll – odd = fist bump, even = wave

• Four Corners – corners labeled with categories (favorite food, season, sport)

• Freeze Dance – play music and freeze when it stops

• Simon Says – classic or with silly twists

• Find Someone Who… – mingle to find classmates matching prompts

• Would You Rather? Move! – students move to sides of the room based on their choice

🧠 Brain Warm-Ups & Puzzles

• Riddle of the Day – students work together to solve it

• Mystery Bag – guess an item hidden in a bag with yes/no questions

• I Spy – find objects around the room based on clues

• 20 Questions – guess the person, place, or thing

• Pattern Challenge – clap, stomp, snap sequences to copy and extend

🎭 Creative & Imaginative

• Story Pass – each student adds one sentence to a group story

• Quick Draw – draw something in 30 seconds based on a prompt

• Charades – act out animals, sports, or vocabulary words

• Emoji Feelings – choose an emoji that matches your mood and explain

• Invent a Holiday – name it, create traditions, and share

🤝 Team-Building & Social Skills

• Compliment Chain – each person gives a compliment to the next

• Two Truths and a Fib – guess which statement isn’t true

• Common Ground – find three things everyone in your group has in common

• Human Knot – untangle without letting go of hands

• Classroom Challenge – complete a task together in under 2 minutes

🎯 Quick Academic Connections

• Math Fact Relay – solve problems in teams, passing the marker

• Word of the Day – learn and use it in a sentence

• Category Brainstorm – name as many items in a category as possible

• Map Hunt – find a location on a map

• Synonym/Antonym Race – call out a word, students answer with matches

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• Silent Ball – Toss a ball around the room in complete silence. Drop it or talk? You're out!

• 4 Corners – One student closes their eyes and counts down. Everyone else chooses a corner. If your corner is called, you’re out!

• Freeze Dance – Play music, everyone dances… until it stops. Freeze or you're out!

• Would You Rather – Stand or move to show your answer to silly or thoughtful “would you rather” questions.

• Telephone (Whisper Down the Lane) – Whisper a message around the circle. The last person says it aloud. Hilarity ensues.

🧠 Quick Thinking Games

• 20 Questions – Guess a person, place, or thing by asking yes/no questions.

• Categories – Pick a topic (animals, foods, things that fly) and go around naming items. No repeats!

• I Spy – Great for younger students or transition times.

• Word Association – One student says a word; the next says one that connects. Keep going!

• Two Truths and a Fib – Guess which statement isn’t true about your classmate.

🤝 Partner or Small Group Games

• Charades – Act out animals, jobs, emotions, or book titles.

• Pictionary – Draw and guess what your teammate is illustrating.

• Guess Who? – Write clues about a mystery student or teacher and guess who it is.

• Pass the Clap – Pass a rhythm around the circle as fast (or silly) as possible.

• Build a Story – Take turns adding sentences to a shared story.

🏃 Movement Games

• Red Light, Green Light – Classic movement game that even older kids secretly love.

• Human Tic-Tac-Toe – Students are Xs and Os on a floor grid.

• Follow the Leader – Use fun movements, dances, or sounds.

• Animal Walk Races – Crab walk, frog jump, bear crawl, etc.

• Relay Races – Indoors with classroom-friendly twists (like balancing erasers or walking backwards).

🎤 Just-for-Fun Games

• Laughing Contest – Try to make your partner laugh while they stay serious.

• Musical Chairs – Use upbeat songs and silly rules (like “hop instead of walk”).

• Emoji Guessing Game – Show a face or card; others guess the feeling.

• Would You Rather? Speed Round – Call out choices, students move quickly to show their answer.

• This or That – Students move to one side of the room for each option (pizza or tacos? beach or mountains?).