Back to School Games

The kids return to school after a long vacation. They meet their class mates after not seeing them for a long time. They are exited and want to share their experiences. They want to spend just a little more time with their friends before they begin to really study.

So what do you do? You play!

Play games with the kids which will enable them to include their friends and have fun with them just a little bit longer.

Try these back to school games on the first day of school.

On one hand they will satisfy the need to be with their friends just a little bit longer, and on the other hand they will ease them painlessly back in to the school framework.

Back to School Games

I have a Meeting

Ask the kids to walk around the class and make four appointments with other kids; one appointment at 3 O'clock, the second appointment at 6 O'clock, the third appointment at 9 O'clock, the fourth appointment at 12 O'clock.

Once the kids have written their appointments down on their piece of paper they sit down in a circle. The host announces: "It's now 3 O'clock" and subsequently, all the kids look for their partner for the meeting and sit opposite one another. The meeting goes on for approximately ten minutes.

During the first five minutes one tells the other what he did during the summer vacation, and during the remaining five minutes they swap. They continue in this way until they have finished all of the four appointments.

At the end of the meetings the kids return to sit in the circle and a feedback session is held where you can check what the kids remember about what their friends told them, and whether the kids' summer vacation was similar or different, etc.

Greetings Bank

Choose five kids from the class, and ask them to stand in a row opposite the other kids. Allow each child to take one or more pieces of toilet paper.

Now ask each child what he wishes himself for the new school year, according to the number of pieces of toilet paper that he has taken.

If he has taken one piece he must choose one thing to wish himself, if he has taken three he must wish himself three things.

My New Name

If anyone gets mixed up the names are changed.

Possibilities:
My new name is:

• The name of the child sitting on my left
• The name of the child who is sitting two places from my right

My Favorite Food

Each child states his name and his favorite food.

At the end of the round the teacher stands in the center of the circle with a piece of paper in her hand and announces: "My favorite food is pizza" and simultaneously lets go of the paper.

The child who stated that he likes pizza has to catch the piece of paper while it is airborne; if he succeeds he announces an additional favorite food while simultaneously letting go of the piece of paper and the child whose favorite food was announced has to catch it. If he is not successful in catching the piece of paper he must first rip a piece off, and then announce the food, and so on and so forth...

The smaller the paper gets the harder it becomes to catch it.

Where Would You Like to Go Next?

• Try our Back to School Printables?
• Read our back to school safety tips?
• Read our back to school checklist?

If you've got interesting ideas for back to school games that you'd like to share, send them to me! I'll be happy to add them to the growing collections of kid activities listed here on this site!