Morning Meeting Games for Kindergartners
Morning meeting games for kindergartners can engage children with news and announcements, sharing and a group activity. Games help children develop social and team-building skills, providing a structure as to how to engage with each other. Use morning meeting games that incorporate songs, visuals and movement to begin the day with energy and a spirit of cooperation.
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Greetings
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Create two identical stacks of index cards, each card bearing the name of a student. Hand each child the card with his name. Have the children sit in a circle. Hold a name card up for the children to see. Sing the "Where is Thumbkin?" song with the following words: "Where is [name on card], where is [name on card]?" Ask the named child to stand up and say, "Here I am. Here I am." Respond to the child by singing, "[Name of child], how are you? We are glad to see you. Run away, run away." Cue the child to run away from the circle. Ask the other children to help you draw the child back to the group by singing, "Come back and play. Come back and play." As each child takes a turn, pin the index card with his name on a board. Hang the board so the children can return to it and read the names of their classmates.
News and Announcements
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Select students to play different roles in a morning meeting presentation. Ask one student to be the teacher, a second student to describe the weather, and a third student to tell the class about a fun activity that he has done with his family in the past week. Direct the "teacher" to welcome the class to another new day of school, setting a positive tone. Encourage the class to chime in as you recite the class' goals for the day.
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Sharing
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Ask your students to bring the funniest photograph of their families to share. Divide the students into pairs. Direct each pair to practice and rehearse funny stories about their pictures to each other. Encourage them to ask each other questions about their photos based on the 5 Ws: who, what, when, where and why. Circle the room, coaching students gently as they practice telling their stories to their partners. Have the class sit in a group and present their photographs in pairs.
Group Activity
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Engage in a sound game where the class claps out each syllable of a student's name. Have one child step out of class while you hide a familiar object, such as a ruler or a toy. Ask the child to come back in and try to find the object. Direct the class to call out "hot" or "cold," depending on if the child is close to or far away from the object. Bring a ball of yarn into class. Have the children form a circle and pass the ball of yarn around to create a spider web.
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References
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