Games for the Beginning of School

Those first few days of school are not days for getting a lot done. They’re for getting to know each other, learning classroom rules, and getting back into the groove of being in a classroom all day long.

So why not throw in some games that will have kids working together and having some fun together?

The list of beginning of school activities from A Grace-Filled Classroom aren’t all games necessarily, but it does include one of my favorites, which is the beach ball toss where you write different questions on the ball and then toss it. The question your hand lands on is the one you answer. There’s also a printable “find a friend” (variation on person bingo) in the linked post.

This escape room for the classroom from Teachers Are Terrific (available at Teachers Pay Teachers) is perfect for fourth and fifth grade and will get kids up and moving. As described on the blog:

In this Escape Room, students match words to categories and then unscramble a message for the first lock code. For the second task, students complete a math puzzler to open the locked box. For the last task, they use a secret code to decipher a message that will lead them to the lock numbers.

The STEM challenge comes from kids choosing from available materials to illustrate a class rule in a physical way.

Proud to Be Primary has a great list of getting to know you games (including the beach ball one above), including asking questions with the roll of a dice or the color of candies, making paper dolls for each student and much more. These are great, relatively low-prep ideas you can do with kids when you need to fill time or just want to do a group activity.

Do you have a favorite beginning of school game to do with your kids? Let’s hear about it!

Last month I shared a collection of beach crafts that used items from the beach like seashells and sand. This month’s collection is all about beach animals and things you might see at the beach that don’t require beachy materials to make. In fact you’ve probably got what you need to make most of these beach crafts in your house already.

How about paper plates? With a paper plate you can make this cute watercolor seashell from The Educator’s Spin on It, or an adorable seagull like this one from Glued to My Crafts.

Add some white beans and you can make paper plate sand dollars like Crafts by Amanda. Or use a paper plate as a frame for a sweet beach scene like this crab and turtle one from Artsy Craftsy Mom, which includes a downloadable template and instructions to make it super easy.

Or grab a paper plate and some bubble wrap to make a jellyfish like this one from Happy Toddler Playtime. If you have paper bowls instead of plates, you can also make a jellyfish from one of those, like Natural Beach Living did.

Use your stash of craft sticks and googly eyes to make crabs, fish, sharks and more with this craft idea from The Keeper of the Cheerios.

I love this little crab made with a cardboard tube from Hunny I’m Home. With this same idea I’ll bet you could make lots of different creatures.

Grab some construction paper to make the loopy tentacles on this watercolor jellyfish from Craftsy Hacks. Or make a stained glass jellyfish like this one from Life Anchored.

Make easy puffy paint to make these fun fluffy starfish from I Heart Crafty Things, or use cupcake liners to make cute little crabs (also from I Heart Crafty Things).

Turn an old pool noodle into some super cute fish with this tutorial from Happy Toddler Playtime.

And if you’ve got some leftover yarn lying around, make pompoms and turn them into turtles like these from Craftsy Hacks. (And check out my post on different ways to make pompoms if you need a refresher!)

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