Morning Greeting Activities:

In greeting, each child is welcomed by name.  It aids to set a positive tone for the day, provides a sense of belonging and recognition, to help children learn and use everyone’s name, and lets children practice hospitality.  It is primary learned for socialization.

Role Call Singing Greeting – The teacher sings “Good Morning Mary!  Are you here?”  The child responds “Good morning teacher, I am here!”  

Describing Your Name – The child creates an adjective in front of their first name with the same letter.  Example: Hiccups Harvey.

I’ve Got A Name – Have the children sit in a circle. The teacher demonstrates by saying his/her name and by clapping the name at the same time.  Then one child is selected to start by saying their name and by clapping their name at the same time.  The group copies that child by saying “his/her name is _____.”  Each child in the circle follows through with their names.  The coordination between saying the name and clapping the name comes from two different parts of the brain and it will help coordinate the rhythms within the child.

Copy Cat Name – Similar to “I’ve Got A Name” except the child stands up says their name with an action like a wave or a wink.  The group copies the action and says the child’s name.  Each child has a turn and tries to think of a new action with their name to not copy an action already presented.  The group learns names the more times it is done. 

What Did You Have? -  The child stands up and says their name and is asked by the teacher: “What did you have for breakfast?”  Each child has a turn to answer and everyone learns about what the child had to eat for breakfast.  

Birthday Bash – Matching birthday months with the group and then coming up with a cheer.  Have the children find the birthday months with other children.  When they are in a group, make sure the group has at least six.  If not, find a group which will fit into that group.  You should have at least three to four groups ready to create a birthday cheer.  Give the groups a chance to think about the cheer, practice it, and then perform it.