Icebreakers & name games for a new group of kids

Name games first

• Name chain: first child says their name, the next repeats it and adds their own, and so on. You go last — and the kids love watching you struggle.
• Name + fruit on the same letter: 'I'm Dasha — banana? No! Dasha — date!' Silly, sticky, and doubles as a vocabulary moment.
• Beach-ball questions: write quick questions on a ball (or number them on the board); catch, answer the question under your right thumb, throw on.
• Snowball fight: everyone writes one fact about themselves on paper, crumples it, one-minute 'snowball fight', then each child reads a snowball aloud and the group guesses whose it is.

Games that build safety

• Me too!: one child says something they love ('I love pizza'); everyone who agrees jumps up and shouts 'Me too!'. Instantly shows kids they're not alone.
• Find someone who…: a short list on the board (has a cat, can swim, loves winter); kids mingle to find a person for each line. Online: ask by turns instead of mingling.
• Compliment circle to finish: each child says one nice thing about the person on their left. Corny? Yes. Does the room feel 10° warmer? Also yes.

Repeat across the first week

Icebreakers aren't a day-one event; they're a week-one routine. Replay the name chain on days two and three (it takes ninety seconds once they know it), keep one mixing game per lesson until you see kids choosing new partners without groaning. That's the real sign the ice is gone.