Building Bridges with Children and Their Families -

What’s Your Bag?

Give each child a lunch sack at registration or the first day of school and ask them to put the wrapper from their favorite candy, something their favorite color, a picture of their family, the title of their favorite book, etc. in the bag. After sharing these objects with classmates, they can use them to decorate journals, make banners about themselves, etc.

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Mystery Back Pack -

Purchase a back pack, or simply find an old one in lost and found and use it for this activity. Put a direction card in the back pack that says, “Today your child is bringing home the mystery back pack. Please help your child find one object that is special to them to put in the bag. Write three clues about the object on the enclosed card. Tomorrow we’ll read the clues to the class and see if they can guess what is in the back pack.” The next day read the clues, then encourage the children to ask questions about the contents of the back pack. The anticipation will build until they “solve” the mystery. This activity gives children a turn to feel special, and it encourages thinking skills and language development.

Graphs -

Graphs are a “mathematical” way to get to know each other. Let children graph personal characteristics (eye color, number of siblings, number of letters in their name), likes and dislikes (favorite sports team, favorite pizza, pet, author, cartoon), how they travel to school, etc.

Find a Friend BINGO -

This activity is for primary grade children. Make a BINGO card by drawing off a grid on a piece of paper with 9- 12 sections. In each section write a different characteristic, such as “likes chocolate ice cream,” “roller blades,” “has a younger brother,” “has a cat,” “likes to play computer games,” “has brown eyes,” and so forth. Give each child a copy of the BINGO card and challenge them to go around the room and find a different person to initial each section. (Each person may only initial one time on each other’s card.)

Class Quilt –

Use group art to create a visual representation of the “community” in your classroom. Give each child a 9” square and have them decorate it with pictures of themselves, drawings of their families or favorite things, collage materials, etc. Punch holes in the corner of each square and tie together with yarn to make a quilt to display in the classroom or hallway.

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