First Week of School Activity for Preschoolers – Safe Greetings Cube
As school policies change over the years, it’s becoming more and more important to teach preschoolers safe greetings. This safe greetings cube is a great first week of school activity, or something that can be pulled out for practice all year long.
Free Printable for First Week of School Activity for Preschoolers
It used to be that we could hug our students, shake parent hands, and give high fives for encouragement. I am disappointed to say that times are changing, and those favorite preschool greetings may never be the same again.
But with good reason.
Every preschool teacher wants their students to remain healthy. Every preschool parent wants their preschooler to be safe.
We are all on the same side here.
But as policies change in our preschool settings, so must our protocol. And change doesn’t have to be a bad thing, either.
I’ve added this safe greeting cube to our circle time activities for the first week of school for preschoolers. In fact, I also sent it to my sons’ kindergarten and first grade teachers as well.
Just because we have to social distance and we can’t give hugs anymore doesn’t mean we can’t show our preschoolers how much we care about them. There are many different ways we can connect with our preschoolers.
There are a lot of different games to play with this safe greetings cube, so I’ve included it several times in my first week of school lesson plans. Be sure to read all the different games to play to teach your preschoolers new and safe ways to greet one another (and you, the teacher, too).
How Do You Welcome Preschoolers on the First Day of School?
Preschoolers are social by nature! They love to chat about their favorite things and share their accomplishments with the world. Although the first day of school may look different this year, we can still welcome students with fun and engaging activities, collaborative games, and music and movement. These fun activities for the first week of preschool are perfect for social distancing and having fun!
How Do You Introduce New Activities to Preschoolers?
Role playing and modeling are some of the best ways to show preschoolers how to use new materials for the first time. Invite a student (or two) to be your volunteer as you model how to appropriately play the game or complete the activity. Model positive behavior so that students see what is expected and what actions are not appropriate.
Safe Greetings Game for the First Week of Preschool
This game is perfect for teaching little ones how to encourage and acknowledge others for a job well done and build rapport and friendship amongst each other.
It’s a simple first week of school activity for preschoolers that also has a big–and important–impact.
Materials
- free safe greetings printable
- optional materials from “More First Week of School Activities for Preschoolers”
How to Play Safe Greetings Game
First, assemble the dice. Sit the children in a circle. Take turns rolling and acting out the safe greetings. Invite children to use various voices or silly antics to encourage movement and fun! Don’t forget these greetings can be done sitting down or standing up…perfect for when your preschoolers need movement.
Once you set a routine for students to greet each other during circle time, morning meeting, and/or at the end of the day, they will learn these greetings in no time!
More First Week of School Activities for Preschoolers
That’s just one way to teach safe greetings during the first week of preschool. But if you’ve been a reader for a while you know how I like to use the same printable for multiple back-to-school activities.
Try some of these ideas:
- Print the safe greetings page twice. Cut out all the cards and shuffle them together. Have students play a memory game by finding the matching cards.
- Encourage children to develop their own safe greetings. Have the students draw them on a small piece of paper and add it to the dice for all the children to learn.
- Post the greeting cards around the classroom to encourage positive acknowledgment throughout the day.
- Print the cards out for each student and staple together into a book. Perfect for practicing the greetings at home, too!
- Lay the cards on the floor around the room. Have the students travel around the room, greeting students in different ways as they go.
More Free Printables for Back to School
Get Your Safe Greetings Cube Game Here
Teaching safe greetings the first few weeks of preschool has never been so easy. Grab a copy by clicking the image below and the PDF will be sent to your email.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.