Icebreakers for Toddlers

Name Games

• A welcome song is an excellent way to make toddlers feel comfortable with each other. You could teach the kids to sing "Look Who Came to Play Today" to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The song goes like this: "Look who came to play today, play today, play today! Look who came to play today! We're really glad you came!" Before the next verse, ask a child to stand up and say her name. Then continue to sing the song with her name included: "Mary came to play today..." and so on. Sing the song again with each child's name. You can also play "Name that Child." Have one child hold a stuffed animal and say a child's name. She then hands the animal to the named child who then will say another child's name. Help by whispering a child's name into her ear if she has forgotten.

Partner Icebreakers

• Randomly give the kids a different type of hat to wear, for example, baseball hats, birthday hats, sombreros, tall dress hats and bonnets. Two kids should be wearing the same type of hat. Tell the toddlers to find the child who is wearing a matching hat and tell them to sit together. Once everyone has found her partner, have the toddler stand up and introduce her partner by name and say one nice thing about her. For example, a child might say, "This is Sarah. She has pretty hair." For another partner game, have the kids take off one shoe and put it in a pile. Have the toddlers close their eyes while you put a random shoe in front of each child. Then have the toddlers pick up the shoe and look for its owner. Each child should say hello to the shoe's owner, ask her for her name and tell the shoe owner her own name.

Sorting Icebreakers

• One ice breaker game involves sorting. Have the toddlers close their eyes and raise one hand in the air if they like dogs more than cats or raise two hands in the air if they like cats more than dogs. Have the kids open their eyes and tell them that they must find other children who raised their hand for dogs by barking and those that raised their hands for cats by meowing. Tell the toddlers that all the dog lovers and cat lovers must be sitting together to complete the task. Repeat the game with pairs of other animals.

  For another game, have the toddlers stand in a tight circle around one child in the middle, who will say her name. The child in the middle will call out a color and everyone wearing that color must run and find another spot in the circle. The person in the middle also runs and tries to get a spot. If she succeeds, the odd person out becomes the new caller.

Teamwork Games

• Have the toddlers play team work games. You could make a simple obstacle course that has the kids weaving between traffic cones, stepping over obstacles and walking under objects. The kids must stay connected by putting their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. The kids can celebrate together when they finish the course. Another idea is to have a scavenger hunt. Hide several items of the same type, such as rubber ducks, wooden blocks or stuffed animals. Tell the kids they have to find all the items around the room as fast as they can, put them in a plastic bag and bring them back to you as a team.