Meeting new people can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, and sometimes a little more than awkward – especially for kids! Cue these fun icebreakers for kids!
Fun Icebreakers For Kids
These unique icebreakers for kids are sure to make them the best of friends in no time!
#1. Introduce Your Partner
For this game, have kids pair off into two’s. Then, give them each a few minutes to quiz their partner.
After they’re finished quizzing each other, have each child introduce their partner to the class, family, or friends. Bonus – they’ll need to utilize their memory skills to accomplish the task!
#2. My Ambition is to…
For this icebreaker for kids, have them sit in a circle. Then, get them to take turns to stand up and tell everyone else what they want to be, achieve, or do when they’re older!
They don’t necessarily need to answer what career path they want to follow. Kids can also mention other goals, such as flying a spaceship, being the first person on Mars, or another!
#3. My Weird Talent is…
Each of us may have a unique, fun, or silly talent or skill, such as being able to play a musical instrument or whistle. Get kids to share theirs with friends or classmates to break the ice!
#4. What Do Your Parents Do?
For this icebreaker game, get kids to sit in a circle. One must start by saying what his parents do for a job and then ask the child next to them the same question afterward.
Besides talking about what their parents do, the kids can also talk more about their family. Get them to tell their new friends about their siblings, pets, house, and hobbies, too!
#5. UNO
Playing card games is an excellent way to get kids to relax and open up around each other. UNO is a classic card game that adults, teens, and kids alike can all play together!
However, you could also play another card game. After playing together, having fun, and bonding, it is much more likely kids will feel relaxed around their new friends!
#6. My Favorite Food is…
We all have our favorite foods. For this game, get kids to take turns sharing theirs with classmates or new friends!
You can even extend the game by separating it into categories, such as “my favorite” candy bar, dinner dish, breakfast meal, cuisine, dessert, ice cream flavor, candy, chips, or soda!
#7. Two Truths and a Lie
Two truths and a lie is a fun game for kids to play together to find out more about each other. During the game, each player makes three statements, two of which are true and one of which is a lie.
The other players then need to group together and guess which statement is a lie. See our post on how to play two truths and a lie for more detailed game instructions!
#8. STEM Building
STEM building sets, such as the Magna Tiles, K’NEX, Brain Flakes, and flower garden kits, are both fun and educational! Let the kids loose on a set and see what they come up with!
They can either play together to build a single structure or have a competition! When playing together, they do learn how to cooperate and communicate with each other, though.
#9. Ring a Ring a Rosie
Ring a Rosie is a fun activity for kids to do together. Once they’ve “fallen down,” held hands, and had a few laughs together, they will feel closer to their new friends!
#10. A Board Game
There are so many excellent board games for toddlers and kids of all ages to play together to break the ice! These games include cooperative, competitive, luck-based, clue, and fun games.
Try out Monopoly Junior, Candy Land, The Floor is Lava, Guess Who?, Connect 4, Clue Junior, The Game of Life Junior, Battleship, and Eye Found it!
#11. JENGA
JENGA is another fun game that kids can play together to break the ice! By the end of the game, everyone should be best of friends!
#12. Broken Telephones
The Telephone Game or Broken Telephones is a hilarious game that kids can play together. There are a few ways to play, but usually, kids sit in a circle.
Then, one kid will start by whispering a phrase into the player next to him’s ear, and so on, going around the circle.
Once all the kids in the circle are done, the final kid and first kid tell everyone else what they said or heard. Naturally, the final spoken phrase is usually very different from the original!
#13. Musical Chairs
Musical chairs is another classic game to play with kids of all ages! Just make sure you have enough chairs for everyone!
To start, get each kid to sit on a chair in a circle facing outwards. Then, play some music. The object of the game is to run around the chairs while the music is playing, sitting as soon as it stops.
Between rounds, make sure to remove one chair from the circle. When the music stops, the last kid to try to sit down will be left without a chair and be out of the game.
The last kid still in the game wins!
#14. Pass the Parcel
Pass the parcel is an excellent icebreaker for kids or even to play at birthday parties! It’s similar to Musical Chairs. However, kids pass a parcel around the circle while the music plays.
The parcel usually consists of a gift with many layers of gift wrap wrapped around it. It’s common to also place small gifts between random layers.
When the music stops, the kid holding the parcel must unwrap one layer, and so on, until the gift is finally unwrapped. You don’t necessarily need to place gifts in between the layers, though.
Turn the game into an icebreaker for kids. Instead of gifts, place question cards in between each layer, which the player who unwraps it must answer!
#15. Been There Done That
We all know what a trivia game is, but how about a game with trivia questions about the friends and family who’re playing? The Been There Done That Game is just that!
It’s packed full of 850+ questions to get to know each other! Do bear in mind that this game is geared towards older kids aged 13 years and up, though!
However, you could also create your own game cards with whichever questions you think are age-appropriate.
#16. Never Have I Ever
Typically, Never Have I Ever is an adult drinking game. However, you can modify the game to make it the perfect “get to know you” game for kids!
During a round, get one player to say ten statements starting with “never have I ever” .. had a pet dog, been overseas, etc. Each player must hold their hands up with fingers out to start.
As the player says each statement, the kids must put a finger down if they have actually done that action. Whichever player(s) have the most fingers still out at the end of the round wins!
#17. Make Up a Poem
To play this game, get one player to start with a random short verse that they’ve made up. Then, each of the other players must add their own verse onto it.
The verse can be whatever they want; however, it must rhyme with the prior player’s verse! You can even record the funny poem on paper or as a voice recording to keep as a memory!
#18. Make Up a Story
This icebreaker for kids is almost exactly the same as the Make Up a Poem Game mentioned before. However, it may be better for younger kids as they won’t need to rhyme their verses.
Instead, get the first player to say a random sentence, such as “Richard hopped in his red lorry.” Then, each of the other kids must add their own sentence to the first to make up a funny story!
#19. Tell Your Funniest Joke
This game is very similar to Show & Tell, which is another excellent icebreaker for kids! For this icebreaker game, instead of things, get each kid to tell the others their funniest joke, though!
#21. Twister
Twister is a fun physical activity that kids can play together to break the ice! Kids will be laughing, smiling, and way more comfortable around each other after getting silly in a round of Twister!
#21. A Cooperative Scavenger Hunt
For this game, hide sequential clues under various objects around the classroom or house. Then split the kids into two teams and give each team their starter clue to start.
Each clue should guide them to the next object with the next clue. And each team’s objects should be different to ensure they can play separately but at the same time.
The players will need to work together as a team to guess where the next object and clue is hiding.
The final object can have a prize, such as sweets, gifts, or something fun on, under, in, or near it. The first team to find their final object and the prize wins!
#22. What Does This Button Do?
For this game, buy or make a big button (it can be any color). Then, get each kid to come up and explain to the rest what they think the big button does.
It’s a fun game that will really get their creativity flowing! You can even have the kids vote on who’s the explanation they found the funniest or best at the end of the game!
#23. What if?
To play this game, create game cards with unique, made-up situations written on them. Give a card to each kid and have them explain to everyone else what they’d do in that particular situation.
For example, what if a zombie apocalypse broke out now? Or, what would they do if someone stole their lunch? Or, what would they do if they had a million dollars?
Each of these questions will really give the other kids insight into what their friends personality. You can also have all the kids say what they’d do in the same situation to see how different and unique each response is!
#24. Ice Breaker Questions
To truly break the ice, get kids to go straight for it and ask some personal questions to find out more about each other! This is an easy icebreaker for kids to do together.
For this game, get kids to first write out ten random questions they’d like to ask their new friends. Examples include, “what is your favorite color?” and “how many pets do you have?”
Then, have them ask each other these questions. They can ask one other player all their questions, ask the whole group, or ask each kid a random question from their list.
#25. A Real Ice Breaking Game – Don’t Break the Ice!
Breaking the ice with new friends is often awkward, but actually, breaking some ice may be a lot more fun! In this ice-breaking game, kids get to do exactly that!
The game consists of a small platform with ice blocks and Philip the Penguin balancing on top. Players then need to tap out blocks of ice with their ice picks without letting Philip fall over!
#26. Pretend Play
For this game, get kids to act out various activities, such as a day at the vet’s, cooking dinner, cleaning, or gardening.
You may need a few props, though, such as a pretend play kitchen or vet’s bench! You can also get kids to act out the activity like a play for the family or their friends.
#27. A Trivia Face-Off
A trivia face-off is another fun icebreaker game for kids to do! For this game, split the kids into two teams. Then, ask them trivia questions – the team that answers the most correctly wins!
#28. Another Fun, Ice-Breaking Game -The Thin Ice Game
If you love the Don’t Break the Ice Game, there’s another to watch out for – The Thin Ice Game! In it, kids take turns placing marbles on the “thin ice,” quickly passing the tweezers on.
Why? Because the kid who’s stuck with the tweezers when the marbles “break the ice” will get one mark against them.
Kids who break the ice three times will be out of the game, while the last standing wins!
#29. Show & Tell
Show & Tell is a classic kids game that lets kids share their unique life, hobbies, toy, and possessions with their friends! To play, get kids to bring something special to show the others.
#30. Throw Throw Burrito
This cute, dodgeball-style game is a fun option for kids to get their food fighting on (without the mess)!
In the game, kids collect cards, earning points, and throw burritos at each other! Don’t worry, though – the mentioned burritos are actually soft burrito figurines included in the game set!
Conclusion:
Making new friends need not be difficult or awkward! Let your little ones try out some of these fun icebreakers for kids to help them bond next time around.