A teacher from Falls Church, Virginia tells Scholastic that she plays a fun game with her first graders on the first day of school by first gathering children in a circle. Each child takes a turn introducing themselves. Ask the children to pick a word that rhymes or goes with their name and say it. The idea is for the names to be silly and for kids to have fun while introducing themselves.
Pass out construction paper and have children get out their crayons. Instruct them to draw a picture of themselves as well as add a few things that describe what they like to do and things that are special to them. Each child can talk about his or her picture. Hang the pictures up on a bulletin board and keep them until the end of the year. At the end of the year, have them draw another self-portrait and give them the one they drew at the beginning of the year. Students will delight in how different their portraits are and how much they have grown in one year.
Print out handouts of the "All-About-Me Flower." Pass them out to each child. Take digital photos of each child and allow them to tape the pictures to the middle of the flower or draw a picture of themselves in the middle. In each petal, they can write or draw things about themselves that they would like to share. Hang up all the flowers on a bulletin board to display the classroom "garden."
Before the first day of school, send each student a letter asking them to fill a brown bag with four to five items they would like to share with the class. The items should be things that are significant to the child, such as something they use for a hobby. Gather students in a circle and take turns opening each bag. Children will learn about one another. This is a good way for children to share information about themselves and learn things they may have in common with the other kids.