I love the variety in this set of morning greetings. There’s a little something here for everyone… non-contact, non-verbal for your low key kids. And high-five, dance-it-out cards for those kids that are always a little extra.
A lot of teachers post greetings right outside their classroom door, giving students a choice of how they want to say HI as they’re entering the room. If you’re new to trying this, I recommend only putting out two choices at the beginning. You can add on later. It’s fun and personal to greet students at the door each morning, but lots of choices can take lots of time. If your goal is to get in and get started, limiting the greetings is the way to go.
OTHER WAYS TO USE MORNING GREETINGS
If you’re more of a simple greeter in the morning (like me), there are other ways to use greetings. Try any of these ideas:
- welcoming children in the morning
- starting off your morning meeting (or ending it)
- greetings children use when they pair up throughout the day
- praises and shoutouts
- saying goodbye during dismissal
Ultimately, the goal is to teach children the importance of acknowledging others in appropriate and friendly ways. There are many opportunities to model and encourage this during the school day.
FUN WAYS TO SAY HEY!
From smiles, to pinky shakes, to full-on hugs, these are some of our favorite greetings. You can TRY THESE 👇 or have fun making up your own. You might be surprised at what your own students come up with, too!
Ideas to get you started:
- A Pat on the Back
- Dance
- Do the Dab
- Elbow Bump
- Fist Bump
- Funny Face
- Hand Shake
- High Five
- Hug
- Pinky Shake
- Salute
- Say Hey
- Smile
- Wave
- Wink
For more ideas on building respectful communities, check out these related posts for K-2 teachers:
Happy teaching!
