Introduction

Greeting others is a fundamental aspect of social interaction, providing a friendly way to acknowledge someone’s presence and express happiness in seeing them. For young children, learning to greet their friends and peers is an essential skill that contributes to building strong relationships and developing social-emotional competence. This blog post will explore a simple, no-prep activity to teach PreK students the basics of greeting a peer, along with discussion questions and related skills to further enhance their social-emotional learning journey.

No-Prep Activity

This activity aims to help PreK students practice greeting their peers in a fun and engaging way, without requiring any additional materials or preparation from the educator. The activity is called “The Greeting Train.”

1. Ask the children to stand in a line, one behind the other, forming a “train.”
2. As the “train” moves, the child at the front of the line will greet the person next to them by following the steps: move closer, face their body towards them, look at them and smile, and say “Hi” or “Hey.”
3. Once the greeting is complete, the child who was greeted moves to the front of the line, and the process repeats.
4. The activity continues until every child has had a chance to greet and be greeted by their peers.

This activity allows children to practice greeting their friends in a structured, fun environment, reinforcing the importance of acknowledging others and developing their social skills.

Discussion Questions

• Why is it important to greet our friends when we first see them?
• How does it make you feel when someone greets you with a smile and a friendly “Hi”?
• Can you think of any other ways to greet a friend, besides saying “Hi” or “Hey”?
• Why is it important to maintain personal space when greeting someone?
• How can we practice greeting our friends and peers outside of this activity?

Related Skills

Teaching PreK students the art of greeting a peer is just one aspect of their social-emotional learning. Other important related skills include:

• Maintaining eye contact during conversations
• Listening attentively to others
• Expressing gratitude and appreciation
• Sharing and taking turns with peers
• Recognizing and responding to others’ emotions

Next Steps

Now that you have learned about the importance of teaching PreK students how to greet their peers, it’s time to explore other essential social-emotional skills that can benefit their overall development. To help you get started, sign up for free samples of social-emotional learning materials from Everyday Speech, including videos, worksheets, and lesson plans designed to engage and educate young learners. Don’t miss this opportunity to enrich your PreK students’ social-emotional learning journey!