This ‘getting to know everyone’ activity can be played in many different ways.

Original Version

  1. Get the group into a circle.
  2. Start to one side of the Teacher/Leader and ask that person to tell the group their name and their favorite food.
  3. Proceed to the next person. They must say the name and favorite food of the person before them, and then share their own name and favorite food.
  4. Proceed to the next person. They must say the names and favorite foods of the first two people, and then share their own.
  5. As you proceed around the circle, each person must remember and repeat more names and foods before adding their own.
  6. When you arrive back at the Teacher/Leader, it’s their turn to show that they learned everyone’s name and favorite food in the class.

Modification - Name / Favorite Food / Fake Favorite Food

Have each person share their name, favorite food, and a fake favorite food. The fake one can be literally anything (cars, bumblebees, textbooks, stinky socks…). These tend to be really funny, and kids will remember all week what silly thing someone said was their fake favorite food.

Examples from an actual Name Circle we did recently:
Alex likes rice and dirt.
Lilla likes nothing and lions.
Hanna likes sushi and grass.
Panni likes pizza and trees.
Lola likes apple pie and flowers.
Panni likes pizza and tigers.
Beki likes nothing and butterflies.
Naomi likes fruit soup and violins.
Zoé likes pizza and pencils.
Tía likes sushi and cats.
Beni likes pancakes and stinky socks.
Márío likes gyros and pumpkins.
Zalán/Dominic likes tacos and uranium.
Zétény likes Italian food and bicycles.
Kornél likes pizza and dogfood.

Other Modifications

  • The thing they say after their name doesn’t have to be a favorite food. You can use favorite animal, number of siblings, favorite subject in school, place they want to visit, favorite color, etc.
  • You can make a rule that the thing they say after their name must be false. (Their ‘favorite food’ is actually something they can’t stand, etc.)
  • For an extra challenge you can mix everyone up after the first round and see how many of them can go around the circle correctly giving everyone’s name and other info now that they are in a different order.