New kid showed up last week stood by door looking terrified while my regular kids completely ignored him. Felt horrible watching him stand there invisible while everyone played like he didn't exist.

Tried saying "everyone include Jake" but made it worse. Kids hate being told to be nice.

Name games are torture for new kids. Standing in spotlight trying remember fifteen names while everyone stares sounds like hell. Do thing now where everyone says name plus something they like. "I'm Sarah I like tacos." Easy gives talking points.

New kid said "I'm Marcus I like Pokemon." Three kids immediately started arguing about best Pokemon. Instant chaos but good chaos that included him.

Scavenger hunt for humans with list finding things about other people. "Someone with pet someone who likes pizza someone wearing sneakers." Forces everyone wander around asking questions. New kid doesn't feel singled out cause everyone doing same thing.

Partner musical chairs switching every few minutes. New kid meets multiple people instead stuck with one who might ignore them. Control switching yourself cause if kids choose new kid might get left out.

Give group problem requiring everyone's ideas. "Build bridge across room with only this stuff." New kid's suggestions count same as everyone else's. Sometimes have best ideas cause see things fresh.

Circle where nobody's special taking turns. "If you had superpower what would it be" goes around. Everyone talks everyone listens. New kid learns about others while sharing about themselves.

Moving around together instead competing. "Everyone who likes chocolate move here." Gets people moving talking about preferences. New kid discovers not only one who likes certain things.

Games that bomb include team choosing cause new kid picked last feels terrible. Avoid stuff requiring inside knowledge about group jokes. Skip anything where failing means sitting out.

Most important thing new kid leaving feeling like want come back instead dreading next time. Sometimes takes three weeks before they start talking. Others immediately become group leaders. Never know what you're getting.

*For anyone watching new kids stand alone feeling helpless, leaders discovering forced niceness backfires, people learning that inclusion takes intentional planning not just hoping kids will figure it out.
Check out KidsMinistry.Blog for more ideas, tips, and resources to help your Children's Ministry thrive!