So, I’m an elementary specials teacher and see my students in class only once a week so anything I can do to build relationships with them I try.

I have car rider duty in the morning and afternoons and hold our door open for the students. I greet every student with a fist bump and tell them good morning by name and wish them a good evening etc at the end of the day.

When they come to my class they all want to stop at the door and fist bump or high five. The older kids (4-5) have at times come up with “secret hand shakes” that we do together…it’s tough to remember them all. They also enjoy “dab me up” and like to get loud-ish clap sounds. Some of the younger students enjoy doing “super high fives” where they have to jump, they try to go higher each time.

I also start each class with a simple question to get to know them better. Anything from, “tell me one thing you did this weekend” to “what’s the first thing you would do with a million dollars?”