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Tools for Team Builders: Make a Bull Ring (video)

10/8/2019

We're making Bull Rings! It's a super-fun prop used for team building activities both easy and challenging. First you'll find out about the basic construction and then I add my favorite construction adaptation. I've used the Bull Ring activity, in one way or another, with 5th graders (10 years old) and older. Each Bull Ring, in my opinion, works well with 3 to 8 participants. Indoors or Outdoors. And, working with more than one group at a time is just fine. Actually, I prefer it in order to bring up behaviors and conversations about cooperation and cross-group planning and interactions.

Special Construction Note: In the video, I forgot to mention that I tie a small knot at the ends of each string to prevent the strings from unravelling and to have a more stable connection to the end of the string when holding on. For SAFETY REASONS we never let anyone wrap sting around body parts (e.g, fingers).

Below you'll find some brief activity ideas and links to other Bull Ring videos.

I first learned about the Bull Ring from my friend Jim Cain (FUN Resources from Jim) and then read more about it in Teamwork & Teamplay by Cain and Jolliff. Here are four 'challenges' (summaries) presented in the book:

Bull Ring - The challenge is to carry a small ball using a metal ring and twine Bull Ring through a series of obstacles and place the ball into a goal, such as a tin can, plastic bucket or into [on to] a segment of PVC tubing. This activity can be made more difficult by transporting the ball around objects such as trees, tables, chairs and fences.
Bull Ring II, Table Tops - The challenge is to capture various objects on the table and move [slide] them to a collection place [area on the table], using only the Bull Ring. Begin this activity with participants holding the midpoint of each string. This will allow everyone to pull or release a little string without losing their connection with the rest of the group. A variety of objects dragged by a Bull Ring present different challenges: Marbles; Cone shapes made from wood or plastic; Magnets can be picked up using the ring and then removed once it reaches the 'collection place' by a designated player; Crumpled paper; A pencil; A paper clip; A piece of [folded up] duct tape.
Bull Ring III, Write On! - Using the Bull Ring Universal Writing Tool, the group will make marks, color in spaces, answer test questions and play games by writing with the Bull Ring. Find the best way to creatively attach a marker to the ring area. [I, Chris, use a small piece of a Foam Noodle Pool Toy. Most of them now have holes in them already. So, slice off about 2 inches of noodle. Then, make a slice vertically into the hole in the center. Finally, trim off some noodle along the cut to size so you can jam it into the ring with a marker in the hole of the noodle. I like this version because it's easy to change out the marker when you want to use different colors.] From Teamwork & Teamplay: One of the simplest challenges is to have the group fill in a coloring book page [taped to a table] with different color markers. Other Ideas: Spell Words; Successfully go through a maze; Create art or a picture of a team mascot.

Bull Ring Golf - [My, Chris', favorite version] Set up tee boxes (starts) and holes (finishes) around your play area. Have obstacles to navigate at each hole (like a mini-golf course). Time how long it takes for a group to move their Bull Ring & Ball from Tee to Hole. Drops add 5 seconds to time. Lowest time overall wins the tournament.

VIDEO LINKS to the BULL RING in Action

Bull Ring: Hole in the Wall (a.k.a., Bull Ring Hooped) - Take a Bull Ring through a Hula-Hoop

Pick Um Bull Ring - Use a Rubber Band/Bungie Cord-type Bull Ring

Focus Ring Team Building Game - (from Tom Heck) I love the dialogue in this Bull Ring video. And, notice the stand/tower you can make with PVC - all different sizes can be made.

Team Building Game: Bull Ring - Check out the PVC stand for multiple groups. They don't show it in the video, but after some team practice on their own - moving a Bull Ring/Ball from a start to finish, have all groups end at the multiple-stand together. Each group placing their ball on the stand at the same time. Lots of group cooperation.

Bull Ring Team Building - Use your favorite search engine to search this term for more videos.

Have FUN out there my friends!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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What's Missing? Revisited (New Prop)

9/23/2019

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It's so fun for me to find easy-to-use props for team building activities. Back in 2015 I shared the activity What's Missing using Qwirkle pieces - small wooded squares. You can get three sets of wooden pieces from a Qwirkle game, but it is a slight investment to buy the game. Well, those clever MindWare folks have a spin off - Qwirkle Rummy cards!! For us, it's a super-portable inexpensive prop for What's Missing.

I found my deck at Barnes & Noble for $6 (plus tax)! If you don't have a B&N near you, pick them up from their website for the same price - plus a little shipping HERE. And, same deal. There are three 'sets' of colorshape cards in a Qwirkle Rummy deck. So, you have a couple sets to give away. (FYI: At the time of this post, Amazon was selling the cards for about $12!?)

Here are the updated directions for What's Missing using the cards:

Needs & Numbers: You will need one set of color shapes cards from the Qwirkle Rummy game - 36 cards: six different colors and six different shapes of each color (again, there are three of these 36-card sets in a Qwirkle Rummy deck). Plays well with 12-34 people.

Set Up: Place all 36 cards colorshape-side down on top of a table (or on the floor). You (the facilitator) pick up two cards off the table - be sure the group sees you pick up the cards, but make sure they don't see the colorshapes you have. NOTE: I like to make sure I have two cards of different shapes and colors, and, more often than not, I like to be holding one of the 8-pointed stars and a card that is purple or blue - I've found these cards often have the most ambiguity.

Once I have my two cards I ask each person in the group to pick up one card without letting anyone else see what colorshape they have. If there are cards still left on the table, I ask for volunteers to pick up another card. If there are still extra cards I ask for volunteers again to pick up another card. If all group members have the number of cards they want and there are still cards left on the table I will provide the 'Leftover' Rule (see below).

The Challenge: Once everyone has the card(s) they want to manage (this is a choice they can make) and they all understand they are not allowed to show their colorshape(s) to anyone in the group, the challenge is to find out the colorshape cards I am holding - the shape on each card and the color of the shape on each card.

When I facilitate this one, more often than not, I allow my group three attempts at the answer. And, when making an answer attempt, they must tell me the shape on both cards and the color of each shape. If the answer is incorrect, I simple say, "Incorrect." I don't tell them which one is incorrect. This adds a little more 'adventure' to the process. If their answer is correct, with a little flare, I reveal each card and we celebrate the effort before debriefing the learnings.

The One-Shot Challenge: I have used this process as well. I leave all 36 cards on the table and ask them to pick up cards (like explained above) until only two remain. (If there are more than two after everyone has the card(s) s/he wants, I ask someone to slide two cards off to one side of the table - these are the two they will need to discover. The group will use the Leftover Rule with the other cards left on the table.) When the group believes they have the answer we flip over one card at a time to see if they 'succeeded' or 'failed.' This process can be stressful but very appropriate for some groups.

Rules:

Players are allowed to say anything they want about the colorshape on their card, but they can't show anyone what they have.
Players are allowed to move around.
Players may not give away any cards they are holding.
Players are allowed to put a card they are holding back on the table.
Players may not pick up a card from the table once the activity begins - when players start sharing information about their cards.

Leftover Rule:

Every player can take one turn to pick up one card from the table, look at it - no more than 10 seconds - then place the card back on the table, colorshape down.

Variations:

If you are playing with smaller groups (e.g., 12 participants) you can take out six cards - six of the same color or six of the same shape to keep the 'set' intact. If you need to take out more, the next removal would be five of the same shape or five of the same color. (The "set" will not remain intact taking out random pieces.)
Don't allow the players to move around during the activity - they must remain in the place they are standing once the game begins.

Have FUN out there my friends!! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Lots of Tops (Noodle Activity) with Video

9/13/2019

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Lots of Tops is a version of Immobile Chopsticks (a FUNdoing Blog post) and an activity found in the book, 50 Ways to Use Your Noodle, by Cavert & Sikes (tons of fun with noodles!). In the original Immobile Chopsticks there is one destination for the tennis balls. In Lots of Tops there are LOTS of destinations.

NEEDS: For each group of 6 to 12 participants, you'll need 12 to 15 tennis balls, 12 to 15 towers and one game noodle for each person in the group. (A game noodle is half of a long foam pool noodle toy - easily cut with a bread knife.) The towers you see in the video are thread spools picked up from a textile factory that does sewing (often discarded or recycled). Towers can also be plastic cups, open end down (like in the Immobile Chopsticks blog post), paper towel or toilet paper rolls, sections of 1 inch PVC pipe, aluminum cans, rolled paper - anything that can support a tennis ball. The more towers you use the longer the challenge. (To make it easier for younger groups, use plastic cups and set them down open end up - the tennis ball is dropped, carefully, into the cup.)

SET UP: Place the towers for each group in a straight line, about three or four feet apart. Place all the tennis balls (equal to the number of towers) on the floor/ground about 12 feet from the start of the line. (If I have hula-hoops around, I put the tennis balls in a hula-hoop set on the ground 12 feet from the first tower.)

OBJECTIVE: Cap all the towers with a tennis ball.

RULES:

The Tennis Balls can ONLY touch/be touched by the noodles after leaving there starting position.
If a Tennis Ball touches the floor/ground during its travels, it is returned to the start.
When a Tennis Ball is touching a players game noodle, this player may not move his/her feet.

FACILITATION: I love all the possible ways Lots of Tops can be facilitated. My favorite way is to give all the groups in play at least two chances at topping the towers. So, when this is timed, a second chance will give a group the opportunity to find ways to achieve a better time.

I've also lead this one as a 'completion' activity as well. Once the towers are capped, the group(s) can talk about how they achieved the task, what 'problems' they encountered and how they got past them, and then talk about what they want to keep doing as they work together in the future.

With multiple groups I like to have a 'group time' so when one group is done capping their tops, what do they do? These are just a few ways to present Lots of Tops.

LEARNINGS: Here are some topics I can discuss with this one:

Planning out a task - how does the planning evolve?
Division of Labor - who is doing what and when? does the group stick together or divid and conquer?
Collaborative Leadership - does leadership change hands or stay with one or two players?
Collaboration - if there are multiple groups, do they exchange information? what influences the exchange of information, or not?
Roles and Responsibilities - are these assigned, assumed, unknown?
Goal Setting - how do we set goals without data and then with data?

Let us know how this one plays for you. If you have another version of Lots of Tops, please share in the Comments! Have FUN out there my friends.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Connections with Stationary Greeting, a Large Group Favorite (No Props, Any Large Group)

8/29/2019

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I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a group of 50 6th graders recently (and an amazing team of facilitators). We wanted a quick interactive activity to get them moving and 'connected' with others in the group. I was happy to share my favorite activity under these parameters:

Stationary Greeting

I learned this activity from my friend Mike Spiller. He showed us his version of Stationary Greeting while we were all (over 100 of us) sitting in the bleachers of a school gymnasium. I added the 'pivot' connection for flatter playing areas.

To set this one up, gather everyone in your BIG group together in a clump - or, I call it, family style. Have them scooch in nice an close together without touching anyone once they have found a place to stand. (NOTE: I like to warn everyone that we'll be close together for a few minutes, so, "if you need a little extra space, position yourself near the outside of the clump.")

Frontload: Here's how I like to frame Stationary Greeting with just about any group:

"As you can see, my friends, we are close together. In a moment we're going to make some connections with others around us. So, please be mindful of the way you move during the connections. This will be a good time to practice, 'thinking' before 'moving' - be aware of the others around you. Today, during our program together, we will have a lot of opportunities to think before we move!! Please take care of yourself and others so we can all have the best possible time."

Okay. We're ready to connect!

Round 1: "Alright everyone. Here's our first round of connections. Go ahead and have your feet about shoulder width apart. Now plant some roots under your feet into the ground. This is where your feet must stay. For the next 90 seconds, see how many fist bumps you can make with different people around you, one fist bump per person, without moving your feet. Again, it is important to be careful with your movements - be aware of others before you reach out for a fist bump. Do keep track of how many fist bumps you can make because I'll be asking you for your score at the end of the 90 seconds. Ready. Begin.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, everyone FREEZE! Okay. Raise your hand if you had more than 10 fist bumps with different people. Keep your hands up until I get to your number. How about 15? 20? 21? 22? 23? Nice job everyone. That's a lot of connections. And, thanks so much for being mindful about your movements. Let's see if we can make some more connections."

Round 2: "Before we make more connections, you are free, at this time, to move to a different place in the group if this would be more comfortable for you or you think you might want to connect with more people - you might not be standing in the best place to connect with others. If you want to move to a different spot, be respectful of others and find a place you can share with the people around you. Today there will be opportunities to make choices that will help you out and help out your group. So, please speak up if you need help or if you have choices you want to explore.

Okay. Is everyone where they would like to be? Perfect. In this round, you will have one pivot foot - like in basketball. One foot will stay planted in one spot, but you can spin around on this foot. Once you start the connections, you must keep this same pivot foot - no changing pivots. Okay. Let's see how many fist bump connections we can make, with different people, now that we have a pivot foot. Yes. you can fist bump with the same people as you did in the first round. But, not you should be able to get others you could not reach before. 90 seconds. Ready? GO!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, everyone FREEZE! Okay. Raise your hand if you had more than 15 fist bumps with different people. Keep your hands up until I get to your number. How about 20? 25? 26? 27? 28? Amazing job everyone. That's a lot of connections. And, thanks again so much for being mindful about your movements - there was a lot more to consider before stepping into the crowd. Let's try one more round."

Round 3: "Okay friends. This round is simply about connecting with others you have not connected with yet!! Standing right where you are, feet shoulder width apart, you'll be looking around the group for others just out of your reach and make eye contact with them - when you make eye contact, give this person a little wave, say their name if you know it, then look for someone else to eye-connect with. No fist bumps during this round and we're only going to play for 60 seconds - so, get in as many connections as you can. Ready, GO!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Freeze! How many more connections did you get? 10? 15? 20? 25? 26? 27? Fabulous. Please remember, let's keep connecting with others in the group today - especially with the people you don't know yet. The more connections we can make, and keep, the stronger we can be together. And, don't forget. Let's remember to think and then move!! Take care of yourself and others. Make it a good day!"

These three rounds take me about 6 minutes. I can get the group to start thinking about some good behaviors for the day and get them moving, stretching and physically connecting with others in the group. Stationary Greeting is a solid opener.

Have FUN out there my friends!! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Consensus Building with Chiji Cards

8/14/2019

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Recently, at a training for some amazing educators, I had another opportunity to work with my Chiji Cards. For me, they are a 'grounding' prop, one that I have been using in impactful ways for over 20 years (they were the first image cards on the scene way-back-when). Now, there are a wide variety of 'image cards' that can be used to build community in all-kindsa ways. (My second favorite set of image cards: Climer Cards.) And, I've seen some homemade image cards that are amazing - just cut out and laminate pictures from magazines and catalogs. (I'm actually working on a print-n-play set of my own - drawing the images on my iPad.)

After this recent training I was looking through my Chiji Guidebook materials and found this great story from Jennifer Stanchfield of Experiential Tools - Jennifer is an amazing educator, trainer and author working with people all over the world. Here's one of her Chiji stories:

My favorite ways to use the cards are
group consensus methods.
Jennifer Stanchfield

My favorite ways to use the cards are group consensus methods. This came out of one of those accidental inventions of facilitation that occur when you are confronted with having to adapt your favorite activities to new parameters. I made a major switch in my facilitation approaches when I moved from working with small groups in the therapeutic setting to larger classroom groups in public schools.

I first came across the cards early on in my training career when I was searching out tools and ideas that would help the recreational therapy students I was teaching in my program at the university hospital. I wanted to show them how to become more comfortable with processing.

The Chiji Cards were introduced in an experiential education magazine as a tool for novice facilitators and Steve Simpson and I connected around that article. [Steve is one of the creators of the cards and the co-author, with me, on, The Chiji Guidebook: A Collection of Experiential Activities and Ideas for Using Chiji Cards]

When I started using the cards with my own groups I found that that they weren’t just a “tool for beginners." As a seasoned facilitator I appreciated the depth of conversation and insight that came out of participant’s connection to the metaphoric images.

I used the cards successfully in my small groups of adolescents and family groups at the hospital. Because they had become one of my favorite tools I of course carried them with me to my classroom settings as well. When I moved to these larger groups I couldn’t use them in the same way I had at the hospital, as it was impractical, due to time constraints, for 24 students to pick individual cards and share in a class session. So one day after a group challenge in the physical education classroom I tried spreading out the whole deck of cards on the gym floor and asked the whole group of students to come to agreement on one that represented what they achieved together.

I became hooked on this method after seeing the group drawn in by the cards and treating processing as an engaging group problem rather than “that boring thing you do after the fun activity”, not to mention the rich dialogue that occurred as the students discussed coming to consensus on one card. The student’s shared profound insights about the cards and their connection to the activity/learning as they came to consensus. It was if they were unaware that they were processing.

Since that time this has become my method of choice when using the cards. After an activity/important moment/ end of session, I just ask the group to come to consensus on one card/object that best represent their experience as a group, the strengths of the group, or something they have achieved together.

Thanks Jennifer for sharing your story. How about you? Do you have a favorite activity using image cards? What are your favorite image cards? Leave us a Comment so we can learn together.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Willow in the Wind & Lift Off (Levitation) w/Video

8/1/2019

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I recently learned this sequenced pair of activities from my good friend Rohan. We were training together out in California - it's so educational for me to get to see other amazing facilitators at work. I learn so much from them. Down a bit in this post I share how Rohan specifically facilitates Lift Off. First, let's explore the activity, Willow in the Wind.

Willow in the Wind
Early on in my team builder career, I took a number of Project Adventure workshops. Part of their trainings always included "Trust" sequencing. Willow in the Wind, a "trust-pass exercise" was used "as a warm-up activity for the more dramatic falling sequence of The Trust Fall" (Cowstails & Cobras II, Rohnke, 1989). Willow in the Wind is now more than just a precursor to Trust Falls. I use it a lot when practicing spotting for wired low-element events or providing a "trust building" or low-to-the-ground "risk taking" activity. I've seen some incredible break-throughs during Willow in the Wind. Okay. So how does it work?

Going to my shelves, the earliest write up I could find is in the, More New Games book (1981) from the New Games Foundation. For historical purposes, I want to share their original description :

We form a small circle of about eight players standing shoulder to shoulder and facing the center of the circle with hands held at chest height, plans forward [will a bend at the elbows for flexing and extending]. Each of us should have one foot slightly behind the other for good balance [and a little bend in the knees]. We've just transformed ourselves into a summer breeze, and now all we need is a volunteer to be the willow. [I love this last line - ever been transformed into a summer breeze?]

The willow stands in the center of the circle with her feet together, her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes closed [closing eyes is, of course, optional]. Keeping her feet stationary and her body straight but relaxed, she lets herself go, swaying from side to side, forward and back. Those of us in the circle support her with gentle pushes of our palms and provide summer-breeze sound effects. [Oh, I love this too - I'm adding the sound effects into my Willow in the Wind!] We should make sure that there are at least two people supporting the willow at all times [I like to say, "four hands on the willow at all times"], and that our gentle breeze does not become a howling hurricane.

In turn, each of us gets to be the willow in the wind, swaying to and fro, caressed by the breeze. This is a trust game. The player who is the willow gets the opportunity to trust the other players completely, and those of us who are the breeze get to feel the trust the willow has placed in us.

Such an elegant description - it makes me want to get a group together and try it right now! Along with the handful of additions, the description above is pretty much how I set up Willow in the Wind. Then, my role, walking around the outside of the circle, is to keep eyes and ears on the group to make sure they are being a gentle, supportive breeze. That's Willow in the Wind.

A Historical Aside
In the book, Cowstails & Corbers II (1989), Karl Rohnke shares a "second [willow in the wind] trust-pass sequence." I have never tried this one, but it looks pretty cool. Here's Karl's description:

The circumference people sit down so that they are arranged hip to hip: i.e., closely scooched together. With the center person already set in a standing position (as seen in the picture from the book), the circle people all put their feet on top of the [willow's] feet, locking that person in place.

This is done not to insure the positive participation of that person, but to provide a firm base of the swaying 'willow.' The central person initiates movement from side to side [forward and back] and is consistently and compassionately [gentle breeze] redirected by the sitting catchers. It is important that the catchers keep their hands up in anticipation of the [willow's] body unexpectedly heading in their direction.

DO NOT LEAD THIS ACTIVITY - this is my advise to you: Making an educated guess here, the reason I have never seen this done in the wild is that it's up there on the risk scale (standing spots do not lessen the experience, so why not stand) - facilitators discovered this early on. The sitting circle of players all need amazing core strength and their heads are now under a fall potential, which is not the best practice. I share this one to give you some historical perspective and a means to consider some particular safety issues we are aware of in the field - if an inherent risk can be mitigated, why not? And, there are some low elements still used today where craniums are under fall potential. These are among the program choices we make.

Willow in the Wind & Lift Off
When facilitating this paired sequence, Rohan instructs each group in play to have a lead. This lead will be directing the steps of the process. The center participant will be facing the lead standing in the circle (you will see this in the video). When going through spotting commands, the lead checks each step and signals the spotters to respond. For example, when the willow (center participant) asks, "Spotters Ready?" the lead looks around the circle, checks readiness, then counts down, "3, 2, 1" and all respond, "READY!" [I really like how this lead brings unity to the process.] Then, when the willow says, "Falling!" the lead looks around for readiness one more time, then instructs the willow to, "Fall on." The willow will then be gently guided around the circle for about a minute, then the lead instructs the group to center the willow in place.

Now for the Lift Off. It's very important, during the introduction of this paired sequence, to let everyone know there will be a great deal of pressure placed on the upper body/shoulders of the one being lifted. So, if anyone is concerned about injury to this part of their body, they should not be lifted. And, when being lifted, they want to be lowered, they simply say, "Bring me down." On to the lift.

The lead will first ask the willow if s/he wants to be lifted. If yes, the lead asked the spotters to put hands on the willow. Hands are placed on the arms and upper back, under the shoulder blades of the willow. The lead then instructs the spotters to press, "In, In, In, In" until the lead feels like there is equal pressure around the willow (you don't want the willow to be pushed off to one side). The lead then says, "Up, Up, Up, Up" instructing the spotters to push up on the willow to the hight of the shortest person's reach. Finally, at maximum height, the lead says, "Down, Down, Down, Down" until the willow's feet are safely back on the ground. This "In, Up, Down" sequence is done smoothly without pause. Before the spotters "let loose" of the willow, the lead checks in to make sure s/he is stable. Then, high fives all around. This process is slow and steady with loud and clear communication.

Rotate other willows into the circle and change leads so there is an opportunity for participants to experience the different roles in the process. As facilitators, it is our role (job) to be mindful of the needs of our group - and the individuals within the group. Everyone is an important part of the process, even if they are not lifted.

Let me know how the gentle breezes and flights go for you! Leave a Comment so we can learn together.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

P.S. Thanks again Rohan! It was great learning from you my friend.

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Across Toss: Making Agreements (Pre-Full Value Contract)

7/18/2019

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Hello my Team Building friend. This is a long one - a long-form post as they say in the biz. So, grab a favorite beverage and give yourself about 20-minutes to digest this one. Or, read the What? today and the Why? tomorrow - and let me know what you think.

Across Toss is a true mash up of influences. Mainly, All Catch (detailed in the footnote below) from Karl Rohnke's, The Bottomless Bag (1988), Falling Star, in my book, Portable Teambuilding Activities (inspired by another Rohnke activity called 7-Up), the phrase (and philosophy) "Keep your agreements" from my friend West and the way I use the activity (I call) Have You Seen My Lunch - I play it the way described to me by Scott Goldsmith when he uses it to talk about agreements - how we make, keep and break them.

I first tried Across Toss (last week) with a group of 6th & 7th graders. I wanted to weave in the idea of making agreements (i.e., norming, Full Value Contracting), understanding agreements, keeping agreements and sharing voice or 'speaking up' as I framed it. (There can also be some work on how we manage and treat mistakes within the group - this was a secondary focus for me.)

In this What? & Why? format, I'll break the activity down step-by-step. (There are more What? & Why? activity breakdowns at this blog site if you are interested in this format. Go to Categories - down the right side of this page - and click on What? & Why? If you want the philosophy behind What? & Why? - spoiler: a training resource - read the intro to Name Card Return: What? & Why?)

Reality Check: In reality, real time, I spent about 15 minutes on this activity (of the 90-minute team building activity portion of the program - three more hours were spent on the high course where 'making agreements' carried over) in order to make the learning points - mainly, making and keeping agreements. It's amazing to me how much (decision-making) goes into facilitating such a short activity.

What?
(This section is about What I did, and will generally do, when leading Across Toss)

1. I have a game spot and two safe tossables for each participant ready to go. (My tossables were stress balls, a squeaky penguin and some inflatable orbs a little bigger than a softball.)

2. I gave everyone a game spot and asked them to circle up - about a one-arm length apart from each other - and then instructed them to stand on their spot.

3. There were eight participants in the group, including me (I played as well). I chose to start with three tossables. I handed out the tossables to three different people.

4. I frontloaded the activity with this information: "This activity is about making agreements with your group members. For example, one will be, who will agree to catch the object you have to toss - if you have an object to toss. Another one I'm going to ask you to make is to agree to speak up if you are unsure of anything during the activity."

5. I interject here: "Throughout our program together, I'm going to be asking you to make other kinds of agreements. We'll have the opportunity to discuss the agreements before you commit to them. And, maybe there will be some agreements you can't make - and that's okay. We will work through this as well."

6. I go on to ask for one agreement now: "So, can you all agree to speak up any time you are unsure about something during the activity? This might be difficult to do, but I'm asking you to try. Can I get a thumbs up if you agree?"

7. I provide the challenge at this point: "Here's how the activity works. As a group, our objective is to catch as many objects as we can - twice in a row. I'll explain this in a moment. We play the game in a series of Rounds. For Round 1 we have three objects to toss - hold up your object if you have one in your hand. Cool, thanks.

Each Round will have at least two toss attempts, maybe more. I, for now, will begin each toss attempt by saying, 1, 2, 3, toss. On the word 'toss' everyone must toss his or her object to someone else in the group - you are not allowed to toss an object to yourself. If all the objects are caught on this first toss, we go for another toss with these three objects. I will say again, 1, 2, 3, toss. All objects must be tossed at the same time - objects can't be tossed to yourself AND you may not toss it back to the person who just tossed it to you. Now, if we catch all the objects this second time, we will add another object to the challenge - this is what I mean by catching the objects in play twice in a row. When we add an object, we move into the next Round.

Again, the challenge is to see how many objects we can catch twice in a row. So, the more Rounds we play, the more objects we catch.

If an object drops to the ground after a toss, we simply try again. We can view a drop as a mistake - will it be okay to make a mistake during the activity? Who's made a mistake before? How do you like to be treated after making a mistake? How do you treat yourself after making a mistake? How do we want to treat ourselves and each other after making a mistake? Again, if a drop happens we get to try again. The bottom line is that we will play each Round until we can catch the object in play twice in a row."

During this first attempt at Across Toss, I did take a little time to 'check in' on the drops. I asked if there if they could tell me why the object dropped and what could be done to prevent this type of drop in the future - again, a quick check.

8. I let the everyone know, "I am part of the group for this activity, so I am available to make an agreement."

9. At this point I ask if there are any questions about the challenge or directions.

10. It's time to toss. "Okay, let's give this a try. Everyone with an object, please make an agreement with someone in the group that will try to catch your toss. Then, you all let me know when you are ready for the toss."

11. I confirm, "Is everyone ready? Are you sure? Tossers, who is your agreement with?" I have them each point out who they have an agreement with. "Okay, here we go. 1, 2, 3, toss." At this point, we play this round with me calling the toss, until the group catches the objects twice in a row.

12. When the group is successful, we celebrate with hoots and claps!!

13. Here I ask, "Just to check in, what agreements did you make so far? Were you able to keep your agreements? What happened if an agreement was not kept? Are there any questions or concerns about our agreements so far?

14. Now, before moving on I ask everyone to make another agreement. "Before moving on, I'd like to ask you to make another agreement with me and the group. I would like you to agree to speak your truth as we move on through the activity. There might be times when your truth is different than those of other group members - so it might be really difficult to speak your truth, but I'm asking you to try. Do you have any questions about what I'm asking? Please give me a thumbs up if you can agree to try and speak your truth."

15. After our new agreement I introduce another object. I ask, "Do you all want to add in another object, all the same rules apply, or do you think that three objects is our best effort at this time? What is your truth on this?" From this point we go to the next Round or decide together to stop and move on to another activity. If the group decides to move on to the next activity, we process our Across Toss experience (see below, Step 17) before moving on.

16. Playing the next Rounds: Rounds continue until the group 'agrees' that they have done the best they can, at that particular time, and want to move to another activity. For each Round the rules are the same - when you have an object (or two) to toss, make an agreement with a catcher (or catchers). Then, everyone tosses on the word 'toss.' The group makes tosses until they can catch the objects twice in a row OR they decide, during a Round, they have achieved their best effort.

17. Processing Across Toss: In the end, I focused on one area of understanding, making and keeping agreements. Even though I did bring up some other learning moments - how will we treat each other when a mistake is made and preventing future drops (problem solving), I focused on the one topic for take aways. Here are some of the questions I used (to the best of my recollection):

What were the agreements we made for this activity?
How did you, specifically, do keeping your agreements?
If you couldn't keep an agreement, what happened? Did any feelings show up for you? Which ones and why do you think they showed up?
What was it like for you to keep an agreement? What feelings showed up for you after keeping an agreement?
What agreements are you in right now in your life outside this program? Are they easy? Are they difficult? Are they important?
If we can't keep an agreement, what are some good ways to handle this situation?
Does anyone have an idea for an agreement we would want to make as a group moving forward today?

Why?
(In this section I give you the Why behind what I did for each step.)

1. I like use games spots if I have them - they provide clear information about where to stand when I want to keep this a constant. For Across Toss you don't need game spots.

I chose to use a variety of tossable objects. I like the visual diversity and it provides an opportunity for participants to speak their truth. For example, in this first attempt at Across Toss one of the participants (during Round 4 I think) did ask if someone else would be willing to make an agreement with her tosser because the ball he had was small (stress ball) and hard to catch. To solve this, someone in the group traded objects with the tosser so he could have a larger object - the catcher was then comfortable enough to make an agreement with her tosser. Good Stuff!!

2. The circle with one-arm spacing is good, in my opinion, for tossing-types of activities - players are not tossing over anyone. I decided if they asked to resize the circle I would let them, but if they ask to change the shape of their formation, I would not let them. In my thinking, I took away some problem-solving options (not an objective I was working on at the moment) in order to focus on the topic of making agreements.

3. Handing out three objects at the start, in my mind, saved some time - we could have started with one object, progressing from there. But, I believed the group could handle three at the get-go. To start, I would go up to half the group starting out with an object, so half are catching and half are tossing. However, I wanted to have a couple Rounds of practice, and confidence building, before someone in the group had to both toss and then catch. And, I included myself in the action because this one seemed easy to observe while playing due to the controlled nature of tosses. I felt confident that I could, toss, catch and observe all at the same time if needed.

4. Here I simply told them about what we would be working on during the activity so they could anticipate (a bit), what they would be talking about. This can be considered the, 'WHY they are doing this' part of the introduction. Providing a couple examples then jump-starts the brain towards what to expect. I also knew that this middle school age group would understand what an agreement is so I didn't go into defining an agreement - but, this could be done.

5. This 'interjection' is also another anticipatory set (education theory term). Using Across Toss to introduce agreements would give me some experience to go back to during the program when we made new agreements or were still keeping our initial agreements. For example, I used this during the high course part of the day, "Remember during Across Toss I asked you to make the agreement to speak your truth, even if it would be difficult to do? Well, I'm still asking you to keep this agreement - to speak your truth about the Leap of Faith. What is your truth?" (This participant was feeling pressured by a friend to climb the pole, but I could tell he really didn't want to. So, I asked him for his truth.) He chose not to climb and to be the anchor for the belay team. Again, good stuff!

6. Here I asked them to make their first agreement. I felt it was a reasonable first step - basically asking them to ask questions if they had them. In my experience, this is a pretty easy agreement to make (sure I can ask questions), but it is sometimes difficult to really keep (I'll look stupid to others if I ask this question). This makes for a good processing question - "How many of you had a question or a concern you wanted to voice, but didn't? Why do you think that is?" A good thread to tease out.

7. This step is about flushing out the directions. I chose to start out saying the countdown, 1, 2, 3, toss, so I could model this role. In my plan, I was prepared to pass on this role to someone in the group - giving the group, as a whole, more responsibility. However, it didn't feel right to pass this role on with this group. (By all means, pass this role off if it feels good to do so.)

I didn't (and usually don't) get into to super detail with the rules, I want to get them playing. Playing allows the group the chance to collect some data and then ask better questions.

When talking about drops, I don't spend tons of time here - I don't/didn't make a big deal about it. I did tell my group that, yes, a drop can be seen as a mistake - so how will we treat each other if this happens. Good. Let's move on. Again, my focus for the activity is/was on making agreements. One of the agreements is/was to TRY and catch a toss - so, essentially, catching is/was not required, only a try-to-catch. Now, with that said, could there be some embarrassment around not catching? Yes. But a reminder about making the try is what's important. "Did you try?" Awesome. Then you kept your agreement. Now, we get to TRY again - we get more practice. Isn't this great?!"

8. Here I remind everyone I get to play as well - I can make agreements with them. I also share here that I will not always get to play because my responsibilities will change depending on what we're doing. But, whenever I can, I'll play. I believe 'playing' with the group provides me with the opportunity to build rapport - be a part of the successes and limitations. We can be in it together. And, adults are great resources and very willing to make agreements and show (sharing experience) that it's hard for us, as well, to keep agreements all the time. For example.... I share stories about myself so my participants will (hopefully) get the scenes that I'm human, just like them.

9. I believe it's always important to provide the group opportunities to ask questions - and, this was an agreement I asked them to make. My process is this - after asking if anyone has any questions, I look to everyone in the circle, making eye contact with each person for about three seconds. I go around twice (the second time a bit faster). This allows time for everyone to think about a question they have and then formulate how they want to phrase their question. I find this process produces more interaction from the group - they are more willing to share if they have a little time to think and decide.

10. Here I'm asking them to make there first agreement with someone in the group. I don't tell them how to do this - I want them to figure this part out. And, it's not easy for everyone 'ask' something of other people. This is part of the learning. If a solid agreement isn't made, there is confusion and drops. So, I let this play out on its own.

11. Now, before we tossed, I asked everyone to confirm who they made an agreement with. I wanted to hold them accountable for at least Round 1. I did not ask for confirmation in the subsequent Rounds and more drops occurred. And, they did come to realize that without a clear agreement drops were more likely.

Round 1 only needed two tosses - I believe checking in with their agreements helped. We were able to clear up any misunderstandings before tossing. I facilitated the process.

12. We celebrate after the first Round - I celebrated a bit more than they did, they didn't think it was a big deal, yet. And, we did take some time to talk about the importance of celebration and what celebrating can do for motivation. Not a ton of time on this, just planting seeds for later.

13. Here we did a little check in to see where we stood. We had two agreements so far - agreeing to speak up if they had questions or concerns and making agreements between a tosser and a catcher. Then we talked, briefly, about how everyone did with their agreements. After the first successful Round with no drops, everyone felt they kept there agreements. We were feeling good.

14. Before moving into the second Round, I introduced the group to a new process in the challenge. I'm telling them at this time because this is where it's most relevant. I didn't ask them to make this new agreement at the beginning - they didn't need to at the beginning. So, I saved time in the beginning - I didn't overload them with information. Give some in the beginning and add as you go.

At this point they are asked to make another agreement about speaking their truth - even if it's difficult to do. Others might have a different truth. It's about reaching consensus as a group - everyone agreeing to keep going or stop and move on to the next activity.

15. So, when adding one more object to the challenge with each new Round, I asked everyone to speak their truth, whether or not they thought they could be successful - two catches in a row - with another object. Or, were they at their best number of objects.

16. In this first game of Across Toss, the group had no issues with adding another object - up to Round 4 where some participants were now tossing and catching objects. There were drops in Rounds 2 and 3, but the group quickly realized their agreements were not always clear, leading to 'mistakes.' they did a good job supporting each other, as well, as they tried again. I facilitated some questions about agreements to help them consider solutions.

During Round 4, there were successful catches, but then failed second attempts. After six failed twice-in-a-row attempts, I asked if this was the best they could do at this time. Some were very vocal about staying the course and trying again, other stepped up and spoke their truth, stating they though this was good enough and they would like to move on to something new.

After processing a little around the point of 'making agreements' they all felt they got the message and were ready to move on to something new. I stepped in with processing due to the limited time we had with our team building portion of the program. Another choice I can make in the future is to let the group hash out their truths a bit longer to see if they can come to a decision on their own - keep trying or move on.

17. After deciding to move on we processed for about five minutes. Again, only focusing on agreements - this is/was the first lesson I wanted to take forward with this group because more agreements were ahead. And, we were still going to keep our agreements of asking questions and speaking out truth!

Programming Notes: This was the first time I tried this activity, and it met my expectations - my desired outcome. To talk about agreements.

Now, I don't know how far a group can get with this one. We were a group of eight and got to six objects (to Round 4). That was two people tossing and catching. So, what is possible? This has yet to be determined. Let me know how far you get.

Footnote:
All Catch (original verbatim version) from Karl Rohnke (The Bottomless Bag): The group stands in the jump circle in the center of the gym. Group numbers about 25 and holds 10 balls. When the instructor calls "Throw," all release the balls (volleyball type) up to a height of at least 10 feet. If you throw a ball, you cannot catch a ball. Throws are made only on command. Only catchers have to be in the circle. If a ball touches the floor, it is out of play. When three balls are left, the game is over. Count the number of catches made to establish a score.

Have FUN out there my friends! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Coiled Rope & Knot My Problem (Human Knot Variations)

7/4/2019

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*Programming Note from Chris: Below you have access to three videos related to the Human Knot. Here is the order of difficulty I give to these activities: Knot My Problem, Coiled Rope, Human Knot. You will need to decide which one (or two) you use with your group based on their readiness to play - i.e., how close they will feel comfortable getting next to each other.

Coiled Rope

I learned this variation of Human Knot (rope version) years ago from my good friend, Mike Spiller (HERE's a video of the original set up for Human Knot - no rope - if you don't know about this one). Historical Reference: The earliest documentation of "Knots" that I know of is in, The New Games Book, 1976.

The full write up of Coiled Rope is included in my book, Portable Teambuilding Activities: Games, Initiatives and Team Challenges for Any Space. (Find it HERE). It's actually part of a 'Trilogy' activity with 5-Point Star and Shooting Star.

From the video you will get the idea of how to play. But I do want to share a little bit about the set up before you watch. I use a 50-foot activity rope for each group of 8 to 10 players. (If you don't have a retired rope around, my favorite inexpensive 50-foot rope is the 3/8 Utility rope from AtWoodRope - it has a great feel, lots of cool colors and it keeps its shape even after it gets wet. The site is a little confusing - the rope I get is shown at the top of their home page. Look for the group that has the names, Blue Force, Liberty & Black Lightning. These are the ones I get).

I tie a single fisherman's knot with the two ends making a big rope circle, then I coil the rope with about a 24-inch diameter. Players reach across the rope coil to grab a bight from the other side of the coil in which they are standing.

Note: The video included below will show you the start of the activity and progress through to some of the untangling. We did this one after the, Knot My Problem video shoot (below) and had to cut this one short due to lightning in the area. You'll get the idea though!

Knot My Problem

This variation of the Human Knot is found in the book, Tinker: Building Purposeful Experiences from Classic Adventure Activities (2017) from my friends at High 5 (find your copy HERE). I read the entire book recently and really - quick read - and enjoyed getting reacquainted with some of my old favorites (and learning a few new ones I didn't know about) - I got a lot from the commentary about the activities from the High 5 authors.

The set up for this version is much simpler and you can get more people involved with one rope since you don't have that 'leaning in' reach included with Coiled Rope (above). As noted above, I think this is the easiest one-rope variation of Human Knot.

Have fun out there my friends! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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What Can You Get? (A Spider Web Variation)

6/6/2019

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The Spider Web is a common low element on every challenge course I've been a part of and I've seen a variety of fun variations along the way (e.g., string an activity rope through all the holes without the rope touching the web). I came up with "What Can You Get" recently (in my area of the world) and I have used it ever since.

Why I like this one:

It provides everyone in the group an opportunity to contribute (points) to the challenge /task.
Everyone chooses his/her Web opening based on what they believe they can can do, either on their own or with the help of the group - so, there is an option for those who want to try going through the Web on their own. (This honors everyones level of comfort).
The process allows for multiple attempts in order to reach the groups full potential - reach the highest score they know they can accomplish. A nice goal setting opportunity.

My Process So Far:

Before my program starts I draw a quick outline of the Spider Web at the course I'm working on and then assign a point value to each usable hole (as shown in one of my more recent drawings above - always on my program outline/list of activities I plan to use).
When (and if I want to use it) I bring my group to the Spider Web and ask them what they believe they need to accomplish for this challenge. They pretty much figure out they have to go through the Web to the other side. And, someone usually guesses people have to be lifted through the upper holes.
(Note: I have not gone though a lift sequence with them, yet.)
I confirm their guess(es), that reaching the other side is the objective, but each person has the option to decide how to get there.
I show them the numbered scoring map of the Spider Web. I ask them, how many points, as a group, they believe they can acquire getting to the other side? (What Can You Get?) Each person in the group 'gets' to choose for themselves, how many points they believe they can contribute to the group's score on their first attempt. Any hole can be used more than once, however, if a string is touched during an attempt to go through a hole, the person going through will only receive 5 points for trying. Then I tell them, they (the group) will have the opportunity to make another attempt if they all agree to do so.
Once the group begins their process, anyone can change his/her hole preference - either a higher, lower, or the same score. (Once they see how the group is performing together they might want to pick an easier or more challenging hole.)
After the group score/goal is established, I let them start. If someone in the group is willing to be lifted through any of the holes, I will then teach them my expectations of lifting each other, and we will do some skill development training/practice before going through the Web. (In my experience, there have been two groups, so far, that did not choose to use the higher holes - and they were alright with this. We had a good conversations with both groups about why they chose what they did.)
As always with the Spider Web, I placed myself in critical spotting areas as they worked in order to keep my hands near the person being lifted.
After the first attempt, we find out the score. They can meet their goal, exceed their goal or fall short. We have a conversation about where they ended up.
After the processing, I ask them if they would like another attempt in order to improve their score or do they think this is the best score they want to accept at this time? We work through each person's choice and honor what we hear. We then make another Web attempt or move on to the next activity.

If you give this one a try, let me know how it goes and if you make any changes or additions.

All the best! Have FUN out there my friends.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Hooper Dooper (Revisited)

5/23/2019

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Back in 2015, I posted HOOPER - a variation of the activity 60 in 60 (found in, The More The Merrier by Sikes, Evans & Cavert). Recently I found some video footage of Hooper and updated the self-directed handout (download below), so I thought I'd 'revisit' this fun activity with a new post.

I've played this one with middle school age groups and older. So far, 12 groups in play is the most I've tried this with.

The Basics:

Hooper Dooper is meant to be a self-directed activity for one or more small groups of five to six players.
Provide one hula hoop, one inflated beach ball and the directions to each group.
Set a planning and practice time for all groups in play - for the first planning and practice time, I give them 10 minutes. Then, only three minutes before any other additional game. (I usually provide time for three games - scoring attempts.) All groups plan and practice at the same time.
Set an 'Official Game' time - I also refer to this as a 'Scoring Attempt'. Depending on group objectives, a short game is two minutes, a long game is four minutes (long games are usually for groups working on that stick-to-it/grit objective). All groups play the Official Game at the same time - all groups are on the same clock held by the facilitator.

I love using this activity when there are lots of groups in play. We have great conversations about:

Where ideas came from - were ideas 'stolen' from others?
Did any collaboration take place?
How did groups spent their planning and practice time.
If a plan was made, did groups stick with it or change it in progress, and why?
What distraction happened and how did groups deal with them?
Did each group follow the directions (especially the one where each player take turns hitting the ball).

Here is the handout: