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Handshakes, Part 1 (Learning) & Part 2 (Playing) - Videos

9/20/2018

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A lot of people ask me for my favorite large group activity. "Handshakes" is always at the top of my list - especially, when I turn handshakes into an action-packed exercise, called Handshake Buddies, I learned from my good friends at Group Dynamix. (See Handshakes, Part 2 - The Game with the Shakes, below.) And the BONUS: Handshakes works with smaller groups too.

First, let's learn some fun handshakes you can use with your small and large groups (Handshakes, Part 1 video). Michelle Cummings, the Big Wheel at Training-Wheels.com and me (Chris Cavert, from FUNdoing.com) got together to film some of our favorites. Here's the list: 
  • The Basic (Right-Handed) Handshake
  • The High Five (more of a "connection" than a shake, but you're okay with it!)
  • The Fist Bump (another "connection") 
  • The Fisherman's Handshake and the Double Fisherman's variation
  • The Rodeo Handshake
  • The Lumberjack Handshake
  • The Caterpillar Handshake
  • The Moose Handshake
  • The Heartbeat Handshake
  • The Dairy Farmer Handshake​
I'm guessing many of you know lots more. Hopefully we've added one or two new ones for you. No matter how long your list of handshakes and connections, you can use them together in Handshake Buddies. It's a great way to mix and mingle groups at the beginning of a program. The Handshakes, Part 2 video (below) gives you a short verbal description, with some visuals. (I hope to add a group-in-play video soon). Here's a written description of how I play: 
Handshake Buddies
  • Ask everyone to go back-to-back with someone in the group. (a group of three can work too).
  • Demonstrate a handshake (or connection). 
  • When you say, "Ready, GO!" partners turn around and perform the handshake (connection) just demonstrated and then find someone new to stand back-to-back with (emphasize "someone new" - not someone they have shaken/connected with).
  • Now, demonstrate a new handshake/connection. 
  • On "Ready GO!" partners turn around and perform this new handshake and then go off to perform the first shake with their first partner, then find someone new to stand back-to-back with.  
  • Demonstrate a new handshake/connection. 
  • On "Ready GO!" partners turn around, perform this new handshake, then go back to their second partner for their shake, then the first partner for their shake, then back-to-back with someone new. 
  • And, the process continues.....
  • On the final back-to-back, you now have your group's attention so you can give them information for the next activity. 
If you go through six handshakes/connections with your group, it takes about 10 minutes. I find six shakes is a good number to get everyone moving, interacting and warmed up. However, if the group is really into it, a couple more is not a bad thing. (Remember, don't over-play or the activity loses it effect.) 

Extension: When I use handshakes with a group, I now have a way to partner up participants when I want to form other groupings. "Find you High Five partner!" Now I'm ready to split the group in half, work in pairs, put two pairs together to form a group of four, and so on. And, at the end of the program, when I call, "Handshake Buddies" everyone is energized as they work through all their shakes. 

Have FUN out their my friends! Share your favorite handshake with us in the Comments below. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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Zig Zag (with Video)

9/6/2018

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Zig Zag is a nice "simple" team building challenge. I love it's versatility. I've used it with 3rd graders, as well as corporate adults - it's all about the tossables and the distance between the lines. 
Basic Set Up: (Let's say, 8th grade students) Set down two lines of rope (or webbing) about 10 feet apart - make sure your lines are long enough to fit half the players in the group standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Players will need a little room to toss and catch. Have two dodge ball sized tossables ready for play (and, maybe a rubber chicken, just in case). 
Group Size: Using two objects, I've programmed Zig Zag with 8 to 16 players. If my group is bigger, I'll add more objects or divide the group into smaller "teams" having all teams work on the same task. You can work on/talk about competitive and/or cooperative behavior dynamics.  
Challenge: Get the objects in play through the two lines of players as quickly as possible. 

Rules: 
  • ​One object starts in each line. 
  • An object must be tossed by a player from one line to a player in the other line. 
  • All players in the game are required to toss each object at least two times. 
  • All players in the game are required to catch each object at least two times. 
  • If an object is dropped, the challenge is re-started. 
  • Tosses begin when the timer says, "GO!"
  • Time stops after each player has tossed and caught each object at least once. 
As in most timed activities, it's nice to give the group multiple attempts to "improve" their performance - whatever this looks (and sounds) like for the group. (Remember, there are "process" and "product" goals you could help the group focus on.) 
Adjustments 
With Younger Groups:
  • Move the lines closer together.
  • Use larger tossables like beach balls.
  • Roll the tossables - use volleyballs or basketballs.

With Older Groups: 
  • Move the lines farther apart. 
  • Use smaller objects like stress balls or tennis balls. 
  • Use "different" objects like rubber chickens, stuffed animals or flying discs (e.g., Frisbee). 
  • Add more tossables, for example, start a tossable at both ends of each line (4 total tossables in play) - I like to use this one to experience managing multiple tasks. 

General Adjustments:
  • Set the lines down on angles so one end is wider than the other (e.g., >). 
  • Start with just one tossable. 
As noted above, this is (what I call) a simple team building challenge - low props and few directions. I will often use Zig Zag at the beginning of a program in order to "warm up" the group to what they will be experiencing together throughout the program. 

With that said, simple does not always mean easy. I have experienced groups that breeze through the challenge, ready for more. And, I have seen groups struggle through the process because they are still working on behaviors they need to function together efficiently. That's what we're all about, right? To help our groups find the behaviors they need to function together in positive ways - ways that help, not hinder. 
Let me know how it goes. 
​
All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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List Play #2

8/30/2018

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Way back in 2015 I post List Play #1 - an intricate collection of listable categories. I use handouts from time-to-time (including List Plays) as a way for small groups to gather around each other and work on a task using collective brain power. Sometimes I let my participants use outside resources (e.g., internet search), other times I do not. Without useful resources our tasks can seem daunting and even impossible. So, when "I have absolutely no idea" I look around for resources that can help me get one. This behavior is a learned skill for most people. Let's get some practice. 
I posted the PDF for List Play #2 (right under List Play #1) on my resources page HERE (scroll down to the Activity Tools to find it). 
Give this new List Play a try before downloading the answer sheet:
  • Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare)
  • Three Men in a Tub 
  • The Four (Basic) Freedoms
  • The 5 W's
  • The First Six Presidents of the United States
  • The Seven Virtues
  • The Ivy League Eight
  • The Nine Positions of a Baseball Team
  • Ten National Holidays (Before there was President's Day)
  • Eleven Tom Cruise Movies
  • The Twelve Days of Christmas
  • BONUS: The Thirteen Original Colonies 
What list(s) do you like? Share in the Comments below. 

Have FUN out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D
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1, 2, 3, More Activities with Rope (FUN Shares!)

8/16/2018

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Thanks to some amazing FUN Followers (Ben, Floyd & Dave), here are three more team-builders to lead with a long activity rope. 
In the last FUNdoing Blog post, 50-Foot Activity Rope: What Are You Doing? I shared a favorite of mine and asked for some shares back. And, we got a few takers.
ONE!
Hey Chris,
My favorite rope activity is “Knot or Not” [credited to Dr. Jim Cain]  I take a mess of a rope and pull the ends out a little bit and put it on the ground in front of the group. 

[The Objective] Without touching the rope, the group must unanimously decide [reach consensus] if when the two ends of the rope are pulled, will there be a knot in the rope or not (no knot).

When they think they all agree, we do a blind vote [close their eyes] where they vote for a knot or no knot.  If they all agree then they unanimously decided and completed the challenge [the objective].  If they are “not” in total agreement, then they get more time to discuss and make their arguments, and the process continues until they all agree [blind voting], or I have to step in and remind them of the goal and facilitate discussion. 

Once they have unanimously decided, I grab the two ends of the rope, holding on to them the whole time (because I know what's going to happen), and start to gather up the rope.  I have never been able to pick up the rope completely before they stop me, because they want to know if there is a knot or not. 

I ask them what the goal was, and then ask them if there was anything in the goal about being right.  Since there wasn’t, I say “Okay,” and continue to gather up the rope. I will always get stopped again.

​At this point I start to talk about why we have to know.  After a good discussion, I will give them these two options - I will declare you right and we will walk away with being able to say that you were right. Or, we pull the two ends and you could be right, you could be wrong, but you will then know for sure.  I tell them that it is a group decision, but [this time] we go with a simple 2/3 majority (although it is usually very close to unanimous).  When they decide to pull the ends, I remind them that they all agreed on whatever they agreed on, so that means that they are either all right or all wrong.  I then pick two people to pull the ends and we find out. [Another good discussion could be generated after the result.]
 
Ben
TWO!!
Hey, Chris! I hope things are well! I have a new (maybe new. I like "inventing" activities only to realize later someone else has already made it up. It is part of what I love about this industry!) 50-foot rope activity I have been working on. I've used it a couple of times and it is still in beta testing. 

12 Spaces [editor's, Chris', name at this time - Floyd didn't give us one yet.]
 
Materials: 50-f00t activity rope with ends tied together. Safe tossable(s) [e.g., foam ball or stuffed animal]. Timing device (optional).
 
Set-Up: Place the activity rope on the ground in a circle. Place the tossable(s) on the ground in or near the rope circle. Have the group stand around the activity rope (not permanent positioning... maybe).
 
Play: I have been picturing and using this as a timed goal setting activity. The community will set a goal time that represents how long they believe it will take to complete the task. 
  • Time starts when the first piece of activity material (rope or tossable) is touched. 
  • The community is challenged to pick up the rope and create 12 (variable) spaces obviously distinct from each other.
  • The community is challenged with passing the tossable through each of the 12 created spaces.
  • Everyone in the community is challenged to either participate in holding the activity rope or in navigating the tossable through each of the spaces (or both).
  • Once the tossable has completed its journey through space(s), the community is challenged to place the rope and tossable back onto the ground with the rope back in its circle shape. 
  • Time will stop when all materials are on the ground and all hands are off materials. 
 
NOTE: Something I'm thinking about: Place a poly/game spot on the ground under the knot. After completing the task, the knot will be returned to the poly spot and the rope [is placed back into] a circle on the ground. [One more task to organize and complete.]
 
I have had a lot of fun playing with this in my head and then seeing groups interact with it.
 
Floyd
THREE!!!
Here's Turnstyle (Dave's spelling) from Dave, already in PDF form. Dave shares his 4-Step process for this "jump-rope" tram builder. Try one or more steps to meet the challenge needs of your group. 
turnstyle_davevermilye_2018.pdf
File Size: 711 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Thanks friends!! You are awesome! Love learning from you. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.
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50-Foot Activity Rope: What Are You Doing?

8/2/2018

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What are you doing with a 50-foot (more or less) activity rope? 
If you've been facilitating team building programs for a while, I will bet you have an "activity rope" in your gear bag! Could be a retired climbing rope, a haul rope from your local big-box hardware store or even a 3-mill utility cord. 

Please Share! (In the Comments section below)

I'm "gearing" up for Fall programs and want to learn some new activities with a long rope. It doesn't need to be a super detailed description (share in the Comments below or email me), I'm pretty sure I'll get the idea and can go from there. (I'll reach out if I have questions.) 

Here's A New(er) One from Me
Below is a description of one of my newest activities with a rope; Knot Around Here. The full details can be found in my, Portable Teambuilding Activities book (now available for purchase at the: FUNdoing.com/store). I give you the basics here so you can give it a try.

Knot Around Here was one of those activities that popped in my head one day and as soon as I could I tried it out. If it wasn't for the first (adult) group I tried it with, I might not have included this one in my book. It came down to, "asking for what you needed".

Some people in the group were not comfortable spinning around very fast (Knot Around....you can imagine what the group is going to do!?), they got dizzy and even nauseous. But, instead of asking the "group" to slow down, they chose (to the person)  to step/challenge out. The first debrief I had for this activity was a meaningful discussion about asking for what was needed in order to stay a part of the group/community. 

Since that first group, it has been hit-or-miss for the specific "asking" facilitated objective. But, overall, it's always been a fun and creative activity. Give it a shot and let me know what you think. 
KNOT AROUND HERE
 
Activity Objective: The group is challenged to move a knot, tied in the activity rope, 360 degrees around a circle of players – without using their hands.
 
Needs & Numbers: You’ll need an activity rope or webbing (anywhere from 40 to 60 feet depending on your numbers) for a group of 10 to 20 participants. If you choose the timed option you will need a timing device.
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(Clipped from the Book)
Time: 20 to 30 minutes
 
Procedure: Tie the ends of your activity rope together with a good knot – one that won’t come out until you want it to. Have your group circle up. Distribute the rope circle throughout the group so each participant is holding the rope in front of them and everyone is equidistant from each other. Then, ask everyone to carefully step forward bringing the rope up over their heads down behind their backs resting the rope behind them about belt level or a bit higher in the small of the back. In the end, you will want the group to back up enough to produce a tight rope circle. WARNING: Caution your group to be careful during this process. Tugging and pulling on the rope could cause unnecessary complications. Once the rope circle is set behind the group there are a couple possible challenges I have presented.
 
Ask your group to specifically “roll” the rope around the circle moving the knot 360 degrees as quickly and safely as possible. Rolling involves each person turning in place (or as in place as possible) causing the rope to move like a chain moves around a sprocket. You can provide multiple attempts to produce the best possible time.
 
Safety & Facilitation: What I like about the timed dynamic of this activity is the concept of voice – especially during the rolling movement. For some, spinning around quickly is not comfortable and for most of us unstable. When time becomes a factor I have found participants more willing to step out of the activity (challenge by choice) than speak up for what they need – “keep it slow so I can keep up without losing my lunch.” The challenge is “quickly and safely” not specifically lightning fast. The question presents itself, “Will people ask for what they need?”
 
Keep an eye out for those pushing themselves into an uncomfortable place. This behavior could lead to safety issues. If needed, stop your groups for a mid-brief in order to explore what is happening. As always, safety first!
Have FUN out there my friends!! 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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Take Two (Face Up) w/Jumbo Bananagrams (Video)

7/19/2018

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A couple of weeks ago I posted about Take Two (Face Down) using Jumbo Bananagrams. Please head over and read through this post to get all the directions of play for this engaging game. 
In Take Two (Face Up), I basically turned the game upside down - just to see what would happen. Here's how I set this one up before playing. (Again, all the additional rules you need are over at the Face Down post.)
Set Up Place all the Jumbo Bananagram letters face down in the center of the playing area - all the small groups you formed are sitting around the letters. Have one player from each small group go out into the letter pool to retrieve seven letter tiles and bring them back to his/her group - no one looks at their letters until the game begins.

Now, ask all the other players, the ones that did not choose the group's seven letter tiles, to go out into the letter pool and turn all the tiles face up - so all the letters are revealed. When this is done, all the players return to their group area. 
Play The game, Take Two, as described in the Face Down post, is played the same. The difference being (obviously), players can see what's available. 
What I Discovered In this first-time-ever (by me anyway) try, the Crew I filmed (below) did have the opportunity to avoid certain letters, like the Qs and Zs and I did notice some specific letter requests from team members, but not all the time. It was still pretty much a frantic dash into the letter pool. So far, the Face Up variation of the game played about the same as Face Down. 
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Potential The next time I try this one, I'm going to be the only one that calls, "Take Two". Each group will still have a runner and builders, but no caller (roles are described in the Face Down post). Instead of the caller, I'll introduce the role of "looker" - this player has an eye on the letter pool to inform the group about what is available.

I'll call, "Take Two" when at least one group, maybe two, has used all its letters. But I won't call right away. I want to give the group(s) time to determine what they could use from the pool. So, the idea (in my head), is to slow down the pace a bit and let the groups be a little more intentional about their process. 

​I'll let you know how it goes. (And, hopefully get some film.) 
BIG THANKS AGAIN to Kim and her Crew for helping me capture this game on film!! 
All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.
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Take Two (Face Down) w/Jumbo Bananagrams   (Video)

7/5/2018

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I'm a BIG fan of JUMBO Bananagrams. I've posted about Word Building, 3 Down, and most recently the Mini Reflective Puzzle I learned from my friends Trevor and Matthew. After talking about how much fun I have playing the most traditional game using Bananagrams (small or jumbo version), I finally had the opportunity to get it on film. I know this game as, Take Two (there are a few different names for this one). I was playing take two with a set of Scrabble tiles before, the now familiar, bananagrams hit the shelves. 
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DETAIL NOTE: Jumbo Bananagrams are 3.5 inch vinyl squares (tiles) with letters on them - about 140 tiles. Keep an eye onAmazon, they often have them on sale. (If it's not in your budget to get the Bananagrams, make a set of 140 index card letters - be creative with colors and the numbers of each letter. Think, more vowels) 

PROGRAMMING NOTE: I don't often include competitive games in my team building programs (so many other things to do), but I like the design of this one (e.g., lots of teams) and the learnings I can speak to (e.g., roles and responsibilities - this comes up in the video). And, once the basic (competitive) version of the game is understood, I can move into a couple other versions to spark some other learnings - stay tuned for more posts on these!!
Take Two
​
Set-Up Place all the letter tiles, face down, on the floor. Then, divide your larger group into smaller teams of 2 to 4 players. Using one set of Jumbo Bananagrams, you don't want more than eight teams and, I would say, no less than four - just to keep things interesting. 
Play Send one player from each team to pick up seven letter tiles from the pool of letters - teams keep all these letters face down at their "home" spot until the game begins. 

When you (the facilitator) says "GO" all teams can flip over their first seven letters. The challenge for each team is to make words out of these letters and arrange them into a Scrabble-like puzzle formation - words are spelled top-to-bottom or left-to-right. After forming the first word, the second word must be connected to the first, sharing one letter. Any other words created must be connected to at least one other letter of a word in the puzzle. ​
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The first team to find a way to use all their letters (in one or more words, following the Scrabble-like puzzle format), shouts out, "Take Two!" (this is shouted by the "caller" - more on this below). When this is called, someone (the "runner" - more on this below) from each team must go to the letter pool and pick up two more tiles (without looking at them), and then bring them back to his/her team. Once back to the team, they can look at the letters on the tiles. 

NOTE: There have been games I've facilitated where three or four minutes have gone by in the first or second rounds (teams are working with only seven or nine letters) and no one can use all their letters. When this has happens, I call, "Take Two!" so teams can get more resources to work with. So, if a round is going on too long, go ahead and call it.  

Now, each team must incorporate these two new letters into their Scrabble-like puzzle. Maybe they can be added to the words already in their puzzle (e.g., adding an "S" to the end of a word). Maybe they will have to rearrange their full collection of letters to form all new words. In the end, the objective is the same. Each team must use all their letters to form words into a Scrabble-like puzzle formation. 

As the game goes on, any team that uses all their letters calls out, "Take Two!" until all the tiles in the letter pool are gone. At this point, when a team uses all the letters in their possession, they call, "Done!" Done means that all word building must stop - it does not mean "game over!" Players may not touch any letter tiles when done is called, but they can still focus on their puzzle. The team that called "done" must have their words checked by the facilitator. If all words are acceptable (in most cases I play by Scrabble rules, in some cases I'm more flexible), then the call is, "Game Over - the winner is...." If there is a mistake in the puzzle, the facilitator calls, "Game On" and word building can continue until someone calls, "Done!" again. When a team can present their puzzle with acceptable words, they are declared the winners of said game. Of course, when there is time, a new game can be set up to play. 

​So, those are the basics!
Take Two Team Building 

In the video (below) you'll be able to pick up a team building (learning) aspect of the game that I've recently incorporated. I learned this from my CrowdWords friends (see post HERE) Matthew and Trevor (noted above). When they are playing their version of Take Two (using CrowdWords cards), they assign roles and responsibilities to players. There are "builders" - players that focus on building the words in the puzzle. There are "callers" - a player who is responsible for calling out "Take Two!" with gusto. And, there is a "runner" - a player who is responsible for going to the letter pool and picking up two letter tiles and bringing them back to his/her team after "take two" is called.

As in any team task, roles and responsibilities can be shared or they can be exclusive - if you are assigned a role, that is your only responsibility. Depending on the number of players on a team, there might be enough people for each role and there might be players who take on more than one role (e.g., anyone can be a builder). 

Processing When you use roles and responsibilities, you can talk about how this played out and where else this plays out for team members. What role did you take in the game and how did it influence your level of participation? Did you chose your role or did someone else choose it for you? Did players stay within the boundaries of their roles? Why? Why not? Was your role clear to you? If it wasn't clear, what did you do about it? 

I also like to talk about the concepts of winning and losing - What do we learn from each concept? How do we treat our opponents? Can we have a game if we don't have competitors? What is the role of competition in our lives? Is it useful? Is it damaging? What if all competition went away, what would our lives be like? Who likes this type of (spelling) game? Why? Who does not like this kind of game? Why? What choices do we have when we're playing in a "game" we don't want to be in? 
Stay Tuned for More! 

In my next Blog post, I'll share a little wrinkle I tried out with Take Two right after the Crew in the video learned the basics. 
Big Thanks Again to Kim the Crew for letting me film this adventure!! You're the BEST! 
Keep me posted my friends. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.
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Popper Tag Transformation (with Video)

6/14/2018

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Recently, I had the opportunity to hang out in the shadows (literally) and observe Nate Folan (he's in the light colored hat) facilitate a day-long training for a summer camp staff (I was facilitating the next day). Nate was featured a while back in a Top 10 Blog - lots of fun details and activity links. 

During the training he led one of my favorite tag games, Popper Tag. Over the years I have called this one Flashback Tag. I use soft tossables or crumpled up paper (snow)balls. The idea is to toss your tossable at the backs of other players. If you hit a back (between the shoulders and the waist - no arms), you get a point. First one to 10 wins. 
​Okay, fast forward to 2007ish. Noodle poppers showed up on the scene. I first saw them in the book, Achieving Fitness. Popper Tag was in the "Cardio" section of the book. Poppers are basically half of a  noodle chip, You can make them yourself (see the red chip in the picture). Or pick up a bucked of Noodle Bits (for a decent price as of this writing) from Flaghouse HERE (see the yellow chip/bit in the picture). 
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Add a Transformation Part of Nate's focus with his trainees was to emphasize different aspects of facilitation. Using Popper Tag (PT) as his experiential pathway, he introduced players to the idea of "being silly" and how this (or these) behaviors fit into building a fun caring community of learners. So, he invited each participant to "transform" into the chicken of their choice once they obtained 10 points playing PT. From a group of players to a flock of chickens. Brilliant! 
Players were given a challenge and a choice to "chicken" or simply move around amongst the flock of chicken as players, one-by-one transformed. For me, it was a fabulous way to step right into a fun, crazy space. Magical! (Now, I'm not sure all the players would agree with me, but I got the lesson.) Ready to smile? Check out the action. 
Have FUN out there my friends. Let me know how the transformation goes!

​Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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What You Say (My Favorite Icebreaker)

5/16/2018

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I'm saying this is my favorite icebreaker because I use it with almost every group I work with. It's super easy to set up, I can play it with 10 or more participants (if I have enough cards), it's a great way to get people talking (if they want to), and I can pull some good discussion points out to get the brains working and thinking about the team building ahead. 
Set Up: Out of one deck of standard playing cards, I use the aces, twos, threes, fours, fives and tens. If you have more than 24 players in your group, pull out more decks.

​Here's the ratio to consider: You want to include one of the tens for every five cards you use (and you can add in more if you want - just my ratio). For example, let's say you have 16 people in your group. Use 14 of the lower numbers and three tens. Okay! Ready to play. 
Directions: Deal out one card to each person in your group. Yes, they can look at their card, but I will always say, "You might not want anyone to see your card just yet."

​Players will be pairing up with others in the group. To do this just raise a hand and look for someone else raising a hand - this is the signal for, "I'd love to talk with someone." (There is some Challenge by Choice in here. I say, "If you really don't feel like talking to anyone at this time, simply keep your hand down. You are free to mingle around and listen to the sharing going on so you can learn about others, but don't bother any of the conversations.) 
When players pair up they are going to share facts about themselves equal to the number on the card they are holding. (If I'm holding a four, I say four things about myself.) After one person shares, the other person gets to share. After both players share, the two exchange cards and then go off to talk with another person in the group (if they choose). All they have to do is...you guessed it, raise a hand.
Challenges: Here are a couple more Challenge by Choice opportunities. When you get an ace, say 11 things about yourself. And, the "Double Challenge" - do not repeat anything about yourself over the length of the game (about three to five minutes - less time for smaller groups, more for bigger.) 
Questions: Here are some things I like to talk about after What You Say
  • When you learned the directions of the game, how did you feel about your card? Why did you feel that way? 
  • What was difficult about this activity? What was easy about the activity? Why do some people find something difficult, while others find the same thing to be easy? 
  • What do you think will be difficult about our program today? What do you think will be easy? 
  • How will we support each other when some of us are finding something to be difficult? 
  • If things are too easy for us (maybe boring), how could we challenge ourselves to make something more interesting? 
  • What did you all think about when you met someone with a 10? Did anyone avoid the players with the 10s? Why do you think we did that? 
  • How will we treat others in our group that might behave in a way we don't like (have something we don't like)? 
  • What are the pros and cons of a diverse group of people? How do we want to treat each other today even though we will discover differences about each other? 
  • Did anyone find something in common with someone else while playing the game? How are we going to find out more about the commonalities we share? 
Have FUN out there my friends. 

Keep me posted. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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Connections (with Playing Cards)

5/4/2018

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The challenge of Connections is to play all the cards (in a standard deck of playing cards) using the legal moves of the game (see the moves listed in the picture to the right - I wrote them on a white board). This one plays well with 8 to 16 players (you could have more, but then it adds a bit more "waiting for your turn"). So far I've only played this one a couple times. First at a conference with high school and adult participants - they were a captive audience helping me work out some of the complexities of the game. The other, a middle school group (in the video) of 6th, 7th & 8th graders. 
Picture
The Video Initially I was going to cut my footage down enough to simply understand the game. As I was editing it occurred to me that keeping all the footage would allow for more analysis of the way I worked with these middle schoolers. So, if you want to watch enough to get the idea, you only need to stay in through my introduction. Otherwise, catch as much of the 17 minutes as you can - lots of interesting interactions (you might need to turn up the volume to pick up some go the voices).
NOTE: The only part I cut out was dealing the cards. To save time, I dealt out three cards to each person, then single cards around (to the right of me) to finish up the deck. 
LIGHTNING 156 As this activity unfolded for me, my first mental model was for groups to play all the cards in 156 seconds (this is what I tried with my conference captive audience). I found this task to be pretty challenging - out of six groups trying it, one got within four cards after 156 seconds. Possible? I believe so. Now I'm thinking, Connections will be a good way to lead into Lightning 156. Once a group has time to practice the game and work out some of the cooperative behaviors they will need, they should be able to beat the Lightning clock. (I'll be working towards getting some video of this level in the future.) 
Keep me posted my friends. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
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    Blog Author

    Dr. Chris Cavert is an internationally known author, speaker, and trainer in the area of adventure-based activity programming and its relation to community and pro-social behavior development.

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    This blog is a space for hands-on programable fun - energetic activities and ideas that can be used as a means to bring people together; activities and ideas we as educators can add to our social development curriculums. 

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