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Everybody In (All Aboard Variation)

10/31/2013

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I love working with Raccoon Circles - a trade name used by Tom Smith (coined by Karl Rohnke) for a 15-foot piece of tubular webbing. (Get your free "Raccoon Circles" downloadable activity guide from Jim Cain. Also, check out the book by Tom Smith and Jim Cain called The Revised Book of Raccoon Circles: A Facilitators Guide to Building Unity, Community, Connection and Teamwork Through Active Learning - find the book at Training Wheels.)

Raccoon Circles help me scaffold a number of challenge course activities that will eventually involve higher risk. One such activity is All Aboard - the group stands atop a small box or platform without touching the ground. So, to prepared my groups for the "snuggle" challenge of All Aboard I introduce them to Everybody In (a slight change to the All Aboard Raccoon Circle challenge described in The Revised Book of Raccoon Circles). 

SET UP: You'll need one 15-foot Raccoon circle for a group of 12 to 15 players and a tape measure. I set up the Raccoon Circle by tying one end of the webbing (using and overhand knot) near the other end of the webbing - essentially tying a slip knot so the knot can slide up the webbing. Using a 15-foot length of webbing and sliding the knot almost all the way to the free end I set down the webbing into a circle on the ground.

ACTION: Here's how I play. With my webbing circle on the ground and my group of 12 to 15 players ready to go, I ask them all to step into the webbing circle so that everyone has at least one foot touching the ground inside the circle and no other body part touching the ground outside of the circle (in this first round everyone should have room to place both feet on the ground - unless you are working with folks with larger frames). When everyone has made it inside I ask for a single round of "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream," the I ask everyone to carefully step out of the circle. 

Once everyone is out safely I grab the little tail of the webbing (sticking out from the knot) and I slide the knot up a few inches. Before anyone goes into the circle I measure the webbing tail to "quantify" the challenge. "Okay, your circle is now three inches smaller. Do you think you can all fit back inside the circle under the same rules presented at the beginning of the activity?" Most groups will be ready to take on this challenge. I continue this process until the group reaches the smallest possible circle of space for their group. 

SAFETY: As the circle gets smaller the bodies get closer together and all sorts of grabbing and hanging on insures. Be sure you stick to the rule that all players must have one foot on the ground inside the circle at all times. Also, make them aware that personal (and overall group) safety is more important than a circle that is just too small. I do my best to spot the activity as well, looking for a place around the mass of people that has the most potential for tippage. 

I like this version of measuring the tail because you can see the progress and the ultimate result of the group's accomplishment. It's also possible to return to the activity after some work together to see if the group can shave a few inches off of their previous attempt. 

Let me know how you use this variation of All Aboard. Leave a comment below. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert

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Perch

10/28/2013

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As many of you know, my friend Sam Sikes and I wrote a couple noodle activity books. So, I'm always keeping an eye out for, and a few brain cells open to, new noodlings. Recently I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful elementary physical education team - Jeremy, Ryan & Brad (sorry Brad, I didn't have a picture of you - you were too fast!!), and they helped me try out a new idea. (There is an activity out there, I think it's in one of Karls Rohnke's books, where you see how many tennis balls you can get one person to hold up off the ground - this one's sort of like that.)

I had with me my 4-inch noodle chips and a new batch of poppers. (These are small noodle chips cut in half - the blue and green props in the picture. I first read about poppers in the book Achieving Fitness from Project Adventure). Here's the overall idea so far: 

The game is played in three rounds of 30, 60 & 90 seconds respectively. A larger group is divided into smaller groups of three (or four if needed) - each person will take a turn being the perch. 

Set out all the perchables in center of the playing area (for us it was the noodle chips and poppers - you could use all sorts of objects as long as they are stackable and you have lots of them). The further you position the small teams away from the perchables the more running takes place. (If you are after a bit of fitness with your adventures, establish a greater distance to get in the cardio. There will also be a little muscular fitness work for the perch - holding up an arm.)

Okay, let's play. Give all the groups an initial minute to consider their plan of action - without going out to the perchable pile of items. After this interim, have the percher ready, facing the perchables pile, and the perchers teammates behind him or her. On "GO" (the time starts) the percher holds up one arm and his or her teammates go out to each get a perchable - only one item can be picked up by each player per run. Perchable items are brought back and place on the perch (arm). Once placed the runners can go get another item to bring back. The first round goes for 30 seconds in this manner. If anything (or everything) falls from the perch, players can pick up the items and put them back on their perch - the time is still running. At the end of 30 seconds whatever is on the perch is the team's score for that round (e.g., 20 items, 20 points). 

Before the 60 second and 90 second rounds provide some planning time for the teams - maybe 60 seconds is enough, maybe a bit more is better. This will depend on the group's objectives. When ready, Switch perches and go for the next round. 

Thought/Variations: 
  • Perches get further away each round. 
  • Rounds could be 60, 90 & 120 seconds for the older kids. 
  • Once noodle chips are on the perch, cups of water could be added for big points. 
  • Will a teammate be able to assist holding up the perch's arm?
  • Can the perch kneel down? 
  • Perch has both arms up - I'd go with teams of four. (Need lots of stuff!!)

There are a number of things I can do with this activity. It's not about competing with others (even though this could happen), it's about each group's process. Maybe there could be some collaboration? Then there's the process of planning and strategy that can be developed. Appropriate goal setting can be discussed and experienced. And, since working with my inspirational physical educator crew there is some COMMON CORE I can weave in. If I provided at least three different types of objects, each object could have a point value. After each round the group would have to do some math in order to determine their score. Consider this: You can get in some fitness, team building, and common core enhancement out of one activity.    

Help me develop this further. Send me your thoughts/experiences through the comments below. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert

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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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