分类: Print N Play

The Best of 2025

12/25/2025

It's time again for the reveal of the FUNdoing Blog posts that have garnered the most views in 2025. Here are the top 3 and another one (recently posted) I'm really excited about exploring more in 2026.

Relationship & Trust Building Cards (Print-N-Play) This post (and resource) was overwhelmingly the most viewed. Facilitators shared with me that the activity was easy to lead and it quickly revealed trusting behavior preferences within the group – opening the door to important conversations.

Human Square I didn't get any feedback on this one other than the view count. Like me, I will guess, we like this one because it's a great no-prop activity, easy to lead with groups of 12 to 30 people. And it has a variety of learning opportunities. Groups, among other concepts, can work on communication behaviors, leadership skills, and trust building.

Figuratively Speaking Conversation Cards (Print-N-Play) It's no surprise another print-n-play made the list (accessible resources are FUNdoing favorites). I used my set of cards all year – I just kept picking cards that landed on thoughts I needed to focus on in the moment. (This was my top pick, most used activity, of the year.)

Grouplets RPS I'm giving this activity the 'most potential' award of the year. I posted it in November, so it doesn't have much traction yet, but I think it will pick up. For a while now I've been exploring the metaphor of 'How we play the game?'. It helps groups move into the connection (discussion) of how we play the game of 'life'. I've been a part of some very interesting discussions on the topic and I want to keep using the idea with different activities like this one as well.

Thank you for joining the FUNdoing adventures in 2025. As I still do, I'm looking forward to more...

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

52 by 4: Team Sheet for Large Groups with Playing Cards (Print-N-Play)

11/27/2025

I'm often asked about 'team building' activities for larger groups. Facilitators, from what I have encountered, ease into large group work with connection activities (e.g., pair-and-shares, handshakes, and small group discussions) and then work their way into more complex problem-solving tasks. But, what kinds of tasks and how do we process these large group experiences?

Sam Sikes, Faith Evans and I wrote a book (The More The Merrier) about the complexities of the large group experience – how to prepare, activities that work (over 100), and how to process for useful take-aways. I want to share a team building activity from the book we call a Team Sheet.

When working with large groups aimed at outcomes related to group dynamics, problem-solving and specific concepts like effective communication and leadership, we form smaller groups of various sizes and give all the groups the same task. (There is also the 'rotate to different stations' method). One of the logistical considerations with this approach is timing – what happens when some groups finish before others? Team Sheets are one solution to this concern.

You will get a printable 'preview' of this document before you choose to download it.

52by4_tmtmteamsheet_cavert.pdf
File Size:	476 kb
File Type:	pdf

The 'Team Sheet' given to the participants is the last two pages of this document printed back-to-back.

Team Sheet Logistics

Here's the snapshot of how it works (there are more specifics in the book). In 52 by 4 the large group is creatively divided into teams of four or five people. Each team chooses a 'representative' that will attend a quick training about the activity. Then the facilitator announces a 'group discussion' question each team will discuss while the representative is at the training. The representatives are then invited to the training with the facilitator as the teams start discussing the question. With the representatives, the facilitator provides a quick overview of the expectations detailed in the Team Sheet, answers questions, and then provides the representatives with all the materials they need to bring back to their teams and the time-budget for the team sheet activity. (This should take about four minutes.)

Discussion Questions: Connection types of questions can be asked for teams to discuss or a question related to a Team Sheet focused concept can be used to frontload the participant-centered reflection after the activity. In 52 by 4, Planning and Leadership are the two focused concepts. Other Team Sheet concepts include Challenge, Integrity, Success, Perception, Risk, Change and others. (There are eight more Team Sheets in the book.)

Team Sheet Play

Once the representatives return to their teams, the allotted time-budget starts. For 52 by 4 the time budget is typically 15 minutes. This means all groups have a 15-minute window to learn, plan, practice (optional), and perform the task. As you can see in the (bottom half of the) Team Sheet above, there is data space for seven attempts at the task (and teams can make more attempts if there is still time left in the budget). The idea is for the groups to work out 'problems' through each attempt in order to complete the task as quickly as possible.

The facilitators role during this time is to mingle around throughout the groups and answer clarifying questions – without solving problems.

When the time-budget expires, direct the group to turn over their Team Sheet and discuss the processing questions. You can limit their discussion to one of the two concepts or both. The 52 by 4 concepts are 'planning' and 'leadership'.

Provide a time-budget for this processing experience as well – 10 to 15 minutes for one concept and up to 20 minutes if you want them to work through the questions for both. Say something like, "You have about 15 minutes to discuss the leadership questions before we come back together as a whole group to share some insights." (If all teams are still dialed into their discussions, give them more time.)

During this participant-centered processing session, mingle around the groups. Drop in to listen to some of the discussions with a few groups to pick up some connections/learnings you can bring up during the 10-minute all-group session where participants share some main insights from their experiences.

Team Sheets Summary Overview

The larger group is divided into smaller groups (5 minutes).
Groups choose a representative to attend training (1 min).
Groups are provide with a discussion question (1 minute).
Representatives are invited to join the facilitator for a quick training while groups discuss the question provided (4 minutes).
Representatives return to their groups and begin working on the task (15 minutes).
Groups are invited to work through the processing questions on the back of the Team Sheet (10 to 20 minutes).
The whole group gathers back together to share some overall insights. (10 minutes).

Team Sheets, in my experience, have been a great way for me to team build with larger groups giving everyone the opportunity to plan, problem-solve, and work together on a task and process the learnings. I don't get to hear all the discussions, but each team gets to form their own take-aways.

Let me know if you have questions. Leave a Comment below.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

P.S. Paper Transporter is another activity presented like Team Sheets (video included).

House Puzzle of String (a Paired Activity) with Video

8/19/2025

[NOTE from Chris: Before you watch the video, if you want to participate in a little 'Thought Experiment' check out my invitation below.]

Several months ago, I started purposefully collecting and documenting problem-solving activities for pairs. I like using concentric circles* with groups giving all pairs icebreaker questions to answer. Then, moving one circle "to the left" three people forms new pairs quickly. Now, instead of just using icebreaker questions, why not throw some fun problem-solving into the mix where two people work together on a task? Mixing it up makes for good engagement and a bit more complex interaction.

*Concentric Circles – an 'outside' circle of people facing towards the center of the circle and another 'inside' circle with each person facing someone from the outside circle.

A couple weeks ago in the FUNdoing Fridays email I shared a quick idea I had for a paired activity calling it the House Puzzle of String. Sam Sikes, in his 1995 book, Feeding the Zircon Gorilla and Other Team Building Activities, calls it The House – he uses a long activity rope. Here's a little snapshot of history:

Sam's Instructions (brevity brilliance): "Ask the group to pick up the rope." [An untied 40- to 50-foot rope for up to 12 participants lying in a pile on the ground.] "Tell them they can slide their hands along the rope, but they can't let go and/or trade places in line. Their task is to form a house or an envelope, whichever they prefer, without the rope doubling back on itself. You may need to provide a sketch of the end product for them to see." [I love the reference of the 'envelope.' I wonder if that's a recognizable image now.]

The image on the left would be the 'sketch' of the end product. So the group, everyone holding onto the rope, is challenged to form the house puzzle like the solution in the picture above. (After the group in the picture above solved the puzzle, they set it on the ground.)

House Puzzle of String
The image above on the right is the one I created for the House Puzzle of String paired challenge (the full size PDF download is below). The eight pathways in the house I call 'channels'. Using a 48-inch (122 cm) piece of string (or yarn), two people work together to lay out the string inside the channels without the string 'doubling back' on itself. The additional challenge is that the string cannot cross over any of the channel lines.

Video Note: I edited the video down to a about 8.5 minutes. It took my friend Dillon and I a little over 12 minutes to complete the task. (A majority of the time was spent getting the string within the channel lines – moving one part of the string often displaced another part of the string. Run with that metaphor!)

housepuzzle_diagram_cavert.pdf
File Size:	8 kb
File Type:	pdf

Thought Experiment: Here's an email from a FUN follower friend of ours. After reading about House Puzzle of String he inquired:

Tell me please, why do you need a pair to do it with the string? Can you do this alone?

The Experiment: Watch the video and then speculate how I responded to our friend. After a bit more contemplative prose I'll share my response (just a little trivia and a way to hide my response for now).

The House Puzzle is a 'Transum' or 'Path Puzzle' (Dillon discovered this.) Here's an image I swiped from the results of searching 'Transum'. Solve all the shapes (tracing over all the lines and dots) without taking your pen off the paper or doubling any line.

One Answer for the House Puzzle of String:

What have you speculated? Why would I program this activity for two people? Here's my response:

Yes, this one can be done solo. However, I'm anticipating the interaction between two people doing this task will be noteworthy – open up some good learning conversations.

And another Yes. Many tasks are much 'easier' (in some ways) doing them alone – "I'll just do it myself." With this mindset we are losing the practice (and benefits) of working with others....I like to use partner activities for some low risk people practice.

If you considered another reason for using this activity with pairs, I'd love to know! And, what other solo activities can we turn into a paired experience? Leave us a Comment below.

People Practice Questions to Ask

What parts of the challenge were difficult? What parts of the challenge were easy?
Raise your hand if you could have done this challenge on your own. What changes in a task like this when you are working with someone else?
What are some of the things you do and say when you're working well with someone else?
What benefits do you get from knowing how to work with others in a productive way?

Keep me posted!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Relationship & Trust Building Cards (Print-N-Play)

2/28/2025

A recent client wanted me to begin their requested teambuilding program (for six people) with a trust activity. The client was concerned about the trust level in this particular management team. Instead of explaining my belief that every experiential group activity has the potential to focus on the concept of trust I simply agreed to include one.

Serendipitously, I ran across an activity called 'Trust' while searching SessionLab for reflection activities. [The link goes to a post called, '53 team building activities for work (and to have fun!)' – mentioned in the last FUNdoing post. Scroll down to the 'Team Bonding' section in the post to find the details for the Trust activity from the Thiagi Group.] I decided to use this one for a 'Consider & Tag' experience as a way to find out some of the top concepts and behaviors the team of six had about trust in the moment.

Building Relationships & Trust Cards – Consider & Tag (my name for the experience)

Needs & Numbers: One set of 30 R&T Cards (and some blank cards - included in the PDF) for a group of 6 to 24. You'll also need some markers (I like providing Sharpies), some masking or painters tape (easier to remove from the walls and the cards), and some small pads of PostIt notes).

Set Up: My favorite way to set up the cards is to tape them on an open wall (safe to tape things onto – some places do not like things taped to their walls). I tape the cards with some good distance away from each other (if I have it), so when participants are doing a little 'Gallery Walk' to 'Consider' the information on each card, there is room to move around each other.

In the case of my group of six, I placed the cards around the the edges of the large conference room table in the room (another way to display the cards). I had enough room around the (gigantic) table to spread the cards out enough to make room for viewing.

There have been Consider & Tag experiences where I scattered the cards around on the floor as well. Be creative with the space you have. Just be sure there's lots of room to move around the cards.

Process: The basic frontloading I use for any Consider & Tag experience is to present the related concept the cards support and then provide some time for the participants to consider which cards are most important to them. This consideration period can be anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes (or more) depending on the groups objectives and the time you have.

Then, there will be a time for everyone to 'Tag' their top choices. The number of tags everyone gets varies based on the amount of time you have for the experience. For example, I tend to give groups larger that 12 three tags (each person's top three choices), and groups of 12 or less I ask everyone to tag their top five choices.

Tagging shouldn't take too long, participants will have a pretty good idea (after considering) of their top choices once they begin tagging. Before tagging, everyone will need a little pack of PostIts. (I take the standard pack of PostIts and break them up into 4 or 5 little packs and put all these little packs in a convenient place to pick up.)

Then, decide, based on the group, if you would like each person to write their first name on their PostIts or leave them blank. Is the group ready to let everyone know their choices, or will it be better to be (somewhat) anonymous? Once the tagging process is understood by the group, let them tag away.

When someone is done with their tagging, they can return to their seat (if you are set up for sitting), or they can spend more time 'considering' – walking through the cards some more to see if they want to change their mind, or take a little break until everyone is done.

When the tagging is complete, it's time to look at the data. Let participants quietly return to some gallery walking to see what was tagged. I like to remind my groups that the data represents what their group members find most important to them in that moment – it doesn't mean cards without tags are not important. There have been a few times, based on a group's objectives, when we also spent a little time talking about diverse perspectives.

Processing: After an appropriate amount of time to review the data (gallery walk), the group can discuss the findings. Here are my two favorite questions during this part:

What is the data telling you?
What else is the data telling you?

Of course, there are a variety of ways to discuss the group's experience based on their objectives. I like this process because it brings a BIG concept (in my latest experience with the cards, building trust) into some focus as to what is most important to the group at the time. In my example, my group of six started talking about the top tagged cards (above) and were ready to develop some future actions to put the concepts and behaviors into practice.

Extending Idea I had a little time to try something with this management team of six to experience some consensus-building. I asked them to rank the six cards shown above in order of importance. I said, "If you were to use these concepts and behaviors as your immediate priorities and put team into action, which one would you start with, then, what would be your second, third, fourth and so on."

After about 10 minutes, I stopped the group to notice the point that 'deciding' on priorities and actions takes time and commitment, as they already knew. So, I said, "As a group, how do you want to go about allocating the time you need to tackle the goals you have for yourselves in the coming months?" (This was a task I left them to think about and address during the second day of their retreat.)

If building consensus skills was one of the group's objectives, I would have provided more time for them to work out the priority of the cards. But with the brief encounter with the exercise, the group recognized the point. (And I know I can extend this process with any Consider & Tag activity in the future.)

Here are the Relationship & Trust Building Cards. Let me know how they work for you. Leave us a Comment.

relationshiptrustbuildingcards_cavert_2025.pdf
File Size:	421 kb
File Type:	pdf

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Figuratively Speaking Conversation Cards (Print-N-Play)

1/10/2025

During my continuous effort to understand how language is used to create meaning, I have run into a significant number of lists with two-word quotes or “phrases.” It became apparent that some of these phrases did not have a true literal meaning, they are used in a figurative context – an understanding of the phrase can take on slightly different meanings depending on the perception of the person using it. I’ve collected some of these figurative phrases (below) and put them on small cards to use as conversation starters in small and large group settings. The phrases can even be used as a way for one person to contemplate what shows up for them after drawing a card from the deck and reflecting on the phrases meaning and significant in the moment.

Activity Objective: Participants share the meanings of the phrases they hold during conversations with others in the group.

Facilitated Objective: Learn more about the ways peers, within a group, think about ideas and explore the use of figurative language.

Needs & Numbers: Print and cut out the 36 phrase cards below on light colored paper of your choice. For long-term use I suggest you laminated the cards. This set of 36 cards works well with one-on-one conversations and up to 36 participants in small group conversations.

Time: 15 to 20 minutes at any time during a program – longer if you plan for more ‘conversation’ practice.

Set-Up: On a table or open floor space, spread the cards out, phrase side up or phrase side down (for some mystery). When setting them out phrase side up, be sure all the phrases are visible for reading.

Procedure: These cards are simply prompts to short, or long, conversations – What does a phrase mean to the person holding it?

Initially, get a card to each person in the group. Cards can be scattered out on top of a table (as described above), or you can have a few people in the group deal out the cards to everyone.
Explain that these cards have a ‘figurative’ meaning (you might go into a bit more explanation if needed). Have participants take a moment to quietly reflect on the meaning of their phrase and how this meaning might be significant to them in their lives.
When ready, ask everyone to form groups of two or three people – encourage the group to be inviting and meet new people.
Let them know they will be sharing their thoughts about the phrases they are holding within this small group, and they will have about three minutes together to engage in short conversations about their thinking.
Remind everyone to stay curious and ask questions related to what others are saying to keep the conversation going.
At the end of the three minutes, ask the group to ‘shuffle’ their cards. Meaning, walk around and exchange cards with others mingling throughout the area.
When you say, “STOP” everyone should have a new card/phrase to reflect upon and talk about after getting into new groups of two or three people.
Provide time for several rounds as a way to put more new faces together.

NOTE: You’ll notice some blank cards included below for figurative phrases you’d like to add to your set.

Here is your Figuratively Speaking set of cards:

figuratively_speaking_2025_cavert.pdf
File Size:	779 kb
File Type:	pdf

NOTE: Clicking on the document link gets you to a preview – it does not automatically download. You can print yourself a master copy from the preview. If you want to save a copy to your computer, click the download icon at the top right of the preview page.

Please let us know how these conversation starters work for you. Leave us a Comment below.

Have fun!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

"Fantastic!" Stories & Connections (a.k.a., Human Bingo) Print-n-Play

7/19/2024

Our friend from Israel sent us a version of the Human Bingo icebreaker. Historically (for me), everyone gets a handout with a 5 by 5 grid (25 squares – the center square is a 'free' space). In each square is an experience of some kind, like, "Favorite pizza topping is pepperoni," or "Has been to Ireland," or "Rides motorcycles." To play, everyone mingles around looking for people in the crowd that have had these experiences. Once they find someone, they ask the person to sign the square.

The Objective: Collect enough signatures to get 'five in a row' vertically, horizontally, or diagonally so you can yell, "BINGO" and win the game. Or, as I've played it from time to time, get as many BINGOs as possible in the time allowed – so you can meet and connect with more people. (Search "Human Bingo" on the net for tons of examples.)

Our friend found an alternative approach to the basic Human Bingo encounter called, 'Back to Nurture Bingo' in the book, Playful Activities for Powerful Presentations (1993), by Bruce Williamson. (And I do want to find out how our friend got a hold of a copy?!)

In Williamson's version, along with some of those 'typical' icebreaker questions (e.g., "If you could live anywhere, where..."), there are prompts to life stories, like, "Describe a perfect day," "Children are," and, "What fills you with a sense of wonder?" This changes the quick-search-find-and-sign squares into little conversations.

Williamson's version also includes an additional feature that elevated this activities status for me (meaning, I'll be using this version). There are 'tasks' including in the experience. If you've ever played the task version of 52 Card Pick Up, it's like that (just not as many tasks). Check out the grey squares above to get the idea.

Stories & Connections
I was part of an open-enrolment activity training recently and thought it would be a nice audience to try this out with, so I made us a handout (below) to get us started.

You'll find the instructions included on the handout (you can see them in the header above). Here are a few things I want to tell you about the handout:

To change things up a bit, and to add some emotion (as well as, to avoid the traditional 'finality' of the word BINGO), when players do get five in a row, I've asked them (in the instructions) to yell, "Fantastic." (We had a few of these during the training – it evoked smiles.)
I added one more row to the traditional 5 by 5. By doing this, there are eight more 5 in a row possibilities.
I initially introduced the activity to the participants as a 'Soft Start" (or "Unofficial Start" if you learned this from Mark Collard). However, I decided to extend play into the entire day. By doing this, participants continued to interact with each other during breaks and lunch. And, allowed for more "Fantastics" to spontaneously erupt.

One last thought about Stories & Connections. I'd like to develop additional handouts with more focused topic (concept) stories like Leadership, Trust, Helping, Relationships, or Preferences. Then, we can be even more intentional about working on group outcomes.

Here you go!

stories_and_connections_cavert_2024.pdf
File Size:	159 kb
File Type:	pdf

Let us know how it goes – share in the Comment section. Thanks!

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

ICON Circle Puzzles (mini kit 3)

6/23/2024

ICON Circle Puzzles are the second evolution of Word Circle Puzzles (the first evolution was Picture Word Circle Puzzles).

On a recent flight back from a summer camp training, I was motivated to find another ICON puzzle to add more to our set of challenging options when showing this version. I also found another 8-ICON puzzle from a virtual training. So now, our Puzzles sizes, with these two, now include: two 8-card puzzles, a 9-card, a 10 card, a 12-card, and a 13-card.) This third Mini Kit has another 8-card and a 12-card, as well as another HELP Cards page. As I've shared before, I like to print the HELP cards on green colored paper so I can easily identify them in the crowd (of course, the ICON cards are not printed on green paper).

For Your Reference:

ICON Circle Puzzles Mini Kit 1 - this first post has the play details and Word Circle Puzzles links, as well as a link to the second evolution of circle puzzles - Picture Circle Puzzles.
ICON Circle Puzzles Mini Kit 2 - two more ICON puzzles and link suggestions to more of the traditional Word Circle Puzzles.
TheNounProject - This is where I get my ICONS (free for some of the ICONS, pay $40/year for unlimited).
Circle Puzzles Print-N-Play Kits - Check out the Circle Puzzles Kits, both Word and Picture Word Circles Kits at the FUNdoing store. PDF downloads ready to print and play!

ICON circle Puzzles – Kit 3

iconwordcirclepuzzles_set3_kit.pdf
File Size:	336 kb
File Type:	pdf

Have fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Adventure Slips (for Unofficial Starts) Print-N-Play

5/10/2024

I was catching up on some of Chad Littlefield's videos (a 'must-tab' YouTube channel) when I was reminded of the 'unofficial start' tool (Chad credited to Mark Collard). [NOTE: Priya Parker, the author of 'The Art of Gathering' calls it a "Threshold Moment."]

I had a program coming up with a large group and this quick reminder of the tool inspired me to create an Unofficial Start related to my program plan theme – 'Adventures.' (My program plan involved taking the group on some adventures as a way to make connections with their colleagues, old and new. One of the thoughts I shared with them was, "Some people see particular situations they face as problems. Other people see their situations as adventures.")

I ended up with the idea of Adventure Slips – 12 voluntary adventures I could hand out as I connected with participants as they came into the room. Here are a few:

This Is Voluntary In the spirit of adventure, find someone you don’t know, introduce yourself, and: Discover a book you have both read and what you took away from it.
This Is Voluntary In the spirit of adventure, find someone you don’t know, introduce yourself, and: Play 10 games of Rock, Paper, Scissors and see how many ‘matches’ you can get!
This Is Voluntary In the spirit of adventure, find someone you don’t know, introduce yourself, and: Make up a handshake only the two of you will know.

(These are included, with nine others, on the PDF download below. NOTE: The handout says, "Soft Start Adventure Slips" – the term I've used for Unofficial Start.)

Soft Start Adventure Slips

adventureslipes_document_cavert.pdf
File Size:	38 kb
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Process: I created the Adventure Slips document, took it to my local print shop, put the Adventure Slips on 13 sheets of bright green paper (I was expecting up to 150 participants), and settled in to cut out all the Slips (I am a frequent user of the rotary cutter at the print shop - big jobs go pretty fast once you establish a rhythm.)

After all the Slips were cut, I folded them in half and placed them into an envelope ready to travel. On the morning of the event, I put all the folded Slips into a little basket I made with one of the gear bags I brought with me – I rolled down the top of the bag to make a more rigid basket to carry:

When there was a 'critical mass' of people in the room (about 30 I think), I started wandering around the crowd with my Adventure Slips basket in hand. [NOTE: I didn't want to 'pounce' on people right away. I thought letting them settle a bit into the space would be a better idea.]

Reflecting on the experience, I realized I did gravitate to the people who made eye contact with me in the beginning and then did branch out to others I thought might be less inclined to meet me and interact (personal assumption). Some people ended up seeking me out after experiencing an 'adventure' with someone in the room. [NOTE: Full transparency – this type of impromptu interaction is a high yellow comfort zone experience for me. My brain goes to "I don't want to intrude." And I know, in the grand scheme, this 'Unofficial' mingling connection with participants is a good thing.]

Here's was my pitch: "Hello, my name is Chris. I will be your facilitator this morning. It's nice to meet you...........I'm handing out Adventures – completely voluntary – if you would like to jump in and interact with some of your colleagues before we get started. Again, completely voluntary. You are not required to go on the Adventure."

Most of the people I met took an Adventure. (I'm guessing many of them did it just to be nice, since I offered.) There were a few that said, "No thank you." I have to admit, it did tip me off balance for a second – a physiological reaction to rejection I suppose – but I moved past it quickly (reminding myself this was okay) and found someone else to meet.

Now, I can't say how many people attempted the adventures, I was busy meeting others in the room. But I can say it was fun connecting with the crowd for sure. Most were receptive to my greeting and some even asked me inquisitive questions so we could have a little conversation. Overall, it was fun for me to (make myself) interact in an unofficial capacity. (And, the client did see me "working the crowd" – I've made the assumption that this was a positive thing in their eyes.)

If I were to do this again, I might take some time to ask a question or two about the Adventures, like, "If you tried your Adventure, what struck you about it?" Or, "If you didn't try your Adventure, what prevented you from doing so?" and "What learning could be pulled from the invitation to Adventure?"

What other 'Unofficial Starts' do you like using? Share with us in the Comments.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Double-Sided Word/Picture Circle Puzzle (Print-N-Play Share)

3/1/2024

Here's a quick share from my friends Jon and Brandon. Thanks Guys!

They created this combo-circle puzzle to use during their table top teambuilding programs. There is a 13-word circle puzzle on one side of the cards (along with a direction card), and a 14-picture circle puzzle on the other side. Jon told me they designed the puzzle this way to manage the 'solving time' issue. (If you don't know about Circles Puzzles, there are links below to get you started.)

When working with a lot of table groups, I, for one, have told groups to call me over to check their puzzle solution and then I would give them another puzzle. Often times groups are waiting for me to check their puzzle so they can play again. To solve this wait, Jon and Brandon hand out this one puzzle, and when a group agrees to the solution of the word circle puzzle they simply turn over the cards and work on the picture word circle puzzle.

I was so excited about this new mental model I didn't ask Jon any questions (maybe he'll tell us more in the Comments). So, I'm guessing there will be some questions about the picture word circles, but walking around answering questions will go a lot faster than checking a puzzle answer. And, when I use this version, I will play until one table solves the picture puzzle, give everyone else 60 seconds to try and finish before I stop playing (or, I would stop playing when the allotted time was up – say, 20 minutes?

Here are some questions for you (and Jon and Brandon). Would you check the word circle puzzle before table groups move on to the picture circle puzzle? Is it necessary in relation to the purpose of the activity? What is the purpose of the activity? What can groups learn from it? What about giving hints? Would you give groups hints and will they keep the hints to themselves?

Don't know about Word Circle Puzzles and Picture Word Circle Puzzles? Check THIS post and THIS post. And, use the 'Search' feature on this page – type in Word Circle Puzzles to find lots of FREEbies.

Here's the PDF. Print the file 'double-sided' then cut and laminate for long-lasting fun.

word_picture_circles_jonbrandon.pdf
File Size:	3049 kb
File Type:	pdf

Answers? We're going to give you a couple weeks to work on puzzles. I'll bet you can figure them out!

Have fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

And So It Goes (Tabletop Tangram Teambuilding)

2/2/2024

Tangrams are my favorite brain-break (my wooden set is right behind me). Recently I was spicing up a tangrams activity and came up with this tabletop teambuilding experience for three to seven people around a table (of course you can have lots of tables in play at the same time). Let me know what you think about it – additions, variations, or other stories we could tell?

And So It Goes

Needs & Numbers: You'll need one traditional seven-piece tangram puzzle (seen above) for every three to seven players. You'll also need something to create the Frame for each group like a short rope (e.g., 5 feet) or some masking tape. Finally, you'll need one Story Sheet for each group (at right). You'll find this PDF download below.

Time: 15 to 20 minutes.

Set-Up:

This activity is designed to be played on a floor, table, or desktop.
Create a frame for the characters in the story using a short rope (shown above) or masking tape. The frame can be a square or a circle that has a diameter of about 18 inches.
Scatter the seven puzzle pieces around on the inside of the frame.
Your group(s) will be sitting around the frame close enough to reach in and move the pieces.

Directions:

Have the group(s) help set the Frame. Provide them with the materials (rope or tape) and the seven pieces of a Tangram puzzle.
Tell them the parameters of the frame (see Set-Up) and what to do with the pieces of the puzzle when the frame is complete – scatter them around inside the frame.
Hand them a copy of the story ‘And So It Goes’ (PDF Download below). Once it’s time to begin, each group, working independently, will read the story. When they come across a BOLD word, they are required to use all seven pieces of the puzzle, staying inside the frame, to build the character on the page the word is referring to.
Building: To build each character as it shows up in the story, participants take turns reaching into the frame to move one piece on their turn. Only one hand is allowed inside the frame at a time. When a participant is satisfied with how they have situated their piece, they remove their hand from the frame and may not reach in again until it’s their turn – everyone taking a first turn before anyone takes a second turn. Everyone takes a second turn before taking a third turn, and so on.
Once a character is complete, the story continues until the next character needs to be built. Participants take turns reading the story lines.
Participants are free to talk to each other as they see fit until they arrive at the horse and rider (Together) and the sleeping (laid to rest) characters – these two characters are built without talking. These characters are marked ‘Build Silently’ on the story sheet as a reminder.
If you need to, set a time limit (e.g., 15 minutes) to get as far into the story as they can. Or let the group(s) take as long as needed to get through the whole story. If more than one group is in play, you can limit the time by stopping everyone after one group finishes the story. (If you would like every group to finish their story, have a bunch of extra tangram puzzle cards to distribute that a group can work on while others are finishing – tell them about the 'Free for All' method described below to solve the puzzles.)
When you've answered all the group's questions that you can, let them get started.

Here's the Story:

andsoitgoes_tangrams_strorysheet_cavert.pdf
File Size:	322 kb
File Type:	pdf

Possible Reflection Questions:

When you found out what we were going to be doing, solving puzzles, what was your first reaction? Where do you think you acquired this response?
When it was your turn to move a piece, what do you remember thinking about?
How were you influenced by others when it was your turn to move a piece?
What part of the story resonated with you the most, and why?
Think about this for a moment before responding…what did it take from your group to solve the character puzzles? What did you do and say to be successful?
Think about the idea of diversity. How did your diversity play a part in this activity?
Was there any point during the story and building that diversity might have been a problem? What did you do about it? Is there something you want to do about it right now?

Ultimately, you’ll be solving a lot of puzzles in your life. What do you want to remember from this experience that might help you solve these everyday puzzles?
Let's take a moment to read the story again [read the story]. What does this story mean to you in relation to everyday life?

Variations:

Free for All Build: Use this with the story build (this version usually does not take as long) or use this after the story build when groups are working on additional tangram puzzle cards. When a group gets to the part in the story where there is a character to build, each person in the group can have one hand inside the frame at any time. So, together, they can be moving pieces around simultaneously until the character comes to life. This dynamic can lead to a wide-ranging discussion about the behaviors that took place. Some groups can be calm and end up taking turns. Other groups simply love the energy and chaos of all the hands building together.

Tangram puzzles can be pretty tricky. I love using them with groups to bring up the concept of perseverance. On that note, I'll give you a few answers. Your challenge is to figure out the other three. Get good at solving the tangrams you're presenting. Eventually, you get the knack of 'seeing' how the pieces work together.

Here's a traditional tangram puzzle template. Print it on card stock for a bit more durability – cut along all the black lines.

tangramstemplate_traditional.pdf
File Size:	262 kb
File Type:	pdf

Have FUN out there. Keep me posted!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.