The Cotton Ball Machine

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Before I explain The Cotton Ball Machine, I have to give a shout out to Kathy, Mia and some savvy kids for sharing with me. I love to share and I love it when others share so I can share that!! One share can lead to so much FUN! Thanks friends! 

What's interesting about this sharing is the initial link - from Advanced Dental Care, Activities to Make Kids Smile. (I really like Game 2 on this first page). How many of you would go to a Dental site to find team building ideas? Right! 

Okay. now I'm digging into the links on the initial page. I go to ZOOM Games (a PBS Kids show). I dig around here a bit (at this point I'm having too much fun!!) I get down to the Physical Challenges section and click on One-Handed, Blind-Folded Cotton Ball Transfer (the title catches my eye because I like easy-to-find resources). I think, "So how can we turn  this into a team building activity?" We can find cotton balls most anywhere and plastic spoons, no problem. You don't even need blindfolds, you can ask players to close their eyes. Okay, what can we do? Here's what I'm thinking at this point: 

The Cotton Ball Machine
(Many of you will see this one as an alternative to Pipeline.)

Here's what you need:

• 12 Plastic Spoons (for a group of up to 24 players - more players, more spoons)
• 1 Big Bag of Cotton Balls (at least 100 count) 
• 1 Gallon-size zippy lock plastic bag (to store and collect cotton balls)

Here's how to play: 

Objective: Given five minutes, move as many cotton balls as possible to the Finishing point.
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• Pour out the cotton balls on the floor or ground in any area, indoors or out. This will be the "Starting" point. (Now, I'm thinking you could spread them out a bit for easier access, or keep them in a big pile so the group must figure out how to get at them.) 
• Determine your "Finishing" point. Measure off five feet for every player in the group. It can be a straight shot to the finish or wind around the room you are using - be sure everyone knows the path. Drop off the, now empty, zippy bag at the Finishing point. 
• Gather around near the cotton ball Starting point. 
• Pair up players. (If you need to make a group of three, one sighted player can manage two unsighted players.) 
• Give each pair of players a spoon. 
• Spoon Rule: The player holding the spoon is asked to close his/her eyes. In fact, any time anyone is holding a spoon his/her eyes are closed. 
• The sighted player in the pair will (only) verbally guide his/her partner during the activity. Partners can hand off the spoon anytime - the Spoon Rule is always in effect.  
• Cotton balls CAN ONLY BE touched, picked up and moved with the spoons. If a cotton ball is touched by anything other than the spoons, the cotton ball is returned to the Starting point. 
• Cotton balls cannot be moved/rolled/pushed along the ground - when in motion towards the Finishing point they must be held up in the air using the spoons. . 
• If a cotton balls falls to the ground it can be scooped up with a spoon and then continue to move towards the Finishing point. (A cotton ball does not need to be returned to the Starting point if it falls to the floor/ground.) 
• Transportation Rule: A player transporting a cotton ball may not pass, or cross paths with, a player holding an empty spoon. (I'm thinking this rule could lead to a few possible problem solving solutions. What this means to me is that players can walk towards the Finishing point - being lead by their partners - with a cotton ball on their spoons. However, a player or players without a cotton ball on their spoons may not go back to the Starting point if their is someone with a cotton ball on a spoon in-between them and the Start.) If this rule is broken, the group forfeits five cotton balls from the ones already collected. 
• Once a cotton ball is successfully transported to the Finishing point (plastic zippy bag) it must be placed in the zippy bag. The cotton balls in the zippy bag are counted as the group's score after five minutes. 

After working The Cotton Ball Machine for the first time you can lead a processing session to find out what worked well and what didn't. Then, if you have time, you could offer the group another attempt to see if they can improve their score. How will their planning session go with the knowledge they shared during the processing session? 

Okay! Have at it my friends. Let me know how it goes. And do let me know if you adapt the rules in order to meet the needs of your group. Especially the Transportation Rule. I really want to find out how groups work within this parameter. 

Have FUN out there. Keep me posted!

One final SHOUT! Thanks for the share my friends. You are awesome! 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.