Shark Tank, Treasure Hunt

This game is a bigger and better version of the playground classic “Sharks and Minnows”.

I was subbing as the P.E. Teacher at Lin Howe Elementary the other day. The game “Shark Tank” was planned by the regular teacher and a nice diagram was drawn to illustrate it. I had never heard of the game Shark Tank before but the diagram showed a large circle in the middle of the playing field that served as the tank. I asked Coach Doug what the purpose of the tank was and figured out that there was no real purpose for it. In other words, this was about to be a big field game of Sharks and Minnows. I thought about adding something to the tank area that gave it a reason for being there. We spread out a bucketful of bean bags within the tank boundary and told the minnows that in addition to getting safely to the other side they needed to pick up one, and only one, tresaure from the tank. That day, we had 100% participation from the students which is a rare occurrence.

Special thanks to Coach Doug and Coach “G” for helping make this game come to life and for working out the bugs in the game until the rules made sense. 

Area: Soccer field or half football field

Number of Participants: 50 – 100 participants; 3 referees.

Materials: Three long ropes tied together to make one large circle; about 15 large pylons (two colors) to delineate the playing boundary and the shark tank; about 50 bean bags; field whistle.

Set-up: Tie three ropes together and lay it in a circle out in the middle of the field that is desginated as the shark tank. Stretch the rope with 4 – 6 cones of one color (we used blue) so there is a clear boundary. Arrange other cones around field boundary. Choose 3 – 7 participants to be “sharks” who will do the chasing and have them stand in the tank area at the beginning of each round. All other participants go to one end of the field to start off as a group of “minnows”. Designate one referee in the center to organize the sharks; one referee stays on one end of the field and the third referee goes to the other end of the field fo start the minnows during each round. All referees watch for fair play.

How To Play: When the referee blows the whistle, the round begins. Minnows try to get to the other end of the field without being tagged by the sharks. If they get tagged, they must freeze where they are, even if they have a bean bag treasure. Minnows may choose to go into the shark tank and steal one of the bean bags (treasures) and make it to the other side. They may only steal one treasure each round. If more than one treasure is taken by any one minnow during a round, all minnows forfeit their treasures for that round and they are re-dispersed in the shark tank area.

Minnows who successfully make it to the other side without being tagged, whether or not they’ve picked up a bean bag treasure, are safe for that round and live to see another round. All the minnows who were tagged during the round are called in to the shark tank (I like to call out “Shark Swarm! Shark Swarm! and clap whie motioning all sharks and tagged minnows to the center for a huddle). That’s where the shark swarm gets a chance to plan their strategy for the next round. At this time also the minnows can plan their strategy to outwit the sharks. When referees see that both the sharks and minnows are ready to begin again, they blow the whistle to signal the start of the next round.

Play continues, round after round until either all the treasures are taken (minnows win) or five minnows are left (sharks win). Once a winning team is determined, the last five minnows can choose to be the next sharks or they can choose a person to replace them.

ReST Method, abbreviated

The ReST Method of Conflict Resolution is a great and thorough resolution process. But when you’re supervising a busy playground, how can we be assured that we are doing as good a job when we don’t have the luxury of spending a lot of time on the issue?

I’ve had the luxury of having a nice quiet office where kids in conflict can workd through their issues using the ReST Method. The problem is, when you’re on the playground with a busy group of kids and a conflict breaks out, how do you handle the conflict thoroughly? Lately, I’ve been doing an abbreviated version of the ReST Method which has been just as effective in getting over the conflict. The jury is out on whether it has the same lasting effects as the longer version, where the same conflict won’t break out again. This abbreviated method is like meatball surgery– it gets the kids off the bench and back on the field.

Here’s what I’m doing:

Two students come to me who have a problem with each other. Their stories about who started it or who is to blame are different. The big picture is that they need to air their grievances. I need them to know that I’m not taking either side and that sitting down and trying to figure out who did what and who is to blame is going to take a lot of time and may produce some hard feelings. Rather than that, I tell them to go to the bench or to the table or some other quiet spot where they can talk. I tell them that I want them to come to me with the same story as well as a resolution. I tell them that until they have a solution to their issue they must stay and work it out together until both are completely satisfied with the outcome. Before they go, I ask if this is something that can be solved by playing Ro-Sham-Bo (Rock, Paper, Scissors), best out of three.

In most of the times I’ve done this, not every, students have solved their own issues and it takes less than one minute. They really want to get back on the playing field so they try and rush it. The solution isn’t always perfect. Perfect is when they forget about it and play the rest of the game without incident. But the solution is mostly effective.

Many times, kids choose to play Ro-Sham-Bo to solve their issue. I use the word “choose” because there is sometimes the case where they Ro-Sham-Bo for the resolution but the loser doesn’t like it. That’s when I need to step in and remind them that they chose to solve their issue in a way that really wasn’t going to satisfy them. They were going for the quick fix and it didn’t go their way. In these rare cases, I have to spend more time with the one child and talk about “choices”.

Pac-Man

Like the action-packed video game from the 80s, this playground game is sure to make you just as anxious when you get trapped by the Pac-Men coming at you. I learned this game while substitute teaching for a PE coach. I worked with groups of 30-35 kids, all in grades K – 2nd. I taught this game in steps, introducing the “options” at the bottom later once the kids mastered the game and could handle opening it up more.

 

Object: Pac-Men try to tag all other players while all non-Pac-Men try not to get tagged.

Number of Players: 10 – 50, depending on size of court and number of “outlets” you draw.

Area: small size = volleyball court, large size = basketball court

Materials: chalk to draw “outlet” lines if you choose this option. 4 vests or jerseys to distinguish Pac-Men from “food”.

Set-up: Show players the boundaries. Choose 4 Pac-Men to be it.

How To Play: Pac-Men stay at center court until “go”. Other participants (the “food”) must stay on the lines of the court they are on. No jumping lines. And no running, ever. Both Pac-Men and “food” must walk the entire game. “Food” participants use the lines as their highways to roam around on. When they are tagged by a Pac-Man, they must sit down. As a first option, I have them sitting off the lines so all players can continue to roam freely. Once all “food” has been tagged, all players return to the center to restart the game, picking new Pac-Men.

Options: To make the game much more interesting and to accommodate more people, try these options. First, use chalk to connect playground lines. For example, if the basketball court you are playing on is next to the four-square or volleyball courts, draw a line using chalk to connect the lines, providing a new outlet for the “food”. Second, to make it harder on the “food” and easier on the Pac-Men, instead of sitting down off the lines when you get tagged, sit down on the line to create a roadblock that no one may pass.

Blind Man’s Bombardment

Junkyard games are games that are made out of the materials and area you have at hand. When kids at the YMCA in the late 1800’s had a bouncy ball and a peach basket nailed up high to a post, they began the first basketball game. Blind Man’s Bombardment was invented on the spot at Camp Sunshine at Lindberg Park in Culver City. We had a soccer ball and a volleyball and used a handball court with a high backboard wall (20 ft.). It kept some older, sports-minded campers very busy for a good hour or so.

 

Objective: Land the ball in the other team’s court before they catch it. First team to lose 16 points loses the game.

Area: A double-sided handball wall or practice tennis court wall.

Equipment: Two balls that participants can successfully throw over the wall.

Number of Participants: 8 – 12

Set-up: Divide up teams evenly. Send each team to opposite sides of the wall. Give each team one of the balls.

How To Play: Each team starts with 16 points. On “go”, teams throw their ball over the wall, trying to land it in the other team’s boundary area. When a ball hits the court inside the boundary area, that team loses a point. If a ball is thrown out of bounds, there is no penalty and there is no score; it is a non-issue. When a team has been unable to catch 16 balls that land on their court, they lose.

Adaptation: For younger players who don’t have the strength to throw the ball that high, use a tennis court. The rules need to be adapted to the ability of the players involved. Kindergarteners through 2nd graders, for example, are allowed to let the ball touch their court but they lose their point if the ball goes off their court. 3rd – 5th graders on a tennis court might have the rule that only one bounce is allowed.

 

Speed

Here’s a fast-paced card game for two players that will draw a crowd. It’s simple to play and fun to watch. I forgot about this game until I saw some campers playing it at Camp Sunshine in Culver City.

 

Objective: Be the first to use all your cards.

Equipment: One complete deck of cards, minus the jokers.

Number of Participants: 2

Set-up: Players sit opposite each other at a table. Shuffle cards and deal as follows: Count out six cards to the left pile, face-down. Count out the next six cards to the right pick-up pile, face-down. Deal out 20 cards to each player. Players place their 20 personal cards in a pile directly in front of them, face-down. This is their personal draw pile. Each player then picks up the first five cards of their personal draw pile and arranges them fanned out in their hand. Players must always have 5 cards in their hand – no more, no less. When they don’t have 5 cards in their hand, they need to pick up from their personal draw pile until that is exhausted. When one player has exhausted all the cards in their personal draw pile and their hand, they win.

How To Play: On “go”,  players turn over the top card from the draw pile on their left and put it just to the right of that draw pile, face-up. There should now be 4 card piles in the middle of the table as follows: 5 cards in the left draw pile, one card face up next to it, one other card to the right of that, and 5 more cards in the right draw pile. There should also still be one personal draw pile in front of each player with 15 cards in each.

Once the first cards are simultaneously flipped and placed in the middle, the game begins. Players must put a consecutive card from their hand on top of one of the face up cards. Players can build up or down but must never skip a number or place the same card on top of another. For example, if a face-up pile has a “6”, a player can place a “5” or a “7” on top of it, regardless of the suit or color of the card. The only thing that matters is the number or face card value. Players place their cards as quickly as possible on the face-up piles, trying to exhaust their personal draw pile and the cards in their hand before the other player. Play happens quickly. When neither player is able to play a card, they must flip a “starter” card from one of the side piles to get unstuck.

Mushpot

When I was growing up, one of the consequences for losing in Duck, Duck, Goose was going to the Mushpot. Nobody likes to lose. But nobody ever died from going to the Mushpot. I always come across one extra-sensitive camper who gets overly-emotional about losing– even if the game was non-competitve or there were no real prizes. I thought about how to desensitize kids like this to give them a thicker skin and show them it’s OK to lose. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen, right? 

Play this game early on in the camp season to show campers that losing a game can actually be OK. 

In a culture where everybody gets a trophy just for participating we may have created a generation of entitled kids who won’t try too hard to get the payoff. Enough said. No more preaching. On with the game!

 

Object: To learn how to deal with the feelings associated with losing.

Materials: None.

Area: Half-volleyball court.

Set-up: Gather participants around in a circle. Choose one person to be in the middle (the “Mushpot”).

How To Play: On “go”, all campers on the circle look at the person in the middle and shout “mush! mush! mush!” while squashing the air in front of them, pretending to mash the camper in the middle into a fine pulp. The camper in the mushpot can pretend to feel the pain and do his/her best impression of a dying cockroach (“AAAAAaaaaaagggghhhhhEEEEEEEEeeeeeee!!!”).

After all campers have gotten mushed, sit them down in their circle and talk to them about how they felt being in the mushpot. Did they die? No. Was it uncomfortable? Maybe. Did they want to cry? Probably not. Focus on the fun they had when they were in the mushpot. Later, when camp is in full swing and you’re playing games in which people get out, you can send them out via the mushpot so they can leave with a smile on their face.

Variation: Use this game when you have to get your campers to group-up or line-up. Whoever is last to the group has to be in the mushpot.

Wind In the Willows

Ever trust a group of people to have your back? It’s a rare real-world experience that everyone should have. I read about this in a book called “Games”. That’s all I remember about it. At the time, I didn’t give this game much thought but now I see it’s value as a group-building and trust exercise with lots of potential. 

 

Object: To support the person in the middle without letting them fall. To trust that your group will support you and will be gentle about it.

Materials: None.

Area: Small. 7′ x 7′

Number of Participants: 8-12

Set-up: Choose one person to be the “willow”, standing in the middle of the circle. Have all other campers circle around in a very close and tight circle so that they are less than one arm’s length away from that person.

How To Play: Have the person in the middle (the “willow”) close their eyes, fold their arms across their chest and keep their legs stiff. Huddle everyone else around the willow within an arm’s length of them, making sure there are no gaps in their huddle. On “go”, the willow will fall in any direction while the circle catches them and pushes them gently around the circle or back and forth. Think of it as a reed swaying in a gentle wind. Pushes must be gentle and on pre-approved or “safe” body areas such as shoulders, back and arms only. Nobody should be touching the willow on their stomach or waist or head or chest. Take turns so that everyone gets to be a “willow”.

Praise Circle

It’s nice to feel wanted, loved, respected, admired and get a bunch of positive feedback heaped on you from a group of people, even if they are just acting. Here’s a way to make everyone in your circle feel special. Try using it as a game early on in your camp so that campers feel comfortable giving praise freely to others. This will work well in a group of 8 – 14 but it can get interesting in a large group of 50 or more. 

 

Object: To make someone feel special.

Materials: None.

Number of Participants: 8 – 14. Try larger groups too!

Area: Half-volleyball court

Set-up: Arrange campers in a circle, with one chosen person in the middle.

How to Play: On “go”, all campers in the circle say something nice about the person standing in the middle. The statements don’t have to be true but they do have to be positive. Examples are “You’re awesome!”, “Everyone likes you”, “I like your shirt”, “Your shoes are cool”, “I want to be just like you”, “Great job”, “Woo-hoo!”, “Way to go!”, etc.   Heap on the praise for about 10 – 20 seconds then have the person in the middle choose another camper to be in the middle. Of course, they need to choose someone who hasn’t been in the middle yet.

Variation: Use this frequently in camp for a special reward such as a replacement for prizes when someone wins a game.

 

Bedbugs

I’m sure this game already exists in some way and it is called something different but I dreamed this one up the other night when I realized I have a parachute and don’t really use it that much at camp.

 

Object: Get rid of all the bedbugs so you can go to sleep!

Materials: Parachute or large blanket/sheet. About 10 – 20 balls of different sizes.

Area: Half-volleyball court

Number of Participants: 10-16

Set-up: Choose two “bedbug masters” whose job it is to make sure the bedbugs stay on the bed. Everyone else is holding the parachute at equal distances around the edges, stretched out. Place all the balls (bedbugs) on the parachute.

How To Play: On “go”, the campers holding the parachute must shake all the balls (i.e. the bedbugs) off the parachute while the players not holding the parachute (bedbug masters) throw the balls back on it. When the parachute team has successfully shaken all the balls off, they call out “Get In Bed!” and they quickly  go under the parachute before any more bedbugs can be thrown on top of it. Play continues by rotating teams so that each camper gets a chance to be a bedbug master.

 

Yummy-Yum

Here’s a game for campers who like to act silly, say silly things and still have to get to know each other better. Try using this at the beginning of camp so your campers can see how crazy every other camper in their group can be. This game will help campers come out of their shy-shells and start to participate.

 

Object: To get shy campers communicating.

Materials: None.

Area: smaller than half-volleyball court

Number of Participants: 4 – 20

Set-up: Get participants in a circle, facing inward

How To Play: One person starts by saying in a rhythmic manner: “I ate a ______” (fill in the blank). The person to their left picks up the rhythm by saying “Yummy-Yum, I ate a ________” (fill in the blank, not repeating what anybody else has eaten). Play passes until the rhythm gets dropped or someone repeats what another has eaten. The participant that messes up will suffer a consequence (e.g. sit out of game, mush pot, start new rhythm). See explanations below for consequences. Basically, when you get a good rhythm going and everyone in the circle is prepared, it goes something like this: “I ate a rock”, “Yummy-Yum, I ate a pig”, “Yummy-Yum, I ate a toad”, “Yummy-Yum, I ate a chair”, “Yummy Yum, I ate a …..” etc. Play can continue until everyone gets bored or, if it is an elimination game, when one person is left.

Consequences: I don’t like games where people get “out” but there are times when it is called for. If the consequence is “sitting out” you might want to make it fun. For example, when a person gets out, maybe they can be dismissed to wash their hands for lunch/snack. If the consequence is “mush pot” the person stands in the middle of the circle while everyone else says “Mush! Mush! Mush!” while they make a squashing motion with their hands. After the person is “air-mushed” they are allowed back to the game. The consequence I like best is to let the person who messes up, start the new rhythm. Maybe after they’ve gone to the mush pot, they can come back to the circle and start the game up again.

Magic Wish Bean Bag Toss

This is a simple game for the very young elementary school age camper. It’s a basic bean bag toss with rules that make it a creative exercise more than a physically challenging test of skill. If you don’t have the equipment, substitute trash for the bean bags and other targets for the hoops and buckets.

This game helps campers who might have a hard time listening to instructions. It also can help staff identify those campers early on.

 

Equipment: Beanbags (if you don’t have beanbags, a crumpled up piece of paper will do fine), hula hoops, buckets.

Area: Basketball court or an area long enough to accommodate all the kids in the group standing on one line. For 20 kids, you might need 50 feet.

Number of Participants: Any

Set-up: Arrange hoops and buckets or any other targets on one side of the line about 10 feet away. If campers are 8 or older, you can make this farther away. If they are under age 6, targets should be closer. Hand out one bean bag to each camper. Whatever beanbag they get is the one they get because what makes the bean bag magic is that “the magic bean bag chooses the camper”. This way, you don’t have fights over someone not getting the pretty blue beanbag that they wanted so badly.

How To Play: Line up campers on a line. Campers hold their beanbags and toss them all at the same time, on the count of 3. If a camper makes it in the target area, they get a magic wish. The magic wish only comes true if all the  following conditions are met:  a) campers all throw their beanbags at the same time,  2) no camper crosses the line to retrieve their magic beanbag until the “all clear” whistle is blown,  3) each camper retrieves their own magic bean bag, nobody else’s, and gets back behind the line. Campers keep track of the number of magic wishes they get. Downplay the role of “who got the most” wishes. Point out anybody who has not crossed the line before the whistle was blown or who threw their beanbag right on time. Let campers know you will try and trick them to crossing the line so they learn to listen.

Variation: Try this game in a big circle with one target in the middle. Instead of tallying wishes individually, make it a group effort.

 

 

 

TableBall

When kids have very little equipment to play with and lots of play time, they get pretty creative. Here’s a game I watched evolve over the course of the last three months at Farragut Elementary School in Culver City, CA.  It’s active, fun and addictive. Give it a try if you’re looking to add a new active game to your repertoire.

 

Materials: One picnic table, one playground ball (a handball works best)

Area: A picnic table that is unobstructed on the long ends by about 30 feet.

Number of Participants: Two teams of 2 – 3 players each.

Set-up: None

How To Play: Teams stand opposite each other at the long ends of a picnic table (“long end” means the part you don’t sit at). One team starts by bouncing the ball off the table top towards the other team. If the other team doesn’t catch the ball before it hits the ground on their side, the throwing team gets one point.  If the ball doesn’t hit the table top first, the receiving team gets the point. Players may throw the ball as hard or as soft as they want. Play continues until one team reaches 15 points.

I’ve seen kids throw the ball as hard as humanly possible without injury. I’ve also seen spectators sitting at the table on the bench part without incident. Once a team wins, the next challenging team may step in to play against the the winners.

Earth Day Relay

I played this with some younger P.E. classes one day, Kindergarten through 2nd grade, and it kept them enthusiastically engaged for a good 15 minutes each round. It happened to be Earth Day week so I stuck in the theme. Really, it is appropriate to play this anytime you need to keep a large group of campers busy. Special thanks to Coach Fletes at Farragut Elementary in Culver City for showing me this one.

 

Objective: Get more beanbags in your hoop than the other teams.

Area: half soccer field

Number of Participants: 20-50

Materials: 5-6 different color hula hoops; about 100 -150 plam-of-your-hand-sized beanbags

Set-up: Lay out hula hoops in a row on the ground with about 5 feet between each. Scatter bean bags in open field (farther away for older children). Divide participants as evenly as possible with at least 3 standing in a row behind each hula hoop.

How To Play: On “GO”, participants run out into the field one at a time from each team and pick up only one bean bag and bring it back, dropping it into their hula hoop. Once they have delivered a bean bag to the hula hoop, the next person in line goes out and does the same thing. Play continues in relay fashion until all bean bags are picked up. A winning team is decided by who has the most bean bags in their hula hoop.

Variation: If you have bean bags that match the color of the hula hoops, you can make the rule that each bean bag matching the color of the hula hoop is worth 2 points while all other bean bags are worth 1 point.

Clean Up Your Room

Working with the youngest groups of school-age children (pre-school, transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten) means you will need to play much simpler games. These games may seem like there is almost nothing to them but the children participating in these games really enjoy them, given their attention span and motor skill ability level. 

I came across this game while substitute teaching at Linwood Howe Elementary School in Culver City. 

 

Object: Get as many objects off of your side of the field and onto your opponent’s side.

Materials: Yarn balls or light beanbags (basically, objects that are soft enough to hit someone in the face but heavy enough to throw without rolling too far away). As a guideline, you will need about one object for every participant. Pylons or boundary markers.

Area: volleyball court or basketball court, delineated by boundary markers.

Number of participants: 10 – 50

How To Play: Divide up group into two teams as evenly as possible. “Litter” both sides with all of the playing objects. On the go signal (one long whistle) teams throw objects onto their opponents’ side, trying to clear all objects off of their own side. Balls should be thrown high in the air, not directly at opponents. Balls should be thrown in bounds, not past the opponents’ back-line. One ball per person at a time (no gathering an armful of balls). Give teams about one minute of play and then blow three short whistle blasts to end the round. If anyone throws a ball after the last whistle blast, the other team automatically wins the round. Ask players to hold up all objects nice and high to make it easy to count. Whoever has the least amount of objects on their side at the end of the round is declared the winner of that round. Start up the next round immediately after without re-adjusting the number of balls on each side.

Ancient Coin

Question:

An archaeologist, keen to make a discovery of a lifetime, unearths a coin with the date 56BC on it. She excitedly calls her museum curator on the phone to tell him about her discovery. “I’m absolutely sure it’s a fake” the curator confidently says over the phone. How can he be “absolutely sure” about this without ever having seen the coin?

 

Answer:

How would anyone in the era we know as “B.C.” or, “before Christ”, have known how many years before Christ it was? It wasn’t until after Christ or the era we call “A.D.” that years were numbered as “B.C.” and “A.D.”

Band-Aid Tag

This is a lot like Hospital Tag but much more active. Nobody gets out and, therefore, no feelings are hurt. I learned this game during a training given by PlayWorks (www.playworks.org). 

Objective: Remain untagged for as long as you can while tagging other players.

Equipment: Pylons for boundary markers if necessary.

Area: Full volleyball court for about 20 participants. Basketball court for 20 – 50. Soccer field for 50+.

Number of participants: At least 3 – 5 minimum will make for a fun game.

How To Play: All players are “it” and are also eligible to be tagged. On “GO”, players must try to tag as many others as they can while they have at least one functioning arm. If a player is tagged once, they take their right hand and place it across their chest and on their left shoulder. This is called “single sling” position. It is a signal that a person has been tagged once. A person with a single sling may continue to tag other players as well as avoid being tagged. When a person with a single sling gets tagged a second time (must be by a different player) they take their left hand and place it across their chest onto their right shoulder. This is called the “double sling” position and it signals that this person has been tagged twice.  A person in the double sling position may not tag anyone. Rather, they must  avoid being tagged a third time. When a double-slinged person gets tagged a third time (again, not by the same person), they walk out at the nearest boundary and perform 5 jumping jacks (or toe touches or push-ups, etc.) at which point they can come back in completely cured, that is, they have no slings and are able to tag others.

The game continues until most people get tired. There is never a winner since anyone who gets tagged three times can reactivate and come back in.

Remember these rules: You are not allowed to tag the same person twice in the same round. In case of a tie, resolve the conflict with Rock,Paper,Scissors. Set a tag area on the body such as “arms and upper back area only” so nobody gets tagged in the face or private parts.

Variation: To play as an elimination game, once a person gets tagged three times, they are out.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I attended a training given by PlayWorks this week. If you ever have a chance to go to a PlayWorks training, I highly recommend it. Check them out at http://www.playworks.org. They have an interactive website for games that is far superior to anything else I’ve seen. Just enter the number and age of participants, the type of game you are looking for and hit ‘enter’. It pops up a list of playground games to choose from. Easy!    The following game is from the PlayWorks training given by Kristina. Obvious Dr. Seuss reference. 

 

Object: Get the token back to the Island side of the court without getting caught.

Number of Participants: 10 – 30

Area: half volleyball court-size

Equipment: a token about the size of a tennis ball

How To Play: One person is chosen to be “it”, stands at one end of the court (Fishy Side) with the token on the floor at the line.  Everyone else stands at the other end of the court (Island Side), behind their line.  “It” turns her back to the other players and calls out “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”. During this time, the participants try to get to the token, take it and sneak it back to the other side of their Island base line. When “it” finishes reciting “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” she turns around. If she catches even one person moving, the entire group goes back to the their Island starting line. If she doesn’t catch anyone moving, play continues from that point, while she turns around again and calls out again “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”, and then turning around to try and catch people moving.

If the token gets nabbed the game is only half over. Players still must stop every time the chant ends, but “it” gets three guesses as to who is holding the token. If she guesses correctly, the token is returned to the Ocean starting point and all the participants must re-start from their Island side of the court. If “it” doesn’t guess who is holding the token, play continues as before (“it” turns around with her back to the participants, says “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”, and then turns back around to try and catch the token holder, again with three guesses.

Play ends when the Islanders have successfully nabbed the token and gotten it back to their Island.

Variation: This game can end pretty quickly if you don’t use this simple variation. Once the token has been nabbed but before it has made it back to the Island, it must be passed to at least ten people. This is what makes the game a cooperative initiative.

Conflict: Our Most Precious Resource

CONFLICT:

OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

 

It’s always been interesting to me that conflict and play seem to go hand in hand. Wherever there is play, conflict usually emerges in some way, shape or form. Call me silly but I’ve learned to love it. The name calling, pushing, brawling, etc. all leave a bad taste in our mouths but there’s actually some really good stuff that goes along with it too.

 

Conflict can be a positive experience.  But we’ve got to take a trip back to the pre-school playground to grasp what’s really going on.

 

LET THE CHILDREN PLAY!

 

My daughter went to a play-based cooperative preschool. Most people understand that a “cooperative” type of preschool means that parents work at the school as part of the staff. Not many truly understand what is meant by “play-based”. At first glance, a play-based preschool is mayhem with a bunch of activity centers set up so that children might choose what they want to explore without a set curriculum being forced onto them.

 

Sounds pretty much like a hippie commune, doesn’t it?

 

One objection that inevitably arises at a play-based school is “the students aren’t learning anything so they won’t be prepared for Kindergarten”. While many preschools pride themselves on producing children that can recite and write their ABCs, count to ten in multiple languages, identify shapes and colors and perform some impressive advanced tasks for a 3 – 5 year-old, the play-based kids seem to be left behind. You can tell who they are when they get to Kindergarten because they never learned to march in line like the academically-advanced students.

 

Conflict is at the heart of every play-based school. Conflict is what drives the learning process. It is the curriculum. The activity centers are a conduit to bring students who are age-appropriately playing side-by-side into a soft collision with those around them. When these little worlds collide at a play-based center, students learn appropriate ways to express their emotions, avoid causing physical harm and negotiate a solution. How many adults can do that for themselves?

 

The basic premise behind a play-based pre-school is to give children the tools they need to resolve their own conflicts so that they can negotiate the Kindergarten and elementary school arena effectively. Once they have conflict resolution skills in their repertoire they can focus on abstract language and math concepts at a time when it is age-appropriate to do so. In contrast, children who have an academic head start will be floundering on the playground and the social arena because those concepts aren’t being taught and they never will be.

 

All too often, the only conflict resolution skills a student learns are when a playground supervisor has to break up a fight and then benches them or sends them to the principal’s office where they end up writing standards or are forced to apologize to someone they have no intention of helping to feel better.

 

Plenty has been written about the virtues of play-based learning. The scope of this piece is not about play-based learning but rather focusing on the virtues of conflict, which I consider to be a by-product of play.

 

WHAT IS PLAY?

 

A loose definition for play is “the opposite of work”. Work involves purpose and preparation, as does play but play goes a bit deeper. To achieve its purpose, improvisation is called upon. Play must involve improvisation.

 

Let’s take a football game as an example. The purpose of football is to get the ball into the end-zone. That is achieved by moving the ball down the field. The ball is moved down the field through a series of practiced and pre-determined actions. Much like a hammer hitting a nail, if executed properly, the effect is easy to predict. But, no matter how much a play is practiced, there are always extenuating circumstances that make the outcome of each action different. This is the point where improvisation enters the equation.

 

A receiver whose job it is to run a simple down and out pattern and look for the ball must also effectively get around his defender. This involves a series of moves that occur in the moment. These are things that can’t be pre-determined. The receiver needs to read his defender at that moment and decide what is going to trick him. This is the point at which the work of football turns into play.

 

WHERE IS PLAY?

 

Play can be found on a school campus at recess, a local park with playground equipment or an organized sports team. It can take place on a plot of grass in front of your own home or in a swank casino. It can be inside or outside; it doesn’t matter. Play could be in the form of an organized game or event such as a soccer match or a pick-up basketball game. It could also be improvised such as a tag type of game or play-acting superheroes. And since play is “the opposite of work” then you can also find play when people engage in a light-hearted conversation or discussion. There is no required equipment for play; anything or nothing at all can be used to incite a playful interaction.

 

 

WHAT IS CONFLICT?

 

As previously stated, I think of conflict as a by-product of play. Here’s why: Play involves a goal in mind such as “tag the guy” or “make a touchdown” or “throw the ball through the hoop” or “make someone understand my side of a story”. There always seems to be some challenge that must be overcome whether it’s chasing a fast runner, getting around a defender, aiming correctly at the hoop while being guarded by a tall guy or striving to relate to another. This is the conflict or the challenge. Overcoming that challenge involves trying different things that may or may not work. We call this improvising. In music when we improvise, we can hit the wrong note but sometimes, if we are practiced, we hit more right notes. In football, we get tackled but sometimes we gain a few yards and make a touchdown. In basketball, we get blocked or we make the shot. In discussion, our audience understands us or they don’t.

 

THE BENEFITS OF CONFLICT

 

Every time we engage in play, conflict arises. When conflict arises, we must necessarily improvise, that is, use the practiced responses we have learned from experience to answer the challenge in front of us. If we know some basic maneuvers and practice them and learn more advanced maneuvers and practice them, we will have improved our chances of not falling into frustration. We thrive. The point is, we have a choice to either address a conflict with a practiced and polished response or we can get frustrated, give up and let it crush us.

 

Conflict presents an opportunity for growth. If we address conflict the right way, with an attitude of willingness and openness to learning, we thrive. Conflict can actually benefit us. It challenges us to be better. It proves to us that there is hope; there is usually a way to work around the problem. Finally, we feel engaged in life and empowered to create our own destiny. On the flip side, when we don’t view conflict as an opportunity and we run away from them, let them go unresolved or let others resolve them, we learn hopelessness, powerlessness, fear and become closed off to the possibilities around us. We put our destiny in the hands of others and blame them when things don’t go our way.

 

THE CASE FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN CURRICULUM

 

Handling conflict, resolving it to our liking, makes us feel good about ourselves.  For this reason alone, an efficient and effective model of conflict resolution that both empowers and validates conflicting parties to resolve their conflict in a manner that it doesn’t erupt again is necessary and prudent. Teaching conflict resolution in schools and on playgrounds will do much more than lower the reactivity of the student body during recess. It will help people at a young age internalize a coping mechanism that will serve them in their daily lives as they face tougher and tougher challenges.

 

Why aren’t our young people being offered something more substantial?

 

Are we really going to let our children grow up to learn advanced mathematical concepts, how to structure the perfect essay, become business professionals and enter into Ph.D. programs but never learn how to resolve their own conflicts in a satisfying way? These emotionally unaware adults will be ill-equipped to handle problems handed down from previous generations such as global climate change, international diplomacy issues, economic strife and dwindling natural resources. Our generation is doing all it can to kick the can down the road. The emotional awareness gained through the ability to resolve one’s own conflicts is worth investing a little extra time teaching conflict resolution (CR) techniques in the play spaces when and where the need arises.

R.e.S.T. Method: The LeaST you need to know

When you look at the play-by-play of communicating effectively it doesn’t seem like the mediator is detaching her/himself from the action. In fact, the mediator looks deeply involved throughout. Look again at the 12 steps the mediator must perform:

1. Lay down the rules: One person speaks at a time. No interruptions. Mediator has control.
2. First person tells his side of the story to the other person. (e.g. “You did this…”). Make them look at each other.
3. Second person repeats the story of the first person. Don’t let the first storyteller interrupt to correct.
4. First person explains what was left out of the re-telling of the story.
5. First person describes how he felt when the actual incident was happening. What was going on inside his head, his body? Were his fists clenched then?
6. Second person repeats how first person felt during incident.
7. First person describes how he felt as he was telling his story to the second person. What was going on inside his mind and body then?
8. Second person repeats how the first person felt during the telling of the incident.
9. Ask the first person how he feels right now.
10. Second person repeats how the first person feels right now.
11. Ask the second person what he noticed about the storyteller’s body language. “What kind of meta-messages was he sending?”
12. Ask the second person to tell his story now and repeat steps 2 through 11 for him.

 

When you are the mediator out on the playground, how will you remember all this unless you carry some kind of cheat sheet with you? Well, here is the very LeaST you should know. Notice the spelling of “LeaST”? That’s right, it’s a pneumonic device.

Keep in the back of your mind the goals: efficiency and autonomy. By “efficient” I mean we want this process to be one in which the mediator gets in there, teaches the process, steps back and never has to revisit this same problem again with the same two people.  By “autonomous” I mean that once the wheels of mediation are in motion, the two in conflict can finish the job themselves.

1. Teach them how to Listen:

Reflect back on the 12 steps in Effective Communication. The whole thing is about teaching the two parties in conflict how to listen to each other. And we now know that listening doesn’t just involve what is being said, but how it is being said through body language.

2. Teach them what to Say:

When two people are in conflict there is always someone who can talk better, use bigger words and can confuse the whole process by being a great debater. They are used to winning their battles with their words. Because conflict resolution is between two people, you will want to level the playing field so that neither party has an advantage. They need to learn how to communicate on the same level. One of the parties may need to be brought down a level while the other may need to be brought up.  While they are learning to effectively communicate with each other it helps if they have a template to lean on. Teach them to talk to each other like this:

“When you did this to me (describe what was done such as punched, called names, screamed, etc.)  I felt ____________ (describe or name the emotion) and it made me [want to] _________________ (describe the action that was taken or wanted to be taken).

The template above is helpful for those who may still be pre-verbal when it comes to describing what is going on inside their head. Not every person has an emotional vocabulary so this process won’t be easy for them. Giving them a template levels the playing field for the conflicting parties by helping the pre-verbal person have a voice while pulling back the reins on the person who is used to debating and winning. In addition, this template forces each to name the emotions going on inside of them, which is helpful to develop empathy in the relationship.

3. Give them a Task:

Once you have taught them how to listen and what to say, it is important that they know the reason for all of it. They have a task to perform. Their task is to come up with their own solution to the problem they have created. The solution must be such that it gives 100% satisfaction to both parties in conflict.

Given the rules of compromise, neither party may like the outcome entirely. They will both have to give a little in order to reach their unique resolution. By satisfaction I mean “settle” as the root suggests. Both parties settle on terms they have worked to agree on. Like a farm animal settling in for the night, a spot in the hay is worked into by pushing out lumps here and there so a nice nest is created. In the same manner, the two parties in conflict must make the best situation by agreeing to the terms that fit them (as one unit) best.

 

In summary, the very least you need to remember to effectively institute the ReST Method of Conflict Resolution, keeping in mind the goals of efficiency and autonomy, is this:  Listen, Speak, Task.

 

Greyhound and Rabbit

And they’re off, folks. Round and round and round she goes. This offers all the excitement of greyhound racing without the side bets.

Object: Don’t be the person that ends up with both the rabbit and the greyhound.

Materials: Two distinctly different playground balls.

Area: Half volleyball court.

Number of Participants: 10 – 20.

Set-Up: Have all players sit in a circle, knee to knee. Give a ball to one of the players.

How To Play: On GO, the first ball (the bunny) gets passed around the circle clockwise. When it gets halfway around the circle, the second ball (the greyhound) is given to the same player who started with the first ball. They start off by passing the greyhound clockwise again, chasing the bunny, trying to catch up. In the meantime, the people with the bunny don’t want to get caught so they try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Once they don’t have the bunny they want to pass the greyhound on quickly so as to catch the bunny. After the greyhound has made it clockwise around the circle one time, it may switch direction and go counter-clockwise. The person who has the bunny and is being handed the greyhound at the same time, is the loser. Depending on how you want to play, this person can be eliminated or can become the ball starter in the next round.

Cat and Mouse

Ah yes! That old game of cat and mouse. We know that the cat chases the mouse but we forget the fun part: the mouse tries to trap the cat. Here’s how you actually play it.

Object: The mouse tries to trap the cat before the cat catches him.

Materials: None.

Area: Half volleyball court.

Number of Participants: 10 – 20

Set-up: Choose on person to be the cat and one to be the mouse. Have everyone else stand in a cirlce about arms distance away from each other.

How To Play: On GO, the cat chases the mouse who must stay within the boundaries of the half volleyball court. They  may run in and out of the circle of people. As the mouse runs out of the circle, the players she/he ran between must hold hands, forming a closed space that the cat may not pass through. The mouse taunts the cat in and around the circle trying not to get tagged. If the mouse gets tagged, they are caught and the cat wins. If the mouse successfully traps the cat in the circle the mouse wins.

Ball Tag #1

This is what happens when you add a ball to a game of tag. It’s just automatic.

 

Object: Don’t get tagged by the ball.

Materials: A soft playground ball that still has some weight behind it for throwing.

Area: Large wide open space like a basketball court or a park playground that has some obstacles to hide behind.

Number of Participants: 2+

Set-up: None.

How To Play: One person is chosen to be IT. They must throw the ball at other players in order to get them. Anyone tagged or hit by the ball is IT.

Variation: When you get hit by the ball, you are eliminated from the game. Play continues until all players have been eliminated by the person who was chosen to be IT.

Stage Three of the ReST Method: Resolution

Once the participants have been prepared for the process and have been properly shown how to communicate, the Resolution can happen.

Oddly enough, this is the simplest part of the process for the mediator. There are three steps to observe for a Resolution to occur:

1. Mediator steps back
2. Conflicting parties collaborate
3. Publish the resolution

 

Step one: Mediator Steps Back

You’ve made your expectations clear, modeled appropriate behavior and allowed some time to pass. By now, your conflicting parties are itching to get out of there. It is here that you let them know you are going to step back and let them take over. This may mean you are going over to a different part of the room or are leaving the room altogether depending on the temperature of the two parties (discussed earlier). What it really means is that you are no longer going to be involved in their issue. To closely monitor the progress, you may need to be in the room, speaking only as a referee who helps them hear each other when necessary.

Step Two: Conflicting Parties Collaborate

As hard as it might be, do not let yourself get caught up in deciding anything about the resolution. It’s not about you. It’s not for you. It’s all about them and how they feel. It has nothing to do with what they say. It’s all about how they feel. There will be times when the conflicting parties get stumped and frustrated with each other in this part of the process. That’s normal. The most you should do here is help to keep the temperature low by having them repeat what the other has said or notice out loud what they see in the other’s metamessages.

As frustration arises between the two, remember this: A child who is learning a new skill (tying shoes, jumping rope, etc.) will get frustrated. In fact, 20 minutes of frustration while learning a new skill is a healthy thing. Frustration causes a person to improvise, digging into their creative intelligence, to find a solution. This opens up new pathways of thinking that are critical for growth.

A person thrust into resolving their own conflict is no different than a child struggling to tie their own shoes. They will whine, they will want to throw things, they will shake their fists in anger, shout out loud, etc. But before all that happens, you have given them all the tools they need to be successful in doing this on their own. Resolving their problem for them is exactly like tying their shoes for them when they get frustrated. You will always need to be there to do it for them. They will learn nothing from it and therefore will never move on from this point. They will always expect someone else to clean up their mess. And their messes will get bigger until they are taught how to clean up after themselves.

So, let them decide what the resolution will be and, as long as they are both satisified with it, accept it. Congratulate them both on resolving their own problem.

Step Three: Publish the Resolution

You might find the resolution your two parties come up with is just what you would have recommended. And many other times you will be amazed at what their resolution entails. No matter what, everyone who witnessed the conflict has a vested interest in knowing what the outcome is.

Let’s pretend that two boys are fighting over who is first in line. The resolution they decide on can range from the silly to the stern to something out of left field:

Silly: “I am going to let him go first because he is my new best friend”.
Stern: “We are both going to be at the end of the line for the rest of summer camp in everything we do.”
Left Field: “He is going to give me his potato chips and I am going to teach him how to tie his shoes”. 

What matters most in the outcome is that the two parties are both satisfied with what they have decided on together.

Now that the resolution has been decided, it must be made known. Depending on the severity of the conflict (e.g. violent schoolyard fight that everyone is talking about vs. a shouting match that almost nobody has seen) the resolution should be made known just as widely as the conflict. There are, in many cases, a whole yard full of nosy onlookers who want to know what is going to happen to “those guys who got in trouble”. The onlookers have a lot to gain by knowing what the outcome is. They can see they have nothing to fear by working out their own problems. They can also gain satisfaction by knowing that something has been done and that the two conflicting parties are no longer mad at each other. This will also enhance the respect, safety and trust around the entire playground, knowing that as problems arise they will be taken care of.

Indeed, as the conflicting parties report back to their friends, they will quiet the rumors and harmful talk that usually reignites conflicts that are resolved by the mediator.

Another advantage of publishing the resolution or making it known is that parents or even the authorities who deal with the fallout from big conflicts will begin to trust the children to handle their own problems instead of having to step in.

Lizard’s Tail or Lizard Tag

Did you know that when lizards lose their tails they can grow a new one? Of course you did. But losing your tail in this game will get you eliminated.

 

Object: Be the last “lizard” with a “tail”.

Materials: clothespins or some material you can hang out of the back of your pants as a “tail”.

Area: Basketball court for a large group; half volleyball court for smaller groups.

Number of Participants: 10 – 60. Maybe more if space allows.

Set-Up: Have participants pair up with a partner, standing one person in front of the other as if they were in a line, person in back places their hands on the hips of the person in front. Person in the rear wears the clothespin “tail” on the middle of their shirt tail. If clothespins aren’t being used, strips of material should be hung out the back of their pants so that it hangs down about 12″.

How To Play: On GO, players try to eliminate other teams by pulling off their tail. The person in the front is the “tail puller” while the person in the rear must keep both their hands on their forward partner’s hips. If hands come off, they are eliminated. The one team that has stayed together (hands on hips, tail intact) is the winner.

Ball Tag #2 (Holding Variation)

 A lot of camps are cracking down on dodgeball type of activities because too many kids go home unhappy when they get beaned with the ball. While I’m a firm believer in dodgeball games, especially for older kids, I can say from personal experience that nobody likes getting hit with a ball. 

Try this variation on ball tag when you want a fast-paced game. It combines tag with Kick the Can.

 

Object: Don’t get tagged.

Material: a soft and squishy ball that anyone can hold in one hand.

Number of Participants: Any

Area: either a nice wide open space or try it with a playground that has obstacles.

Set-up: None.

How To Play: choose someone to be IT. On GO, IT tries to tag anyone with the ball. The only thing to remember is that in order to be tagged, IT may not throw the ball at their target person, rather, they must have possession of the ball when the tag is made. Once the tag is made, the person who was IT throws the ball somewhere within the boundaries. The person who was just tagged must shag the ball and have it in their possession before they can tag anyone.

Scooter Bowling

Here’s what happens when you don’t try to stop kids from playing a game the way you intended it. In the tradition of Bernie de Koven’s “Junkyard Games” and The League, I am very proud to post this game that organically happened when I had a group of kids on their Razor Boards (inline scooters) and a bunch of boundary cones. Rather than following the established route that I made with the cones, the kids kept knocking them down, so I followed their lead and this is what we invented as a group.

 

Object: Knock down all ten “pins” in two or less attempts.

Number of Participants: one or more

Materials: Inline scooters, ten small (12″) pylons

Area: 10′ wide 30′ – 50′ long

Set-up: Arrange cones in a pyramid shape with one at the front and four in the back (like bowling pins). Space between cones should be at least as far as the base of the cones.

How To Play: One person gets two chances each turn. On their turn, a person rides their scooter down the lane and into the cone arrangement. They must not stop or go out of the lane until they have gone through the end of the cones. A “spotter” counts the cones that have been knocked down, re-places any that have slid off their mark but were not knocked over, while the rider goes back to the starting point for their second chance to knock the rest down. Scores are kept like bowling. Play continues through ten frames per person. Highest score wins.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Slide

Ever find yourself begging for mercy at the end of a Rock, Paper, Scissors bout? Cynthia Bailey from Culver City’s “Just 4 Kids” camp showed us this game at a recent training. At first, players thought, “Oh Brother!”. Once people started losing, those sentiments turned into an anguished “Oh no!”  The neat thing about this game is that you might win 3 in a row but the other person only needs to win at the right time to win it all.

 

Object: Be the last in the pair standing.

Number of Participants: 2

Area: small

Set-up: Have players stand toe to toe, left foot toe touching left foot toe. Now have players put their own right foot toe up against their own left foot heel.

How To Play: Players engage in a series of games of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winner will take their front foot and place it behind their back foot, toe against heel. The loser must slide their front foot forward until their toe is touching the toe of their opponent. Play continues until one person falls over or gives up.

Stage Two of the ReST Method: Communication

The Second Stage of the ReST Method of Conflict Resolution is Communication. In Stage One we discussed Preparation and the need to establish control over the interactions between conflicting parties. In Stage Two you will be teaching appropriate communication by modeling the behavior you expect from both parties. Make this clear to them when you begin this stage. Say: We will be starting to communicate with each other now and I will be asking you first to notice certain things and then to duplicate the way I’ve done them.

The Communication stage is all about teaching effective communication. The very specific tools we use are as follows:

-open-ended questions and statements
-reflective listening
-meta-messages
-mirroring
-validation

 
Open-ended questions and statements are those that allow the other person to give more than a one-word response. So, if you ask a question that the other person can answer “yes” or “no” to it is definitely a closed-ended question.

Let’s think about this for a minute: What’s so wrong about a closed-ended question? Going back to concept of creating a safe atmosphere as basic to the ReST Method, think of how safe a wild animal might feel when they are caged in. They don’t like, do they? They want out. Their reactivity is at its highest level because they are feeling threatened. This is not the atmosphere you want for your parties in conflict. Using open-ended questions doesn’t pigeon-hole them into an answer.

If open-ended questions and statements are tough for you, take a cue from this list and use these questions until you get used to developing your own:

-How was that for you?
-Tell me about what your thinking right now about all this?
-What’s going on inside you right now?
-Say more…
-And then what…?
-And…?

It takes very little to prompt someone to speak, and once you get them going, it might be hard for them to stop. While one person is speaking you need to make sure the other party is not trying to answer each point at the same time. Assure the listener that they will get a chance to talk later.

Reflective listening is our second tool in communication. As one person is speaking, stop them from time to time and paraphrase what they’ve said in such a way that they know they are being heard, not in a way that makes them feel they are being parroted.

Example:
Speaker: “He threw the ball at my head on purpose. He was right up next to me, he saw me and he was laughing right before he threw it.”

Mediator: “What I heard you say was that you felt he hurt you on purpose, throwing the ball at your head.”

Give the speaker a chance to correct you or affirm that you were heard. Be sure not to use blaming speech such as “He threw the ball at your head on purpose” because that will make the listener feel threatened and unsafe. they will feel that what they might have to say later will not be listened to. What you’re trying to do is show respect for what the speaker has to say, not confirm it. Reflective listening is very powerful and opens up the door to establishing respect and trust in the conflict.

Validation is much like reflective listening. Rather than focusing on what was said, you will focus on the emotion behind it. Using the example above, the mediator might say: “That must have been hard for you”. If you want to take a chance and validate the emotion directly you can say, “That must have made you very angry.”

When validating an emotion directly, it is important to know exactly what the emotion is they are expressing. Sometimes guessing the wrong emotion (in this example you’ve guessed they felt angry, but they might correct you and say “No, I wasn’t angry when they threw the ball at my head. I was sad.”) puts the mediator in the place of having to re-establish trust with the speaker. Since they obviously don’t understand what the speaker was feeling, the mediator must not be able understand anything else she/he says and is therefor on the other person’s side.
Meta-messages are the next tool we try to teach in the communication stage. We’ve covered them in a separate post to go a bit more in depth on what they are and how they appear. Basically, meta-messages are the body language a person is exhibiting. A good listener not only hears the content of what is being said and can paraphrase it, they can also interpret the emotion in what is being said. Meta-message takes that a step further by bringing the speaker’s body language to the attention of the speaker.

For example:

Mediator: “I noticed when you were describing how he threw the ball at your head, your fists were clenched and your movements were quick and forceful like a hard punch. I also saw your brow come down and your mouth tense up as you were speaking. Your voice was very loud, almost too loud for this space.”

Bringing the speaker’s movements and gestures out in the open makes them aware of feelings they might not know they were expressing. It makes them aware that they might be raising the level of defensiveness in the space. It also is a hint that they might not be showing proper respect for the process or even might be violating the trust that is established between all parties. The mediator might need to say: “These forceful movements might make your listener defensive. What do you think?”

Mirroring, our last tool, is a silent sign to watch for that signals a dramatic ease of tension. When two people are communicating and they accept each other’s statements and are on the same emotional wavelength, they start to unconsciously mimic each other’s physical stance. Try to notice this in your daily conversations with anyone you bump into. Two people sitting and chatting at the local coffee shop might sit with one leg crossed over the other or a hand might be on their chin. One person started it, but the other person unconsciously picked up on it and mimicked it. We call this phenomenon, mirroring, because it indicates an acceptance of what the other is saying. It also indicates an acceptance of the emotional state of the other.

 

Using these tools during the Communication stage, is key to promoting the respect, safety and trust during the process. Bringing them to the attention of the two parties in conflict and showing them how to use them, how to interpret them and what they mean is the way to demonstrate that they are ready to begin the final stage of the process: Resolution.

 

 

3, 2, 1

You don’t want to be in possession of the ball when the clock runs out of time. This fast-paced basketball game is just what you need to prevent one person from hogging the ball all the time.

 

Object: Make a basket before time runs out.

Number of Participants: 3+

Materials: Basketball and hoop

Area: half-basketball court

Set-up: None

How To Play: One person starts at the top of the key. They shoot the ball as the rest of the group counts down from three (i.e. “3, 2, 1…”). If the shooter misses, she/he doesn’t get the ball back, rather, whoever rebounds the ball may shoot from anywhere as long as it is within 3 seconds. Each time someone gains possession of the ball, they have three seconds to shoot. All other players should be counting down to make sure the shooter knows how much time is left on the shot clock. When  shooter makes a shot, they get two points, and they go to the free-throw line and have three seconds to shoot a free-throw. If they miss, play continues. If they make it, they get one point and they get to shoot from the top of the key. If they make it, they get 2 points and get to shoot again from top of the key. Play continues until they miss, all time they accrue points until they miss. There is no set amount of points to reach, so, play continues until players get tired.

If the shooter is unable to get the shot off before time runs out, their shot doesn’t count. If they still have it, they throw it in the air and let the other players scramble for it.

Variations: Also see “Tip In”

Who Am I?

Suffering an identity crisis has never been so much fun. I found this game on Kim’s Korner (http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/classmanagement/icebreakers.html) which has some camp standards and other games I’ve just heard of. 

 

Object: Figure out what character you are.

Materials: Sticky notes and pens

Area: small

Number of Participants: 8+

Set-up: Write the name of one famous person, fictional or real, (can be cartoon characters too) on a sticky note and distribute to participants without letting them see who they have. Ask them to attach it to their back or their forehead, wherever it may stick.

How To Play: Have participants mingle with each other. They may only ask three “Yes” or “No” questions from each person they meet to ensure that people get around.  The questions are to determine their identity. Once a person finds out who they are they either become a “consultant” by offering clues to the more difficult characters or they can sit out in the winner’s circle.

 

Stage One of the ReST Method: Preparation

The entire process of the ReST Method of Conflict Resolution consists of three stages: Preparation, Communication, Resolution. In it, the mediator begins by controlling the interactions of the two in conflict and ends up giving that control over to them.

Preparation is the first stage in the ReST Method of Conflict Resolution. It lays the necessary foundation for successful and enduring resolution. The Preparation stage consists of cutting out the excess, controlling the pacing and timing, and finally, checking emotional temperatures.

The Preparation stage starts by getting rid of the excess. If you can remember the concept of Occam’s Razor, apply it here to the unnecessary hangers-on eyewitnesses who saw it all and are hanging around to offer their expert testimony of what happened. While testimony is helpful for finding out what really happened, it doesn’t help at all to empower people to resolve their own conflict in the future. That is our goal. For this reason, you need to tell everyone who is not directly involved to go away. Those who think they are involved will quickly go away if you say “Remember, if you are involved, you will be sharing the fate of these two who are fighting.” Watch the yard clear and how quickly you will be left with the two people who have a problem with each other.

(But why don’t we care what really happened? Getting to the bottom of it all is unnecessary. The combatants will always believe what they want to believe and trying to persuade them otherwise only invites more emotion. It also sets up an atmosphere of distrust, working against the entire Respect, Safety and Trust trichotomy while setting you, the mediator, up as the expert. No, no, no and NO! The point of this method of conflict resolution is to model behavior that fosters effective communication so that it will be more easily employed in the future. Remember, you are forging a new path through a virgin field. The first time you do this, you may only trample a few bushes. As you do it more and more with the same people, you will create a highway that they will go to without thinking about it.)

 

Once you have cut out the excess participants and are down to the two combatants, you will be working to set up the pacing and timing. Here you will lay down the rules the combatants must follow or suffer the consequences, whatever they may be. I usually start here by saying the following: “You will stop and listen to me. I don’t want to hear either of you talking. There will be time for that. I don’t want to hear who did what and I don’t want to hear from any witnesses. I will tell you when to talk and I will ask you what you heard. Your job is to listen until I ask you to talk.”

The rules aren’t there to be mean or authoritarian. I’m putting time between the event and the present. At this point, I am doing all the talking and have essentially stopped the locomotive of emotions and ceaseless one-upmanship yelling about who did what. I’m getting my combatants out of fight mode and into listening mode. The more I talk, the more time there is between the event that set them off and right now. I never want to dive right into trying to solve a crisis while emotions are high. The less accusations they hurl, the more ready they are for the Communication phase.

The Preparation stage is all about pacing and timing. The more time you can put between the event, the better. Time heals all wounds, right? In this case, time is your best friend as the mediator. The more time up front you spend delivering the ReST Method properly, the less time you will need to spend on the back end resolving an issue that shouldn’t involve the United Nations.

Besides time, as mediator you are controlling the pace of the interactions. You will be asking one person one question at a time. That is all one person should be handling anyway, right? When one person interrupts the other (e.g. “That’s not true! I didn’t do that!”) it becomes two people offering their side of the story at one time. You want to not be confused, so, you will simply say “You are interrupting. We are listening to this side of the story now no matter how it might sound. This is what this person has experienced. This is what is true to them. You will get your turn. I promise.”

What happens when you control the interactions as such is that you are slowing down the entire scene allowing one person to say as much as they want until they are tired. Follow up with, “Is that everything?” just to milk it a bit. You want it to seem like an excruciating and long slow-motion scene. You are deliberately slowing down the pace of their interactions to a snail’s crawl. Why? You are sending the message that this is not a race, you are in control, you want to understand, you are listening, you won’t tolerate interruptions and there is no hurry. When they realize they are stuck here for a long time and you are not performing the usual “meatball surgery” playground resolution, they will actually relax back in their seat and take a long deep breath. Encourage that.

Now that you have successfully made a wide gap from the time of the event to now AND set the stage for how interactions will be paced, it’s time to check in with your combatants. Let’s take their emotional temperatures.

Ask one person this question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being ‘I am the angriest I’ve ever been’ and 1 being ‘I’m not angry at all’, how angry are you right now? And how angry were you when the event happened?” After they’ve both answered this question, mirror it back to them. “Wow, you say you were a 10 during the event and now you’re about a 6, you’ve come down quite a bit but you’re still angry, right?” This gives each person a chance to share their emotional state with the other, validates how they are feeling when you get it right and puts even more time between the event and the present. Checking the emotional temperature with each person throughout the resolution process indicates to you when they are ready for the final step and it helps them show each other whether they are still ready to fight or ready to heal. Finally, it shows them that you care about how they feel which fosters the atmosphere of Respect, Safety and Trust.

 

To summarize, the Preparation stage of the ReST Method consists of cutting out the excess, setting up the pacing and timing by laying down the rules, and checking the emotional temperature of the combatants. It’s the most control intensive part of the process but it allows the next stages to flow nicely.

In future posts, we will explore Communication and Resolution, respectively, the second and third stages of the ReST Method of Conflict Resolution.

Dumping Ground

What happens when two (or more) companies who produce toxic waste happen to be neighbors? A great game breaks out! I’d hate to think that this was inspired by true events.

 

Object: Have less toxic waste on your property than the other company.

Number of Participants: At least 8 per team. At least two teams.

Area: Soccer field

Materials: Use about 50 – 100 or more of the same token such as tennis balls or pieces of paper wadded up into balls.

Set-up: Establish “company boundaries” by taking a 50′ rope and tying it into a circle. This will define the area for each “company”. Set each company at least 50′ apart from each other. Spread “toxic waste” evenly within the boundaries of the two “companies”.

How To Play: On “GO”, the employees of each company may take only one piece of toxic waste from their company and dump it on the other company. Once they have done that, they may go back for more toxic waste, only taking one piece at a time. At the end of a specified amount of time, a whistle is blown and play ends. All players freeze and the referee counts the toxic waste on each company lot. They must also count the employees with toxic waste in their hands. Waste on the company grounds counts as 1 point while waste in the hands of an employee counts as 2 points. The team who has the least points (i.e. the least toxic waste in their possession) wins.

Variation: Instead of 2 teams, add a third or fourth team to make it interesting. See what alliances naturally form.

Nuclear Tag

I grew up playing this game. It had no name at the time but I’m sure my sisters called it “Everyone Against Jimmy” because, for whatever reason, I always seemed to be on my own team trying to get whatever it was they were keeping from me. Really, it’s just another way of playing Keep Away.

 

Object: Keep “it” from tagging the person with the “nuclear material”.

Number of Participants: 3+

Materials: a ball or something you can toss among players.

Area: Open

Set-up: Choose someone to be “it”.

How To Play: On “GO”, “it” tries to tag everybody. When you get tagged, you become contaminated and must sit where you got tagged. To be cured, (i.e. to get back into play), a player who has the ball must pass it to you. If “it” intercepts the ball, he/she calls out “Nuclear Explosion!” and the game ends. “It” must now pick someone to be the new “it” and start a new game.

Wheelbarrow Tag

Getting your campers to cooperate is important if you want summer to run smoothly. This simple tag game helps them reach out to others in need.

 

Object: The tagger wants to tag everybody while the taggees want to remain free.

Number of Participants: 8 – 20

Area: Volleyball court size and larger.

Materials: None

Set-up: Define boundaries with visible lines so you know when someone has gone out of bounds.

How To Play: On “GO”, the person who is “it” tries to tag everybody. Whoever gets tagged, stops where they got tagged and puts both hands on the ground and one foot in the air, waiting for someone to reactivate them by “wheelbarrowing” them out of bounds (i.e. they walk on their hands while the driver holds their legs) to the boundary. If the person who is “it” tags the driver before they make it over to the boundary, then both driver and wheelbarrow are down, waiting for someone to drive them wheelbarrow style out of bounds. A driver may, in order to save themselves, abandon their wheelbarrow at any point if they feel they are in danger. there are no consequences for abandoning a wheelbarrow; it just helps them get closer to the boundary. When a wheelbarrow gets over to the boundary safely, both wheelbarrow and driver have 5 seconds of safety out of bounds but then they must come back in the boundary and reactivate. They may run around the outside of the boundary at this time in order to avoid being tagged, and the person who is “it” may chase them but may not step out of bounds to get them. If after 5 seconds a wheelbarrow or driver has not come back in bounds, they become wheelbarrows at the center of the playing field. If “it” happens to step out of bounds, all wheelbarrows are reactivated as if the game started over. Play continues until “it” has made everybody a wheelbarrow.

Suggestion: When “it” is a slow runner, appoint another person to be “it” so that there are two taggers.

Trash Wrangler

Sometimes picking up trash can be fun. Try this when your campers have really let their trash get out of hand.

 

Object: To have picked up more trash than any other team at the end of the time allotment.

Number of Participants: At least 2 per team, at least 2 teams. Best with a full camp of 50+ to get everybody involved.

Area: Cafeteria or whatever the eating area is.

Materials: Any and all objects that do not belong left behind in the eating area such as paper bags, apple cores, straws, etc.

Set-up: After lunchtime institute this game. Have one representative from each group (preferably a counselor or someone who can be impartial) stand near a trashcan  as their base with their foot touching it. Call them the “guards”. The rest of the group can be started from wherever they happen to be.

How To Play: On “GO”, all participants who are not “guards” must kick any trash they see to their group “guard”. The “guard” must stand with one foot touching the trash can and may not leave that area. As their group kicks the trash their way, the guard counts all the pieces his/her group is responsible for wrangling. Then the guard picks up each piece that is counted and stows it safely inside the trash “corral”. After 3 – 5 minutes, play ends and trash guards tell their scores. Winning team has the most trash.

Kick the Stick Relay

Talk about making something out of nothing… This is a typical Junkyard Game a la Bernie DeKoven. When you find stuff laying around, make a game out of it!

 

Object: Be the first team to complete passing the stick to all your team-mates, along a relay course.

Number of Participants: 5 – 10 per team, at least two teams

Area: full volleyball court

Materials: one “stick” per team (A stick of about 18″ long by 1/2″ in diameter will do). Broom handles work well.

Set-up: Divide up teams with half at opposite ends of a the course. Set one stick in front of starter on each team.

How To Play: On “GO”, starters kick sticks down the field to the team-mate on opposite end. Once they get it there, team-mate kicks it back to starting end. Play continues until One team has transferred the stick back and forth the pre-determined number of times.

Variation: Try kicking the stick along a relay course that is not straight or is fraught with obstacles before it is handed off to a team-mate.

Volcanoes and Craters

Some people like volcanoes, others like craters. Whatever your preference, this game will tire out the most energetic of campers. 

 

Object: Be on the team with the most discs displaying your side.

Materials: About 20 low mound pylon markers (also called disc cones). They are about 10″ in diameter, rise about 3″ off the ground and have a 2″ hole in the center. Sitting right-side up, they look like a low-lying volcano. Upside-down they look like a crater.

Number of Participants: two teams of at least 3 on each. Up to 10 on each if you have up to 50 disc cones.

Area: Half volleyball court or a circle of about 20″ in diameter.

Set-up: Place half the cones as craters and the other half as volcanoes, scattered randomly around the inside of the boundary. Divide participants up into two even teams, name one the “Vulcans” and the other the “Moonies”, and have them start around the outside of the boundary.

How To Play: On “GO”, all players go into the circle. Moonies try to turn all the discs to craters; Vulcans try to turn all the discs into volcanoes. At the end of a specified time, all players get out of the circle and the winner is determined by the team with the most discs turned in their favor.

Kick the Can

This game always reminds me of summer right around dusk. I was about 4 years old when I first encountered this game. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me at the time. Now I realize that the other kids who were about 7, 8 and 9 years old, were all cheating and trying their best to not be “it”. 

 

Object: To stay hidden and try not to be “it”.

Materials: a tin can of any size, empty.

Area: large

Number of Participants: 4 – 12

Set-up: Start off with one person chosen to be “it”. Mark a spot in the middle of the playing area where the can will be placed. All players start at the center, around the can.

How To Play: On “GO”, one person kicks the can as hard as they are able. Everyone should go and hide at this point. Once the person who is “it” gets the can and puts it back on the center spot, they can begin looking for all the other players. When someone is found and “it” is standing at the base, “it” calls out their name and hiding place and that person must come back to the center and wait for the game to end. If “it” is away from the base searching for players, they may tag players in lieu of being at the base and calling them out. While “it” is looking for other players, those players try to get back to the center and kick the can off the base before they are tagged or called out. When the can is off the base, all players who were previously captured may run and hide again while “it” returns the can to the base. Play goes on until “it” has found everyone without the can being kicked away. Last person found may choose who is “it”.

 

Dragon Race

Celebrate the year of the dragon every 12 years? No way! Here’s a relay race that is fun (and challenging) anytime.

Object: Be the first dragon across the finish line

Materials: None

Number of Participants: At least 8 per team, any number of teams can compete against each other.

Area: Basketball court size

Set-up: Establish starting line at one end of the course and a finish line at the other. Add obstacles as desired and depending on the age of participants. Line up all teams at starting line. Have people on each team stand a little less than arm’s distance behind the team member in front of them. Everyone crouches over and puts one hand (let’s say their left hand) between their legs, reaching out to the person behind them. The person behind them holds that hand with their right hand. We now have a train with a very fragile link.

How To Play: On “GO”, the teams move toward the finish line as fast as they can without breaking a link. First team across the finish line wins.

Adaptations: Depending on the agility and age of the participants as well as the purpose of this exercise, you can try one of two adaptations:

1) add obstacles
2) make it a relay whereby each team is split in half (half the team on the starting end and the other half at the other end) and have one person start by running down to the other end, connect “dragon-style” with the first person in line, move back to the starting area and pick up the next person “dragon-style”. Play continues going back and forth, linking up sections to the dragon until a complete dragon makes it down to the other end of the court.

Downplaying the Role of the Educator in Conflict Resolution

   The small “e” in the “R.e.S.T. Method” reminds us to downplay the role of the educator and to act more like a coach.

   Here’s a worksheet-style synopsis to illustrate the difference between an educator and a coach. In the R.e.S.T. Method of Conflict Resolution, the mediator needs to be more like a coach in order to gain respect and trust from the conflicting parties as well as to establish an atmosphere of safety. 

 

DOWNPLAYING THE ROLE OF “EDUCATOR”

EDUCATOR                                                               COACH

-Educates                                                                       -Collaborates

-Didactic                                                                        -Self-discovery

-Closed-ended questions                                         -Open-ended questions

-Expert Model says (“This is the reality”)           -Coping model (“What is the reality?”)

-Sherlock Holmes                                                     -Columbo

-Gives directives                                                         -Offers examples
“Here’s what to do”                                                    “Here’s what some have done”

-Leads with thought                                                 -Leads with emotion or affect

-Teaches patterns to follow                                    -Allows students to self-discover

-Structured                                                                   -Semi-structured

-Assigns homework                                                 -Encourages personal experiments

Golstrom

Like Maelstrom combined with a Goal in mind, this game is a great mixture of different sports and the respective equipment. I found it here: http://www.junkyardsports.com/golstrom/
and have adapted it accordingly to minimize injury… Play on!

 

Objective: Score as many goals as possible.

Materials: Various sports equipment… in this case to demonstrate we’ll use a plastic baseball bat, whiffle ball, soccer ball, football and kicking tee, frisbee, handball and a volleyball. Use either pylons or a soccer goal to mark the goal area.

Area: At least 25′ length by 20′ width… the area appropriate for a penalty shot in soccer.

Set-up: Lay out sports equipment in order on a line parallel to the goal about 20′ away.

Number of Participants: Unlimited, however, only one Goalie at a time and one Shooter at a time may interact. All other players stay in a line in the safe zone until the equipment has been reset for the next round.

How To Play: The Shooter steps into the firing zone and delivers each piece of sports equipment as it is naturally delivered, trying to make it past the Goalie, into the goal. For example, the bat is used to hit the whiffle ball into the goal. The soccer ball must be kicked into the goal. The Football must be kicked into the goal from a tee. The frisbee must be thrown into the goal. The handball must be hit into the goal. The volleyball must be spiked into the goal.

The Goalie scores a point for each blocked or missed shot. The Shooter scores a point for each goal.

After all equipment has been exhausted, it is reset for the next player. The Shooter becomes the Goalie and the old Goalie goes to the end of the line to await their turn as a Shooter.

Variations: There are any number of variations with the equipment. For instance, instead of using a bat and whiffle ball, use a tree branch and a plastic bottle. Whatever you use, remember to be safe! These are dangerous projectiles being launched at the Goalie and could cause serious injury. Maybe back up away from the goal for harder objects. Use good judgment.

 

Zipper Line-up

Get your campers to form a pole-to-pole line up nice and zippy with this game. This line-up game is a nice transition into pole-to-pole relay type of races such as “Running With Scissors”. 

 

Object: Line up in two lines pole-to-pole
(Looks like this:  OOOOOOO       OOOOOOO)

Set-up: Ask your campers to find one partner and line up on a straight line facing each other. Looks like this:      OOOOOOO
OOOOOOO

Number of Participants: Any

Area: a long line

How To Play: On “ZIP”, the leader walks between the two lines. As the leader walks between the lines, the camper-partners split up like a zipper. The first partners to be unzipped will go to the far end of the area, ending up being the last in a line. The last to be unzipped simply take one step backward. You should end up ready for a face to face relay or contest such as “Running With Scissors”.

The “e” in the R.e.S.T. Method of Conflict Resolution

Establishing an atmosphere of Respect, Safety and Trust is the foundation of the R.e.S.T. Method of Conflict Resolution. The small “e” is an essential part of this method so I like to save it for a separate discussion. The “e” is intentionally not capitalized to provide a mnemonic reminder to downplay the role of what I like to call the “educator”.

Educators come in many forms and I don’t intend this to be a condemnation of educators in any way. Given, we are able to learn from just about anyone if we are open to them. Our closest friend could be considered an educator in that respect. What I want you to get when I use the term “educator” is the picture of a more traditional teacher, instructor or professor– someone standing at the front of a class as an authority on a topic and giving a lecture. Get that picture in your mind.

Now picture a “coach”. The coach is not someone who stands in front of a class delivering a lecture. A coach stands beside you, more like a friend, who is trying to take your style and  redirect the ineffective parts of what you’re doing into something more efficient and useful. A coach is a less formal, tends to wear sweaty gym clothes and uses non-technical language that is easily understood.

Side-by-side, the stereotypical coach and the educator look very different. The educator stereotype is a stern, unwavering, scowling and even punitive presence. On the other hand the coach appears bumbling, slow, shallow and with a silly smile on his face. What we are trying to achieve is a non-threatening, non-invasive, non-authoritative presence that conveys to the conflicting parties the sense that they aren’t in trouble but that they will have to come up with their own solution.

The coach mindset works for a number of reasons. First, your role as mediator is to help find the most effective solution rather than dictate what you think is best. Remember, you are there to collaborate rather than educate. The educator mindset tells the two conflicting parties what the resolution is. The coach mindset lets the parties discover what fits the situation best for them. Sometimes it’s funny what the parties decide upon that will make them both happy.

Two kindergarteners were recently fighting over who will play with a ball first. Neither would let go of the ball. Both had valid reasons for why they should go first. And the funny part is, this conflict would have gone on until recess ended. An educator mindset would solve the problem by deciding on who will go first or they may flip a coin and tell them to take turns after that. The conflict would have stopped and they could have gotten on with their play quickly. The next day, the same conflict would probably pop up again because they weren’t allowed the frustration and discovery process of coming to their own resolution. That’s what I call meatball surgery! Do you know what their resolution was? They went and played tag instead! But the resolution process showed them how to take turns speaking, the other one listening and paraphrasing what was said, and talking about their feelings. The resolution process made them realize that their fight was making the other very upset.

The coach mindset resolves this situation differently. The coach mindset comes in and fosters the discovery process between the two. It takes more time on the “front end” to come to a resolution but that’s only for this one time. The next time the same conflict arises, both of these parties has already established their method for resolving this conflict so the conflict should be short-lived. They know what to do because they invented the solution. And the best part is, the process no longer requires a mediator.

Here are some concepts to remember when applying the coach mindset and downplaying the role of the educator:

• Collaborate rather than educate (“How can we solve this?”)
• Help them to discover something about themselves rather than tell them what you think is going on. (“What I’m hearing is this… Is that what you were saying?”)
• Ask open-ended questions rather than “yes” or “no” questions.
• Ask how they do something (Columbo* model) rather than suggesting how they did it (Holmes model).
• Lead with affect (“I feel…”) instead of thought patterns (“I think…”)
• Don’t say “do it” (set a pattern to belief) rather, say “you can do it” (encourage self-talk to belief) which leads to empowerment.
• Partially structure your interaction rather than fully prepare a lesson.
• Help to set up personal experiments rather than give homework.

 

*Columbo was a doofus detective on TV in the 1970s. His line of questioning seemed to come from left field until the end of the show when he puts its all together for the villain who is always amazed that they were caught by such a bumbler.

Balloon Relay Race

This is a nice end to the Trilogy of balloon-oriented activities.

 

Object: Be the first team to move your balloons down to the opposite end of the field with all balloons popped and picked up.

Materials: As many inflated 9″ balloons as you can get (at least one per participant).

Set-up: Either hand out an equal number of balloons to each participant ahead of time or have them in bags at each team’s starting line.

Number of Participants: 20+ (works well with about 10 players on each team, so you could have multiple teams depending on the number of balloons and players.)

Area: Basketball court

How To Play: Teams line up on same end of field, behind the starting line. On “GO”, first player in each line takes a balloon, places it between their legs and either hops or runs down to the other end of the field (no fair using hands on the balloon), sits on their balloon to pop it, picks up the pieces and puts it in their trash can, then runs back and tags the next player in line to go. If the balloon should come loose, the player must stop and put it between their legs before they can continue in the race. Play ends when one team has popped all their balloons at the other end and picked up their trash.

Before a winner is declared, a count must be done as follows: Count the number of balloons that were successfully shuttled to the proper end of the court. Subtract one point for each piece of balloon trash found that wasn’t successfully placed in a trash can.

Variation: Rather than having one person run down with a balloon between their legs, have two people run down together with a balloon squished between them. No fair using hands. At the other end, the balloon must be popped by the two squishing up hard against each other. This won’t work well with smaller participants.

 

 

Balloon Inflate Race

Play this game when you need a bunch of balloons inflated and then bagged. Transition into Balloon Foosball or Balloon Relay Race or more. 

 

Object: Blow up a specified number of balloons in the amount of time given.

Materials: Enough for each person to have ten balloons.

Set-up: Hand out uninflated 9″ balloons to all participants. Divide group into two teams. Line up facing each other.

Area: Half volleyball court.

How To Play: Players have 5 minutes to blow up balloons. When they blow up a balloon, they need to run it down the line to the person on the end whose job it is to count their team balloons. It gets tricky with people running to and from their places so the counters will need to act more like impartial referees.

Balloon Foosball

Got a big group of people who are looking to have some fun without exerting a lot of energy. This just might do it. I found this game in Sam Sikes’ Executive Marbles book. Play this game right after you have a Balloon Inflate Race, making everybody blow up 10 balloons as fast as they can.This game can transition into other games that require balloons such a Balloon Relay Race.

Object: Get as many of your team’s balloons into your goal before time runs out.

Materials: As many balloons as you can (at least 1 per participant); the largest trash can liners you have (one for each goal); pylons or rope or tape to mark the goal area.

Set-up: Blow up balloons as described in Balloon Inflate Race and pass them out to all participants in the play area. If you have three goals, you should have an equal number of three different color balloons. If you have four goals, you will need an equal number of four different color balloons. Mark a 5′ x 5′ square goal area on each end of the court that only the goalie can move around in. Hang a paper sign in each goal area to denote which color balloon goes to which goal. Line a large trash can with at least one trash can liner (if you have a lot of balloons, consider having multiple trash can liners to fill up with balloons.

Area: large. A full basketball court for a group of 60 – 100. Volleyball court for 20 – 60.

Number of Participants: 20+ (Best with 60 – 200)

How To Play: All balloons should be in the hands of players at the start. Participants scatter themselves about the play area as well and choose a space to pivot around in. On “GO”, players “bop” the balloons to their team-mates towards their goal. Players must keep one foot planted in one spot throughout the whole game (like a pivot foot in basketball). The only people who may move freely are the goalies, and they may only move within their 5′ x 5′ area. Participants “bop” the balloons (no handing or passing) towards their goal and attempt to get it to their goalie who stuffs the balloons into the trash liners. Play continues until one team has more balloons in their liners at the end of the time limit or when all the balloons are used up.

Adaptation: If there is more space than balloons you may want to designate one “floater” on each team who roams around the floor bopping their balloons towards their team-mates. Or, you may want to allow goalies to roam throughout the entire room, except for the other goalie area, so that they may push balloon towards the floor participants and get more balloons into play.

Mind Puzzler Answers

1. I’m overworked and underpaid
2. Foreclose
3. Long Week
4. Paradise
5. Oh gross!
6. Neon Light
7. Long Time, No See
8. Broken Timing
9. Three Blind Mice
10. Forum
11. Hang In There
12. Water (H2O)
13. “I” Before “E” Except After “C”
14. Scrambled Eggs
15. Tennis Shoes
16. Tuna Fish
17. Hero Sandwich
18. Line Up Alphabetically
19. A Long Time Between Dates
20. More Often Than Not
21. Challenge By Choice
22. It’s A Small World After All
23. Tooth Decay
24. Cyclone
25. Quit Following Me
26. Just Under The Wire
27. Low Income
28. Jack In The Box
29. Head Over Heels In Love
30. Excuse Me
31. Dashed Hopes
32. Two Peas In A Pod
33. Bend Over Backwards
34. History Repeats Itself
35. Square Knot
36. Double Vision
37. Just In Time
38. Space Invaders
39. Green With Envy
40. Banana Split
41. Mixed-up Kids
42. Love At First Sight
43. Six Feet Under Ground
44. Repeat Performance
45. Absentee Ballot
46. Midnight Rendezvous
47. Running Ahead of Schedule
48. Three Degrees Below Zero
49. Paradox
50. Misunderstanding
51. Backwards Glance
52. Look Both Ways Before Crossing

Mind Puzzlers

Twenty minutes of frustration each day is a good thing as long as there is some resolution. People thrive and grow when they feel successful. Try and unravel these Mind Puzzlers. Look for the answers in the “Mind Puzzler Answers” post. 

1.

__PAID__
 __I’M___
WORKED

2.

CLOSE
CLOSE
CLOSE
CLOSE

3.

WEEKKKK

4.

DICE
DICE

5.

0! 144

6.

KNEE
LIGHT

7.

T   I   M   E
ABDE

8.

TIMING  TIM   ING

9.

MCE
MCE
MCE

10.

2UM + 2UM

11.

THHAENRGE

12.

HIJKLMNO

13.

IE CEXCEPT

14.

EGSG

15.

ISSUE ISSUE
ISSUE ISSUE
ISSUE ISSUE
ISSUE ISSUE
ISSUE ISSUE

16.

NA FISH
NA FISH

17.

SUPERMAN
LUNCHMEAT
BATMAN

18.

EILN PU

19.

1935 ALONG 1975 1983

20.

OFTEN
OFTEN NOT
OFTEN NOT

21.

CHOICE CHALLENGE

22.

ALL WORLD

23.

2TH DK

24.

CY CY

25.

ME QUIT

26.  THE WIRE
            JUST

27.  COLOWME

28.  BJAOCKX

29.  __HEAD____
          LHEOEVLSE

30.  XQQME

31.  H-O-P-E-S

32.  PpOpD

33.  BEND REVO

34. HISTORY HISTORY

35.

KN
OT

36. VVIISSIIOONN

37. TJUIMSTE

38. VAD ERS

39. GREENNV

40. BAN ANA

41. SIDK  DKIS

42.

SIGHT LOVE
SIGHT
SIGHT

43.

GROUND
 FEET FEET
FEET FEET
FEET FEET

44.

PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE

45. BALLO

46. NIRENDEZVOUSGHT

47. RUNNING SCHEDULE

48.

__0__
B.Sc.
M.Ed.
Ph.D.

49.

Dr.
DOCTOR

50.  STAND
         MISS

51. ECNALG

52. LOOK KOOL +ING

Underdog

Help Underdog save Polly Purebred from Riff Raff. Yes, this game is based on the characters from the old Underdog cartoon. If you remember it, Underdog was much like Superman except that to change from his mild-mannered self into his super-hero identity, he had to take a pill that was in a ring he wore. Since this wasn’t a good message for kids growing up in the drug-infested 70s, they took Underdog off the air and probably replaced it with something featuring good old guns. 

This game is part of the second module in the “Fly-By-The-Seat-Of-Your-Pants” workshop.

Object: Find Polly Purebred before Underdog loses all of his super-hero powers.

Materials: Three distinctly different pebbles or buttons or tokens.

Area: Half volleyball court for groups up to 20.

Number of Participants: 10 – 20

Set-Up: Arrange group in a circle, sitting or standing. Choose one person to be Underdog who stands in the center. Give buttons to three different players in the circle (e.g. red, blue, yellow).

How To Play: This is a lot like “Hide the Button” (see post). On “GO”, players pass buttons around clockwise behind their backs. When Underdog says “Have no fear, Underdog is here”, stop passing the buttons and hold them so Underdog doesn’t know who has them. (Do not hold more than one button at a time). Underdog then chooses one player in the circle. If they don’t have a button, Underdog gets another guess until he has guessed up to three times. If he has guessed three times and no button has been discovered, then a new round of button-passing begins until Underdog counts to ten and reappears saying “Have no fear, Underdog is here”.

When Underdog chooses a person who has the red (Riff Raff) button, Underdog suffers a Consequence (e.g. have to run around the room three times singing the National Anthem). At this time, a new Underdog is chosen.

If Underdog chooses the person who has the blue (Power Pill) button Underdog gets an extra free guess and is immune to the red button only during this free guess.

If Underdog chooses the person with the yellow (Polly Purebred) button, Underdog gets to give a consequence to the holder of the yellow button (e.g. Every 2 minutes during the next game, he/she must shout out a very loud and very effeminate “SAVE ME UNDERDOG!” or “You’re so wonderful Underdog”).

When Underdog finds Polly Purebred, a new round  begins with the old Underdog choosing a new Underdog.

 

Hula Hoop Pass

Ever try one of those really frustrating group initiatives that take hours to get through? This is not one of them. Here is a low-level teambuilding exercise that will allow groups to feel successful before they try the tougher initiatives and get really frustrated.

Object: Pass the hula hoop to every person in the group without breaking the chain.

Materials: a hula hoop

Area: half volleyball court to half basketball court

Number of Participants: 10+

Set-Up: Have all participants stand in a circle holding hands. Put a hula hoop on one person’s arm before you close the circle.

How To Play: On “GO”, have participants pass the hula hoop to the neighbor on their right by stepping and ducking through it. Play continues until the hoop has gone around the circle once.

Variations: 1) Try passing it without letting it touch the ground. 2) Try to beat the clock or go for a personal best record. 3) Break large groups into two groups and have them race each other.