Tag Archive

Tag Archives for " Cooperation "

the ultimate name game: Everyone is someone else.

“What was your name again?” is a question your hear all the time, especially during a training or at a meeting. The ultimate name game plays with this idea. The ultimate name game is, like the activities described above, a good way to get acquainted.
This activity promotes
     • acquaintance
     • contact
     • energy
     • fun
     • many more
Required material
     • name tags (to pin or put down and a marker)
Game sequence / instruction
You will see during trainings or seminars that after registration, you will receive a name tag that you can pin on your shirt. This also happens in training rooms in the form of a folded card on the table.
With this method you give each participant a card that is not his/her own. It is then the first task of that person to find and hand over the name card owner.
How you organize it exactly is up to you. Examples: you consciously pin the wrong card on arrival at the participant (or you let someone of your team do this) and tell them that they will soon be told why they did not receive their own card.
Or allow the participants to enter the room and they will find a ticket in their seat. But you ask them to pin it and then find the owner. Extra assignment: Let them discover why they have just received a card that belongs to somebody else (search for community).

The Lunch Game

Hey everybody,

Check out this video from our new friend Herman Otten. He make video’s on teambuilding activities and icebreakers.

In this video he explains the icebreaker called The Lunch Game.

This is how it works:

First, you assemble all the participants in a circle, then you divide the group by three. As a result you get multiple groups of three. So for example if you are with a group of fifteen, you get five groups of three people. Secondly, you tell the groups to each come up with a assignment. This assignment can be anything they want it to be, as long as it can be done during lunch. Then each group passes their assignment on to the next group. (group 2 get their assignment from group 1, and 3 from 2, etc.). Lastly each group goes to lunch and does their assignment. Afterwards you show each other what you have accompliced.

On his Youtube channel you will find some variations.

 

Energizers!

Susan Lattanzi Roser

Content

Energizers! contains 88 energizers for children. The motto of the book is “To learn well, children need to move!” The idea behind the book is that children learn better when the exercise and let their energy out. In Energizers! you will find energizers that are easy to teach and learn. There are energizers for every age and include suggestions and variations to make sure that the fit the group. The activities are labeled by grade level. The energizers can help to calm the children down but also to stimulate them. And they can be done anywhere, Inside and Outside, in a circle, or waiting in line.

Appearance

Energizers! starts with 12 tips on how to use the energizer which is very convenient. Roser explains the energizers very good. On the side of the page is helpful information such as the pronounciation of certain words or for which grade the activity is suitable. The pictures in the book look really nice and match with the philosophy of the book. Energizers! uses music and rhythm to get the children engaged. A lot of the energizers involve singing or clapping. The writer has a lot of experience with chilren and learning and combines this with a love for piano.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here.

The Big Book of Team-Motivating Games

Mary & Edward Scannell

Content

In The big book of team-motivating games you will find games that improve cooperation, communication, and spirit. If you have difficulty trying to create a great atmosphere, this is the book for you. It will help promote interaction betweem team members and it encourages a culture of cooperation. It also improves atmosphere, it can help to motivate the team and make something fun out of a boring meeting. This collection of High-energy games will give you the tools to tackle problems suchs as low team spirit, bad communication, distrust.

Appearance

The big book of team-motivating games starts with an introduction. This intruction tells the basics of team-motivating. Then you get a page called ‘You Key To Succes’ which expains step by step the best way to motivate your team. The writers of the book use sometimes quotes to make a point more and this can be very clarifying. The games are high energy and can be played in or outside of the office. And best of all need no or very few props.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here.

 

 

Silver Bullets: A Revised Guide to Initiative Problems, Adventure Games, and Trust Activities. 2nd Edition

By Karl Rohnke

Content

Silver Bullets is used effectively by many people from teacher, counselors and therapist to church leaders. But it can also be very effective if you are for example a camp director. Silver Bullets is great when dealing with initiative problems. It contains a lot of adventure games and trust activities. The activities in this book will bring people together, help building trust, break down barriers. But most of all it will provide a enthusiastic vibe amongst the group.

The activities are adaptable to every age.

 

Clap clap

A very simple energizer which can give a lot of new insights is ‘Clap Clap’. (I love it when it’s more than just an energizer).

The participants stand in a circle. You as the trainer start by making a quarter turn with your body and look at the person which stands left to you. While you are making eye contact with this person you clap in your hands. Ask the other person to clap in his or her hands at the same time. Ask him or her to turn to the person which stands left from him or her and to do the same.

In this way you can make a cycle until everyone has participated.

After this you can do it again and challenge the participants to clap at exactly the same time. This happens best if people make contact with one another.

You can challenge the participants by asking them to do it faster. Or you can ask them to choose between clapping at exactly the same time or not clapping at exactly the same time.

This is always hilarious and can give a lot of insights in making contact, cooperation and focus.

Maze alive

A hilarious energizer. It’s playing tag with surprising twists.

Deze activiteit bevordert:

Here is the instruction:

Time: 5 – 10 min


Participants: 8 or more


Outside


Active

Required materials


nothing

How it works:

Arrange all the participants in such a manner that the explanation can be heard well. Tell them that we are going to do ‘Maze alive’ and that it involves playing tag. After that you ask the group to stand in rows behind one another. Everyone is faced to the same side.

Independently of the size of the group all participants are supposed to form a square with eachother in the same way as the example beneath shows.

0 – 0 – 0

0 – 0 – 0

0 – 0 – 0

When the group is bigger there could be for example five rows of five people. The distance between the participants is about the length of their arms. If they put their arms to the side they can touch eachother’s hands. Make sure that the rows are arranged in sequence.

The people in the row keep standing and hold their arms up horizontally.

Two people won’t stand in the rows.

One of them is the tagger and the other person is the one who has to be tagged.

It works in this way.

 

Tell the participants that you (the trainer) will give them the command ‘turn’ constantly.

This means that a person has to turn a quarter clockwise. If you give the command again the people turn back.

It is a good idea to practice this before doing it.

Because the standing people keep their arms up horizontally a kind of wall is created which the tagger and the runner can’t pass. They can run though where there are no arms.

The tagger and the runner run through the standing people.

Now the one who gives the commands can say ‘turn’ unexpectedly. Everyone who stands turns a quarter to the right or back. A maze is being created for the tagger and the runner which constantly changes.

The tagger and runner swap roles when the runner is tagged.

Differentiation

  • Differentiate with the rule: the runner can give the commands.
  • It’s the same for the tagger.
  • Let someone from the group give the command.
  • There are two taggers…

Evaluation


Enjoy it! Look at it and if it is just fun;

why would you evaluate?

Security check


Geef instructie dat de mensen die hun armen omhoog houden opletten dat ze de loper of tikker niet slaan tijdens het draaien. Met nat gras is dit niet aan te raden omdat de tikker en de loper heel vaak moeten veranderen van richting.

Explain that the people which hold their arms up have to pay attention and that they don’t beat the runner or tagger while they are turning.

 

Roundcounter

Something to do in between the training is ’the roundcounter’. It’s energetic, big fun and after it’s finished people have learned a few things.

This activity promotes:

Required materials


None

How does it work/Instruction

  • The participants get a group assignment.
  • Laat de groep in een cirkel polonaise gaan staan, zonder de handen op de schouders te leggen.
  • Let the group stand in a circle  without putting the hands on the shoulders.

The instruction for the group is as following:”You have to take ten staps forward, after that you turn 180 degrees and you take nine steps back, you turn 180 degrees again and you take nine steps back, then you turn 180 degrees again and you take eight steps back, etc. etc. until you can’t take steps anymore.”

Evaluation:


One person will take the lead and count out loud. The other person will have mostly big FUN while another person wants to be guided by others and another person wonders why he/she is doing this. What did you show? What have you learnt as a group for the future?

Sitting on lap

This method promotes:

the instruction:

Time: 5-10 min

Participants: unlimited

Outside and inside ( it’s a matter of pushing the tables and chairs to the side)

Required materials

none

How it works:

The participants get the task to sit on the lap of another person.

They can do this in the following manner.

All participants start standing in a circle with their left leg in the middle and look at eachothers back. Make the circle smaller until every participant is belly to back with another participant.

Let a person count from one to three and everyone kneels down at the same time which makes them sit on the lap of another person.

alternative 

Count from 1 to 3 again and at 3 each participant steps with his or her right foot, after that with the left foot, etc. In this way people run round in a circle.

>