Penny Rafts

Materials

• 10 straws per 2 people
• Masking tape
• 100 pennies
• 1 pan with an inch or two of water for every 8 participants
• One pair of scissors for every 2 people (Optional - do not have to use if you do not feel safe with your clients having scissors)

Pair the students up and give them 10 straws and some masking tape. Tell them they each have 10 minutes (or allow the activity to go as long as they are enjoying it) to build a boat that can float. When the time is up, bring the groups together and have them all put their boats in the pan of water. Then have each group add one penny into their boat at a time until their boat sinks. The total number of pennies in their boat before it sank is their official total.
If you have time, allow them to build a second raft and repeat the process.
*You can make this competitive against each other or have them compete against themselves (compare how many pennies the first raft could hold vs how many pennies the second raft could hold).


Lessons Learned
Teamwork: how their team worked together and what made them successful
Communication: the different ways they communicated with each other
Problem solving: what techniques they used
If you have them compete against themselves, talk about how they may not be great at something the first time but they can get better through trying (talk about endurance, etc.)
Talk about what the pennies can represent: things that they must juggle in life and what might be heavier than other things (especially drugs, alcohol, etc.); pennies could represent the different coping skills they need to use and how to effectively use each of them
Forgiveness: talk about how forgiveness can take a few of those pennies out of their raft and make life better


Photo credit
First: http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/b/b7/Build-a-Straw-Bridge-Step-1.jpg/670px-Build-a-Straw-Bridge-Step-1.jpg
Second: http://premeditatedleftovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/strawraft.jpg
Third: http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-inline/cme/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/ad0948cb-dd72-4209-b173-b2db2c388997.jpg

Balloon Crab Walk

Materials

• One balloon per person
• One trashcan or something that can act as a goal per every two people

Designate a start and finish line. (Explain the rules to the participants before giving them each a balloon.) They are to do the crab walk from the start to finish line while keeping the balloon off the ground. If the balloon touches the ground, the participant must start over at the start line. Once they get to the finish line, the participant has to get the balloon in the goal.

Once everyone is done, have them partner up. Together, each partnership is to get one balloon from the start line into the goal. (Designate a place for the participants to put the balloon they are not using). The game finishes when everyone has gotten their balloon in their goal.


Variation
Add a string at the start and finish line about one foot high. This creates a new obstacle for the participants.
Make a rule that they can only say uplifting things to each other - I like to do this when participants finish before each other because sometimes they can say rude things. This way they know up front they need to be positive and uplifting.

Lessons Learned
Talk about how difficult it was to complete the task alone.
Ask if it was easier alone or with a partner - talk about the importance of support networks and what their support network is in the facility and at home.
Talk about problem solving - what methods did and did not work, how did they find out the methods that did work, did others help them to solve their problem (either by giving advice or watching a peer do it successfully).
Give them a pen/pencil and a piece of paper. Tell them to think of a time that someone helped them and have the write about that time and how they can pass it forward.

Have you led this game or one similar? How did you implement it? What are other ways you could process this group?

Photo Credit: https://www.google.com/search?q=kids+doing+crab+walk+with+balloon&client=firefox-a&hs=fED&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=MhQBVOHWGYvNggTMooD4Dw&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=848&bih=425#imgdii=_

Nitro Straws

Tell this story (or a similar one): “You are scientists working in a laboratory with nitroglycerin in test tubes. Somebody was walking along with a tray full of tubes and tripped, making the tubes fly. You all rushed together and caught the tubes in your hands as you have them now. You had to catch them in this way because the sides are very fragile, and if you touched them they would likely break and cause a huge explosion. Such an extraordinary feat caught the attention of the press, and they would like a photo of you, but they need to see your faces. As a collective group you need to turn around so you end up facing outward. You need to do this without dropping the straws or touching the sides, otherwise everything blows up, and you must begin again.”

Everyone stands in a circle facing inward. Each participant points both fingers (arms at their sides with elbows bent at a ninety degree angle). The right palm should be facing up, and the left palm should be facing down. Place a straw in between the boys’ fingers (one boy’s finger on top and another boy’s finger on bottom and so on around the circle). They must figure out how to turn around without touching the sides of the straws or dropping them. If they accidentally do, they must restart.  

Variation:
Blindfold a participant if they are getting it too quickly or one person is always the leader, and you want someone else to step up.

Life Lessons:
This game is very frustrating so talk about their frustration, what they did, what they could have done better, what worked, etc.
Teamwork
Communication
Problem Solving

Please Comment Below: Have you used this activity or one similar to it? What was your experience with it? I'd love to hear any ways that you have adapted it or processed it!

Photo Credit: http://m7.i.pbase.com/u35/sleeper55/upload/23113917.Straws.jpg

Pipeline

Tell the participants the rules and have them figure out their order. Once they have that down, put the marble in the first pipe, and the participants will try to figure out how to continue moving it to the bowl. If the marble hits the floor, they must start over – give them a few moments to come up with a strategy. Ask what did and did not work to help them get going.

Rules:

·       Alike pipes cannot touch

·       Cannot touch others’ pipes with your hands/feet/etc.

·       Cannot touch marble

·       Must stay in the same order throughout the whole activity

·       Marble must move through the pipe

·       Once the marble is in a pipe, that pipe cannot move towards the bowl

Materials:

·       A PVC pipe for each participant (Half should be completely round and the other half should have the top cut off)

·       One marble

·       A bowl

 Life Lessons:
Importance of working together-no one could have done this by themselves just as they cannot reach all of their goals by themselves
Talk about how they approached this activity and how this compares to how they approach their treatment 
 Communication 
 Speed of the activity: was it easier when they went slow or fast? 
 Leadership


Please Comment Below: Do you have any tips or words of advice for running this activity or one similar?


Picture Credit: http://myparadigmshift.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/pipeline-pic1.jpg
 

Pulse

Put participants in two equal teams. The teams sit on the floor in two lines facing each other. At the head of the lines, the "referee" sits with a coin. At the end of the lines, a small ball or other item sits on a chair. All the team members hold hands and close their eyes. The participants at the head of the line have their eyes open. The referee flips the coin (catch with hands or have it land on something soft so the players can't hear it landing). If it lands on tails, nothing happens. If it lands on heads, the participants at the head of the lines squeeze the next persons hand. When participants feel their hand squeezed, they squeeze the next persons hand until the last person's hand is squeezed. This person grabs the ball as fast as he/she can. The team that grabs the ball wins and rotates their players (the person at the back of the line goes to the front and everyone scoots down). The game is over when a team has rotated all of their players back to their spot in line.





 


Life Lessons

Sending false signals
How we communicate/send signals to one another

Materials

• Coin
• Towel (optional)
• Something to grab

Please comment below on how you would use it with your population, thoughts on how it has worked for you, advice for others on how to implement it, what you would process and so on! We'd love to hear about it!

Here are a few links to ideas on how to lead activities better:

• Why Leadership and Activities are Important 

• Correctly Using Leadership

• Leading the Activity (Problem Solving, Group Control, etc.)

• Handling Different Age Groups

• Managing Large Groups and Choosing Teams (relays, team spirit, including everyone, etc.)

 Credit: picture from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpgRIbFR6I5LSbQWN6dfOvJafNZXpBt8jbqDM1OGT3c0n28JkZmcLS26Kwal2iZQxUcwm3_1Gde0xnvaJ1U-as4yQjOA_449DQZ2e03cgyFLLm8rm_rlYj5CA7fahoJnJblGL19p6PIg/s1600/coin-flip.jpg