Origami Easter Eggs

At our facility this year, we are not allowed to use plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt so we got a  creative and made origami Easter eggs with the patients for group! We will hide these Easter morning and have an Easter egg hunt!!!


Materials

• 5 pieces of origami paper for each patient

Instructions
Have the patients pick a partner and sit at a table next to each other. Tell everyone to raise the hand they write with and then put it behind their backs. Give them the instruction page on this blog. During this activity, they can only use their non-dominant hand and work with their partner. Each partnership will make 10 origami eggs.

*Watch the patients closely, if they are anything like the patients at my facility they will try to switch hands or use both.






Discussion
*This activity spurred a long discussion. Many of the patients tried to cheat, some became frustrated and yelled at their partner, and one partnership worked really well together.
Importance of Instructions/Rules: we talked about the importance of rules on the unit and why we have them on the unit and in life
Communication: how to communicate effectively (tone, accusatory language, etc.)
Teamwork: ways to work with others
Listening
Frustration Tolerance/Management
Importance of Practice: talk about how things get easier with time and have patients give an example of something in the past that became easier with time or a goal they are currently working towards and how they are going to be patient with themselves

Please Share
How would you wrap this activity up with a group?
What other Easter crafts do you do with your patients?

More Easter Activities
Easter Banners
Easter Puppet Bunnies
Easter Bags

Image Credit
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfYLqdN43DwaPtQAvfQyrrgfrAdQuM1zwk4HmueUwWnvFvvAKvFVn73-UOp8nFm5M35rm_QxdeYmhQwlYloFxzVBcgRmoiVPX2AOCtrgfZj7qhAxXp1xYJsVCQWu72doD9pmjjaNg8_SY/s1600/egg.gif

Group Juggling

Equipment: one ball for each person in the group

Objectives

First, ask your group who can demonstrate juggling (There is usually at least one person who can juggle). Ask, “Who can juggle the most balls?” Two or three balls are usually the limit.

Now have everyone (usually best with 8-12 people) stand in a circle about arm’s length apart.
Ask the participants to throw the ball to someone in the circle that is not standing next to them. each person catches the ball only once except it must start and end with the same person. tell them you are creating a pattern; they need to remember to whom they threw the ball and who threw it to them.

After the ball has made it around the group once, send in more balls until there are two less than the number of people in the group, or until they start dropping a lot. Try it two or three times. Ask them to be more efficient each time.

Discussion

How much more can a group accomplish than an individual?
What happens to the process when one person drops a ball? How does the group compensate?

Whose responsibility is it?

What does it take for a team to be successful?

Variations

Use stuffed animals instead of ball and use the story of Noah’s Arc and tell them water is coming in and we must juggle the animals to keep them from falling in the water.

 Image Credit:

Group Sit

Equipment: a rope tied in a circle

How to Play:
Put the rope on the ground. Have the participants grab the rope and pick it up to waist level. (You can have the rope tangled and tell them to untangle it at this point if you want to make it more challenging). Tell the participants to walk back until the rope is tight and to spread out evenly on the rope. Now, they are to sit down together as a team without ever moving their feet.

Discussion:
Discuss the importance of every member of the team
Teamwork
Communication
Feeling of Accomplishment
Enduring (not giving up even when it seems impossible)
Problem Solving
If someone stepped up to be a leader during the task, talk about leadership skills
If the group became frustrated, talk about healthy ways to deal with frustrations

Please Share:
What variations have you seen done with this activity?
How would you discuss this with your group?

Image Credit: http://hative.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/team-building/12-team-building.jpg

Lava River

Objective: participants work together to move entire group across simulated “lava river”

Emphasis

·      Develop cohesion and teamwork

·      Enhance communication skills

·      Stimulate care and concern for others through individual and group responsibility

·      Identify or improve leadership potential

·      Establish support systems

Materials

·      A large open area, a hallway or gymnasium floor

·      One block, brick or rock for each participant (various sizes of cut 2”x4” work very well. Pick up scrap lumber, different shaped wood from a construction site or a piece of paper if you are really low on budget/time)

Instructions

·      Mark a start and finish line on the field

·      Give each participant one block. Explain the only place a team member can step is on the blocks

·      Team members lay down the blocks one at a time in a line toward the finish point, with team members standing on the blocks. It will be necessary to share blocks in order that an extra block is made available

·      Pass the extra block to the front team member who places it on the ground in front of him

·      Repeat this process until all have crossed the “lava river”

Variations

·      Have each member choose a block that represents them. then allow each member to share with the group the attributes that the block possesses that are similar to the individual. Do not give any instructions as to how to complete the task. Remind them the block represents themselves and others and they need to learn and practice using themselves and others as a support system

·      Teach social responsibility by establishing the rule that if one team member steps off the blocks or has some other miscue where the floor is touched, the entire team must return to the beginning to start the exercise again

·      Divide large groups into competing teams and challenge each other to the finish line, or race against set time

·      Give an extra block to the group, or take one block away

·      Blindfold a member of the group to increase care and responsibility for one another

·      Individuals must step on the blocks and not skate across the area on them

·      Do not give specific instructions, but tell group to figure out possibilities

The group must get everyone through an electric tunnel. No one can touch any of the interior or exterior sides of the tunnel or anything that is touching those sides. The group is provided with some “insulated blocks.” Location should be any open area where a tunnel can be improvised out of boxes, etc. or an area where a tunnel area

Image credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1O1D-3RK-FCODUOUGrWnSDhDGxzyAiY3WvVV8MLp8KthusIvKK93UaXPNmnHuMupkhxG43d4ucf6RkvPMKuLXzmCXsZd6I7MDH7f6Jid5TD3mEZVhiIY1PobBqmxLSFBn2AJCLnXE3yE/s1600/IMG_3220.JPG

Mine Field

Equipment: blindfolds, variety of obstacles, boundaries

Rules

·      Put numerous obstacles on the ground in a path about 10-15 feet wide and 25 feet long. Natural obstacles are fine, but make sure it is safe.

·      Several people are blindfolded and expected to make it to the end of the dangerous minefield without touching any of the objects or “mines.”

·      Other people are appointed to lead them through safely with only verbal commands.

·      If the blindfolded participant touches a mine they must start over.

Variations

·      Appoint someone to give them false information or distractions.

·      If they step on a mine, have them switch with their partner.

·      Mine Field II: the first partner is blind, deaf, and mute. The second partner can see but is deaf, mute, and cannot use their legs. The partners must go together through the field (Partner one ends up carrying partner two. They will have to create a way to communicate with one another non-verbally).

Discussion

·      Why was it difficult for the person to make it through the mine field?

·      What methods of communication did you use to help your partner?

·      How is the communication in this game like that in your family?

·      Why was it important to rely on your partner? How is this like life? 
·   How can the mines in this activity be like the boundaries in life?

Image Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_nPfvHJD9w5OnkJj4BHwceO2GADmB9dtCdxulHkzgfybE3lBhIbVFq84ukcxBGQhrIXl_Hfo_nJxXZkgfUV3aNVOj2lPQfWbL9ypvzxnAel5CrNdvyPUU8ONn6ggpN7mZRkChWnxosHy/s320/19.Crossing.Mine.Field.jpg

Tarp Maze

Equipment

• Tarp with a grid on it
• Make the grid as big or small as your group will need it
• Pen
• Piece of paper

Objectives
Place the tarp on a flat surface with the grid side facing up. Select one member of the group to be the guide. Draw a grid on the piece of paper the same as the one on the tarp. The guide then chooses a course through the maze using 8-15 steps, and draws the course on the piece of paper using numbers.

 
The rest of the team lines up on one side of the maze and tries to guess their way through the course without the map. As the first person steps into a square, the guide will tell them whether or not that square matches the #1 on the map. If they are wrong, the guide makes a buzzing sound, and they must go to the end of the line and let someone else try. If they guess correctly, they can keep moving until they make a mistake. The team must try to remember the pattern on the map to eventually make it through the maze.

*The guide can be the CTRS/leader of the activity or you can assign a group member to do this.

Variation
Time them secretly on the first try. After successfully completing the course, tell them their time and then have them try it again (with a different way through the maze), timing them again. Discuss the differences.

Discussion

• How many times did you make a mistake because you couldn’t see the map?
• Do we live life by trial and error, or do we follow others advice/example?
• Why was there such a difference between the two times? Discuss urgency.
• Was this frustrating? How did you handle the frustration?
• Did anyone step forward to be the leader? How did they lead? How would this have worked out if no one stepped up to be the leader?
• Did everyone listen to each other? 
• Could this have been solved if no one paid attention to their teammates going through? 

Traffic Jam

Equipment

• Something for each participant to stand on plus one extra - I've used foam squares, put X's on the floor with tape, etc.

How To Play
 The participants stand in a semi-circle with one marker on the ground that each participant stands on. Put the extra marker in the middle (you do not need an equal number of participants). All participants should face in-wards toward the empty marker. The object of the game is to get the two sides to pass each other, ultimately switching sides by moving strategically from one marker to another.

Rules

• Only one person can be on a marker at a time
• Participants can only move to an empty marker
• Participants can only move forward - if the group gets struck, everyone has to start over
• Participants can skip one person going the opposite direction, but s/he cannot skip someone going the same direction (to walk around the other person, the participant can step off the marker and walk around the person to step on the empty marker)

Variations

• When the group gets stuck and has to start over, have the participant at the front marker move to the last marker so there is a new person leading every time
• Have the group do it without talking. Be strict about it, and when they start to get frustrated, allow them to talk. Process the differences after the activity
• Once the group gets it the first time, have them do it while holding their breath. If someone breathes (exhales or inhales) in the middle, make them start over. This takes precise knowledge and planning. After, process the difference  between just doing what you are told and knowing your place/role.
• Try the activity with two lines in a "plus sign" formation with one empty spot in the middle

·   
    Solution

·      This activity works even if you have odd numbers. First move a person forward into the empty space. Then the first person from team 2 goes around to the empty space, and the second person from team 2 steps forward. This pattern continues (team 1 moves one person, team 2 moves two people, team 1 moves three people, team 2 moves four people, etc.) until all people are moved. After all have moved, the pattern is reversed: five people move four, three, two, one.

·      Hint: There are three “unspoken rules” that if followed, will solve this puzzle. First, at every juncture, there are only two possible moves: one will get them stuck and the other will not. Second, participants from opposing team should always be alternating on the spaces. If one team has two in a row, they have created a traffic jam. Third, for the first half of the game, when they arrive at a juncture, always move the person that is positioned closer to the outward tails of the semi-circle, not the person closer to the center. After all participants have moved, the pattern is reversed.

Lessons Learned
Process with the group throughout - talk them thru their frustration, ask how their current solution is working, help them listen to each other if they are struggling to do so, etc.

Problem Solving: At the beginning of the activity, participants often say this activity is impossible, but by the end, they feel great! When the group makes unanimous decisions, they usually make fewer mistakes. Some problems get solved much faster if you focus on the process or how you are interacting, rather than focusing on the problem.

• How did it feel to accomplish an “impossible” task? 
• Would you be given a task if there was not a way provided to accomplish it?
• What steps were taken to get the activity done?

·      Communication:

•       Whose ideas were important? (every suggestion)

·      Teamwork:

•       How many people did it take to do this activity?
•       How difficult would it be to accomplish this task if someone was not cooperating or doing their part?

·      Frustration

     Enduring

•       What was more rewarding, the fact that everyone is standing in a different place or the process that brought you there? How does that relate to your life and other projects you are involved in?

Picture Credit:
First picture: http://www.playmeo.com/uploads/89ac3ca9270f995412eccd8c13c609bd.png
Second picture: http://eaglepointresort.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/team-building-project-adventure-w18368-traffic-jam-4.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