Group Juggle
Suggested Age Group(s): Middle, Teen
Purpose: To allow for team building, sharing and developing comfort in the facility
Task/need: Group building, group structure
Activity Setup Ideas:
- How much can you juggle at one time? This is a game that takes a closer look at increased demand and overload of new responsibilities or roles that are the consequences of loss. How do you handle this increased demand? Is it possible to juggle so many things? If so, what makes it possible?
- This game is also about getting into rhythms and routines. Overload can get you out of sync. Establishing rhythms and routines by doing things like pacing, slowing things down, focusing attention, screening out distractions and asking for help are tools that help you to juggle demands — and tennis balls — more successfully.
Materials:
- Tennis balls (at least half as many as players)
- One or two odd objects (i.e., apple, water balloon, banana)
Description
- Form group members in a circle standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Then have everyone take one or two giant steps backward (still maintaining the circle)
- To juggle, each person will receive a tennis ball from someone. Toss it gently to someone else; he/she will always receive the ball from the same person and always toss it to the same person.
- Call the name of the person to whom you are throwing the ball to alert that person it is on its way.
- The facilitator tosses the ball first, and the last person to receive the ball tosses it back to the facilitator.
- Using one tennis ball, demonstrate the process once. And then repeat.
- Once everyone understands the game, inform the group that additional balls (life's demands) will be added. The object of the game is to see how many balls can be juggled at one time without dropping any.
- The group may have difficulty handling more than one or two; stop and inquire what can be done so that the group's task is successful. Looking at the person from whom you receive the ball then calling the name and making eye contact with the person to whom you toss the ball are key to succeeding in this game.
- As the group becomes comfortable at juggling several balls, toss in an odd object. What impact does this have on the group's success?
Activity Wrap Up Ideas:
- Is there something you can drop (happens literally in the game)? What about those unexpected curve balls when something foreign gets added into the mix? How did the group react? What happened when somebody else dropped the ball? How did it affect things throughout the game?
- How did pacing, slowing things down, focusing attention, screening out distractions, and asking for help contribute to the success of the game? How do those tools help in life?
