Balloon Pop
Suggested Group(s): Young/Middle
Purpose: To promote group sharing of their experiences and releasing physical energy
Task/need: Structuring the group, group building, acknowledging the reality of the loss & approaching the pain of the loss
Activity Setup Ideas:
- Explain that when someone dies, it can leave many questions. Some of these questions may have no right or wrong answers, but it can be helpful to discuss these with others who are experiencing the same difficulties.
- Tell the children that all kinds of questions have been hidden in the balloons. They will take turns popping them and answering the questions inside.
Materials:
- Balloons
- Individual questions on small slips of paper
Description: Put grief related questions into balloons then have the children pop a balloon and answer the question. (This allows children to have a burst of energy, then settle down and answer thoughtful questions.) No matter what the activity always consider issues of self-esteem and anxiety. For some children, it may be too frightening for them to pop the balloon. Helping them problem solve and find ways to do it comfortably may be very validating for the child. There was a situation where a child came up with the solution of standing on a chair while another child popped the balloon for him. This was how the child felt safe. However, if a child is really upset by the noise of popping balloons, DO NOT FORCE them to participate or do this activity. You may want to talk about this the week before and check in with the children on this issue. Be aware that this activity may raise the energy level of the children and some may take longer to settle after this activity than others.
Activity Wrap Up Ideas:
- Ask if there were questions that were difficult to answer or ones that were easy to answer.
- Discuss any themes that came up in the answers to the questions.
- As always, thank the group for their contributions.
Suggestions: You may want to use the forum for this task — it's noisy
Source: Dottie Ward-Wimmer
