Here is an activity that I personally used in India. It became a favorite game of the residents, and they wanted to do it every week. I'm sure it would work well with kids and young adults too! I had originally named it "Minefield" but I changed the name to be less violent.
Activity/Idea name:
“Potholes”
Brief description of the placement where you work (please include ages, number of people, languages spoken, other etc):
I worked at a rehab center for men with drug/alcohol addiction problems. Residents are 18-40. There are approximately 15 men there, with varying addictions. Most speak only Hindi, though some understand English. There is a counselor who speaks English, and could translate instructions, but once the game starts there is little need for language.
Goal of the activity:
This is a team building activity that encourages communication, teamwork, concentration, trust, goals, problem solving, and recurring competition to beat their own personal best time.
Required resources:
Set a clear “playing field” with boundaries. Inside the boundaries, scatter all of the objects randomly, but make sure to disperse them somewhat evenly. These will be the “potholes.” One player starts blindfolded. Spin them around to disorient them. They must cross the field without stepping on anything and without going out of bounds- if they step on a pothole, they must return to the beginning. Since they can’t see, they must rely on the communication from their peers telling them where to step. When they are across, take the blindfold and put it on the next person. To complete the game, each person in the group must successfully cross. Use a watch to time how long it takes, and have them try to beat it next time!
Do you have any suggestions/improvements for the next time?
Change the rules so that they are constantly challenged! We played roughly twice a week for many weeks, so I recorded the best times. Adding new rules once they start to figure it out makes it more difficult – i.e. each person must guide someone else across, or you must walk backwards, or you can start moving objects as they go. This encourages problem solving. Also, after a few times, I would try to distract the walker by making funny noises or yelling things – so that they have to focus on the one voice that is guiding them. Set time goals each time before they play, so they are working together to accomplish that goal!
If you are focusing on a specific topic, it is easy to turn this into an educational metaphor to turn into a discussion after playing: for the addiction center, the potholes were bad decisions, relapses, etc. that they must avoid. They needed to have a support system in place of people that they can trust (the guiding voice) since they might not always see the bad decisions in front of them. They have to take every step carefully, because the hidden potholes could be anywhere, and could keep them from getting to their destination.
With a little creativity, you can make it fit just about any lesson!
Activity/Idea name:
“Potholes”
Brief description of the placement where you work (please include ages, number of people, languages spoken, other etc):
I worked at a rehab center for men with drug/alcohol addiction problems. Residents are 18-40. There are approximately 15 men there, with varying addictions. Most speak only Hindi, though some understand English. There is a counselor who speaks English, and could translate instructions, but once the game starts there is little need for language.
Goal of the activity:
This is a team building activity that encourages communication, teamwork, concentration, trust, goals, problem solving, and recurring competition to beat their own personal best time.
Required resources:
- A marked off area with clear boundaries. At my placement we used a carpet that was about 12’ by 20’
- A blindfold
- Lots of little objects – could be anything – pebbles, pens/pencils, crumpled up paper, small toys, etc.
- A “timer” or watch
Set a clear “playing field” with boundaries. Inside the boundaries, scatter all of the objects randomly, but make sure to disperse them somewhat evenly. These will be the “potholes.” One player starts blindfolded. Spin them around to disorient them. They must cross the field without stepping on anything and without going out of bounds- if they step on a pothole, they must return to the beginning. Since they can’t see, they must rely on the communication from their peers telling them where to step. When they are across, take the blindfold and put it on the next person. To complete the game, each person in the group must successfully cross. Use a watch to time how long it takes, and have them try to beat it next time!
Do you have any suggestions/improvements for the next time?
Change the rules so that they are constantly challenged! We played roughly twice a week for many weeks, so I recorded the best times. Adding new rules once they start to figure it out makes it more difficult – i.e. each person must guide someone else across, or you must walk backwards, or you can start moving objects as they go. This encourages problem solving. Also, after a few times, I would try to distract the walker by making funny noises or yelling things – so that they have to focus on the one voice that is guiding them. Set time goals each time before they play, so they are working together to accomplish that goal!
If you are focusing on a specific topic, it is easy to turn this into an educational metaphor to turn into a discussion after playing: for the addiction center, the potholes were bad decisions, relapses, etc. that they must avoid. They needed to have a support system in place of people that they can trust (the guiding voice) since they might not always see the bad decisions in front of them. They have to take every step carefully, because the hidden potholes could be anywhere, and could keep them from getting to their destination.
With a little creativity, you can make it fit just about any lesson!
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