Activity Notebook 1

Running Head: ACITIVTY NOTEBOOK

Activity Notebook

Ropes Course 421

Mallorie Parsons

Activity Notebook 2

Contents

Table of Contents Games and Initiatives .................................................................................................................................... 3

Challenge by Choice ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Experiential Learning Cycle ........................................................................................................................... 9

Debriefing...................................................................................................................................................... 9

Full Value Contract ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Goal Setting ................................................................................................................................................. 11

Group Briefing ............................................................................................................................................. 11

Notes ........................................................................................................................................................... 11

Activity Notebook 3

Games and Initiatives

Game Type Description

Name Games: 1. Thumpidee- thump-thump Create a circle and have one person stand in

the middle. The participant in the middle will

point to anyone in the circle. Whoever is

being pointed at must say the name of the

person to their right before the participant in

the middle can say “thumpidee-thump-

thump.” If the person in the middle says the

phrase before the person says their name then

they are it.

2. How do you like your neighbor? Create a circle with one participant in the

middle. They can go to anyone in the circle

and tell them to name their neighbors (the

people to their left and right). Then ask that

participant if their neighbors are “all right”,

“all wrong”, or “all mixed up”. If the

participant says “all right” everyone moves on

step to the right. If the participant says “all

wrong” everyone moves to the left. If they say

“all mixed up” everyone has to switch

locations. Last person to get a spot is it.

3. All my friends who… Create and circle with one participant in the

middle. They will say their name and then

state “all my friends who ____” in the blank

they say one of their favorite things. Anyone

who agrees has to move to a new square. For

example, if the participant said “all my

friends who like to rock climb.” Then

whoever rock climbs will move. The last

person without a square is it.

4. Do you know everyone’s name? The facilitator can simply ask if they all know

each-others names and then have them try to

say all of them.

5. Ring toss The rings can be used for several different

games. One use of them is the name game.

You throw one color ring to someone but

must say their name first. Then a different

colored ring is added to the mix but it must be

thrown backwards, back to the person who

threw you the first ring. Multiple rings can be

added to make the game more exciting.

6. Tag Games:

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7. Caught green handed One participant is it and must stand on one

end of the field of gym not facing the rest of

the group. Everyone else will line up on the

opposite side of the person who is it. The

objective of the game is to get the green hand

that is laying behind the person who is it.

Everyone can approach the green hand while

the person who is it counts to 3. Once he/she

turns around everyone must freeze, if they

move they must start over. Once the green

hand has been grabbed the group must get the

hand back over to their side without getting

caught. The person who is it will count to

three and then can turn around and choose

one person that they think has the hand. If

they do then the game starts again.

8. Toilet Tag Create a boundary that students should stay

within. If someone is tagged then they must

kneel down with one arm up. In order to get

untagged someone else must hoover/gentle sit

on the person’s leg and pull their arm down,

to “flush the toilet.”

9. Bandana tag Everyone gets a bandana and they must tuck a

little part into the side of their pant loop (do

not tie). The object of the game is to grab the

other participant’s bandanas. If your bandana

is taken you must sit down. However, while

seated you can try to grab other people’s

bandanas. If you get another bandana you are

back in the game.

10. Alligator bandana tag The rules are the same as the game above,

however there are at least two people to a

group. One person is the alligator’s head

while the other is the alligator’s tail. The head

must try to get other alligators bandanas while

the tail needs to try to protect their bandana.

11. Cheetos Tag In this game one person is the Cheetos. If they

tag you, you must freeze and wipe your hands

back and forth like you are trying to get the

Cheetos powder off. Two other participants

are the soap and water and if they tag

someone that is frozen then they are back in

the game.

12. Ameba tag Two people start off as being it but must hold

hands. Every time they tag someone they are

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added to the big glob. Play until everyone is

captured by the ameba.

Miscellaneous

13. Big group check in Just see how the group is doing. Can do it by

asking just a simple question.

14. Transition activity When walking you can have people partner

up and then have them all ask certain

questions while heading to the next activity.

15. Moon ball This game is similar to volleyball. The ball

cannot touch the floor. You can be creative

with the rules, making everyone touch the ball

at least once, or having a set goal of how

many times the ball should be hit.

16. Captain’s coming Have everyone in the group on one side of the

gym/field. There are 6 commands in this

game that the facilitator will say.

1. To the ship: everyone moves to the

right

2. To the shore: everyone moves to the

left

3. Captains coming: everyone stands tall

and salutes, they cannot move from

that position until the facilitator says

adzes. If they move they are out. This

part is very similar to Simon says.

4. Man overboard: requires 2 people.

One on their knee and both looking

for the man overboard

5. Crow’s nest: get in groups of three

and stand with backs against each-

other

6. Captain’s table: get in groups of 4 and

pretend you are eating at the captain’s

table for dinner

Anyone who doesn’t get in a group for any of

the commands is out.

17. Elephant ball Participants will stand with their legs a good

distance apart and then bend over with one

arm hanging and the other behind their back

(to look like you have an elephant trunk).

Then a ball will be added and the goal is to

get the ball through other participant’s legs.

18. Yee-Haw Have everyone stand in a circle. There are

four commands

1. Yee-Haw. Goes left or right

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2. Down diggidy dog. Point to anyone in

the circle

3. Hoedown. Do a little dance.

4. 4 shifter gear box. Pump your arm

back and forth four times

The goal of the game is get other people out

by messing them up with the different

commands.

19. Lifeguards This game requires the parachute. There is

one lifeguard and one shark to start off the

game. The shark goes under the parachute and

the lifeguard stands up. The rest of the group

sits down holding the parachute and moving it

to create “waves”. The shark will come and

grab your feet and pull you under. The

lifeguard needs to try and save you.

20. Power of 10 Count to 10 consecutively. Anyone can say

two numbers in one turn. Whoever ends up

being number 10 is out.

21. Ninja Everyone stands in a circle and when the

leader counts to three everyone gets in their

best ninja pose. You are have one swift

movement each turn and the goal is to hit

other people on the hand. If your hand is it

that hand is out. Once both hands have been

hit you are out completely.

22. Dragon It is a game of rock paper scissors. Everyone

starts playing each-other and whoever loses

becomes part of the winner’s dragon tail.

23. Circle of doom When participants get down to the last two

participants in certain games you can create

the circle of doom. This keeps the participants

that are out interested and involved in the

game.

24. 4 corners Group is split up into four groups and stands

in different corners. The facilitator will tell

them which corner to run to.

25. I’m going to the moon… Two ways of going to the moon. Double

letters or the 1st letter of your name.

Relay Games

26. Partner relay ring toss This game is like an egg toss game but rings

are used instead. Toss the ring to your partner

and then both take a step back. If the ring is

dropped start over.

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27. Team relay toss Split the group into different team. Make is a

relay to see who can get the ring to the last

person first when tossing the ring. If the ring

falls start again at the beginning =.

28. Shoe relay Split the group up into two groups. Have

everyone take off their shoes and place them

in a hula-hoop. It is a relay to see who can get

their shoes on the fastest.

29. Ultimate Frisbee with rings Played just like ultimate Frisbee but with the

rings instead. There are two teams and if you

have the ring you can only take one step

before having to throw the ring. Try to get it

to the other side.

Stretch Games

30. Old lady Grady Everyone stands in a circle and the first

person starts by asking the person on their left

“did you hear about old lady Grady? The

person will respond saying “no what

happened?” Person 1 says “well she died”.

Person 2 says “no way how’d that happen?”

and then person 1 does a stretch saying that

how she died. Go around the circle until

everyone has led a stretch

31. Peanut butter jar Tell the participants that they just jumped into

this huge peanut butter jar that is almost

empty but they need to reach up and get all

the little bits of peanut butter that is still there.

They need to do the same with their feet and

hips to get all the peanut butter out of the jar.

32. Snoopy and red barren Have everyone get in groups of two. One

person is snoopy the other is the red barren.

Face each-other with your hands up and then

the red barren tries to follow Snoopy’s

movements.

33. Stork stretch Get in groups of three. Each person places

their left leg on the other person’s thigh. Then

switch legs.

34. Yurt circle Hold hands or rope and lean in, lean back, or

alternate. Great arm and shoulder stretch.

35. Back to back Put people in groups of two have them back

to back with their arms linked. They need to

sit down and then try to stand up.

Trust Games

36. Trust lean This is a good way for participants to practice

staying tight when falling. It always promotes

trusting the other participants. In this trust

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lean have two people assume the proper

spotting stance and then have one person lean

back into their hands.

37. Wind in the willow Create a tight circle of people in the proper

spotting stance and then have one person in

the middle constantly falling from one person

to the next.

38. Trust run Split the group into two and have them all

face each other in a line. Everyone places one

arm out in front of them. One person will then

go to the front and face the two lines and then

run through the arms. Participants must move

their arm before the runner gets to them.

39. Trust lift Find a relatively high location on a tree for

example and have people try to get to the

highest point by lifting group members.

40. Big rope circle Leaning forwards or backwards or alternating

is a good trust exercise. The big rope circle is

also very good for debriefs and using a knot.

Also can be used for stretching.

Initiative Games (problem solving)

41. Circle the circle The group stands in a circle holding hands.

The objective of the game is to get a hula

hoop all around the circle without letting go

of each other.

42. Pipeline The group must work together using half pipe

poles to get a marble from one location all the

way to the bucket on the other side. The pipes

can’t touch each other and the ball cannot

stop or move backwards or fall. If it does then

the group must start over.

43. Save the baby Create a large circle with some rope, place a

small cone in the middle and then place the

“baby” (or whatever item needs to be saved)

on top of the cone. Split people up into groups

and then tell them to save the baby using rope

and a helmet. Participants cannot cross over

the rope.

Challenge by Choice 1. A simple way of explaining challenge by choice to the group is simply by telling them.

Let them all know that they are not required to do anything that they do not feel

comfortable doing. Let them know this is a safe non-judgment zone and that if they don’t

want to participate in a certain thing they will not be punished or forced to do something

they don’t want to do. Pros of this technique are that it is quick and simple and straight to

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the point. Cons of this technique are that it isn’t very creative and might not keep the

attention of the participants.

2. Having each individual create a circle on the ground. This circle represents their comfort

zone. You want everyone to stand in the circle (their comfort zone) and then create

another circle outside of that one. This circle represents stepping just slightly outside their

comfort zone; it’s the growth or challenge zone. Then have them create one last circle

that represents definitely being outside their comfort zone where participants could

experience panic and a sense of danger. Have students stand where it is they want to be at

the end of the program. This method is good because it can be used by all ages. However,

it does have a negative aspect because it could single out some people that really are not

comfortable with getting out of their comfort zone at all.

3. A good way to introduce challenge by choice to young kids is saying to them “try my

broccoli?” In most cases kids will say no, you can then use this to follow up by saying

you should at least try a bite. This correlates to ropes courses because we would like

everyone to try the activities but we won’t force anyone to try something that they do not

feel comfortable doing. This method is relatable to young children, however, it’s not a

good method for older participants.

Experiential Learning Cycle

Debriefing 1. Pass the “bandana in the rope” is a good debriefing tool. In this method you can tie two

or three bandanas in the rope and have everyone stand in a circle. Start passing the rope

Experience

•Complete the game or activity

Reflection

•What did you do?

Analyze

•So what does that mean to us?

Apply

•Now what?

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along and then randomly tell everyone to stop. Whoever has a bandana will say

something. The blue bandana could represent something positive that the group did. A

red one could represent something that the group should try to improve one next time.

Another bandana, for example, a green one could represent something that you thought

someone else did well and congratulate them.

2. Using the bag of body parts that Fred has (that sounds creepy) is a good debriefing

technique, especially for nursing groups. For this debrief lay out all of the parts of the

body on the ground and then have the participants silently choose a body part that they

thought correlated with something they did well. Then have everyone go around the

circle and discuss what they chose. For example, if someone chose an ear that could

represent good listening as a group.

3. After an activity you could use the spectrum technique. With this one state two different

feelings, for example, one could be accomplished on one end and on the other end could

be discouraged. Then have everyone stand or place something at where they feel they fall

on the spectrum.

4. A similar concept is using emotion cards. With this you can lay them all down and have

each person choose a picture that relates closely to how they are currently feeling and

then say why they are feeling that particular emotion.

5. Partner debrief is a simple on that you can have the group do. Have everyone pair off and

discuss what went well or what needed improvement. Then bring the group back together

to discuss everyone’s thoughts.

Full Value Contract 1. A fun little way to introduce the full value contract is the hand method. Have all

participants hold up a hand and tell them what each finger means.

a. Pinky: promise. Promise to be positive throughout the day and kind to everyone

here

b. Ring: commitment. Be committed to trying new things and step at least a little out

of your comfort zone.

c. Middle: represents negativity. We do not want to see any negative actions or

words

d. Pointer: this is correlated with judging so don’t use it unless it is followed with

thumbs up and a high five.

This method is interactive so that is a very good pro. It also helps people to remember

what is in a full value contract because it associates thoughts and behaviors with a

finger. A con is that is technique isn’t as geared to older age groups as it is for

younger ones.

2. Before starting anything the facilitator could simply go over three parts of the full value

contract that participants should keep in mind throughout the day. They would be:

a. Be safe

b. Try your best

c. Have fun

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This is a very quick way to go over how participants should act and it is very straight

forwards and even though it isn’t very long is covers everything that is needed. A con for

this method is that it isn’t creative and doesn’t keep everyone very involved.

3. A fun to introduce the full value contract is to have everyone stand in a circle and have

the facilitator ask questions or make a statement. Such as who wants to have fun today?

The participants will respond by all taking a jump into the circle. Facilitators could also

say something like “let’s all be safe today and have no injuries”. Then once again

everyone will jump closer together. When everyone is close have all the participants put a

hand in the middle like a huddle and then say a chant and have everyone lift their arms up

(like at basketball games). Pros are that this way is interactive and allows the facilitator to

go over everything that the participants need to know. Cons are that it might not be very

appropriate for older age groups or very large groups.

Goal Setting The purpose of establishing goals is to determine if the group completed the tasks they

set for themselves as a whole. This enables the group to strive to achieve that goal during the

program. After the completion of the program the group can go back to those goals and discuss

what they did well on or what needed to be improved on in order to achieve all the goals. A way

to determine what the goals are for the group can be through different activities. For example,

you could get out a large piece of paper and have everyone outline their hand and then write one

goal in the hand that they want to see accomplished by the end of the program.

Group Briefing When the group arrives there are certain things that must be covered right from the

beginning. Foremost, introduce yourself and all the other facilitators and leads. Second, make

sure that everyone is ready for the day. Double check that everyone is wearing closed toe shoes,

and then have everyone get together their personal belongings such as wallets, keys, cell phones,

earrings, necklaces, and anything else on their person and place them somewhere safe and out of

the way. After that continue with what RU ABLE is about and what they do. This then leads into

the full value contract and the challenge by choice philosophy. Once all of those are completed

go over safety with the group and then begin the program

Notes DDADA:

o Describe, Demonstrate, Ask for questions, Do it, Adapt

Framing

o Start something that helps the group and gets their focus where it needs to be.

o Three types of framing

Recreational

Educational

Therapeutic

Commands: make sure that everyone is ready and paying attention to what is happening.

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o EX:

Ready?

Ready!

Falling.

Fall!

Spotting techniques

o Spoons not forks or knifes

o Sturdy footing

o Protect the head, neck, and spine

What did you learn?

o Throughout the 5 day training course I learned a considerable amount of new

information. One of the most exciting things that I learned was how to set up and take

the high ropes course. I really enjoyed using the cable grab and lobster claws and it was

really awesome getting to be up in the air for most of the weekend I also learned a

bunch of new games and when to use certain ones based on the group you have.

What does it mean to be a challenge course facilitator?

o Being a challenge course facilitator means that you get to be a part of helping others

step out of their comfort zones, help new groups get to know each other better, create

scenarios that will focus the group on a goal, help them to reflect on something that

they had learned and how they could then apply that to their lives. Facilitators can make

or break a program so they are extremely important in making the program successful.

What are risk management issues to consider?

o People can get hurt anywhere and people do get hurt often. Even if it’s just a simple

little cut it still is considered a risk management issue. When playing games or being on

the low ropes or the high ropes breaking or spraining something could definitely

happen. Going over safety before each activity and setting a good example is very

important.

Issues related to inspections

o All of the low and high ropes need to be inspected before participants get to the

program. When the program is outside the area needs to be checked for bees or snakes

and anything that may have fallen on the course. The bolts and cables should be

checked as well to ensure that everything is still intact and properly working.

Leadership thoughts and ensuring a positive experience.

o I am honestly a little nervous about my leadership abilities but I know how important it

is to create a positive experience for the participants. Showing confidence and

enthusiasm are two very important qualities that I think I’m going to have to show

during the programs. I’m confident in my abilities to work on the ropes but not so much

in my ability to speak in front of the groups.