Group Size: 10 to 30 Time Needed: 15 to 45 minutes; facilitator can decide how long; this activity can be stopped at anytime Goal: To help participants understand the universality of some dilemmas, and to help participants examine how their reactions may be part of the problem Audience: Parents, Children, Teens, Singles Special Considerations: None […]
Group Size: 1 to 50+ Time Needed: 10 to 15 minutes Goal: To illustrate the concept of synergy, that through working together we can achieve greater things when working alone Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Participants who feel uncomfortable drawing can pass on this activity; not everyone needs to be involved. Resources […]
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 5 minutes (discussion times vary) Goal: To create an experience of unrealistic expectations Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Singles Special Considerations: Not appropriate for children as they may not get the “role” you are playing. This exercise may bring up some challenging issues for some participants around self-esteem. Resources Needed: Small […]
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 15 to 20 minutes Goal: To uncover hidden issues and understand challenging behaviors Audience: Teens, Parents, Children, Couples Special Considerations: You will need to be very clear on instructions in order for this activity to work. With two facilitators, one should arrange the spoons and represent the number while the […]
Group Size: 1 to 50+ Time Needed: 20 minutes Goal: To see if what participants say their values are match up with how they actually spend their time Audience: Couples, Parents, Singles, Teens Special Considerations: This can be an emotional experience if people discover that their lives are out of balance. This can be a […]
Group Size: 1 to 50+ Time Needed: 10 to 15 minutes Goal: To illustrate the need for two-way communication and to illustrate that people have different perceptions Audience: Couples, Parents, Singles, Teens, Children Special Considerations: None Resources Needed: One piece of paper for each participant Step-by-Step Instructions The facilitator gives each participant a sheet of […]
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 10 to 20 minutes Goal: Help participants understand attachment, bonding and how it occurs Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Very powerful, could bring up painful memories. Do not use this activity in your class unless you have had formal training in counseling or a similar field. Resources […]
Group Size: 1 to 50 (8 to 15 participants per train) Time Needed: 10 to 15 minutes Goal: To give participants an opportunity to experience different perceptions in communication Audience: Children, Teens, Couples, Parents, Singles Special Considerations: This activity can also be done with more than one row of people and made into a competition […]
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 15 to 20 minutes Goal: To build group cohesion by sharing common hopes and dreams in relation to children or marriage and help participants focus on what they really want in the long term Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens Special Considerations: This completed exercise can be referred to frequently throughout the […]
Group Size: Any (no more than 15 volunteers) Time Needed: 20 minutes Goal: To create awareness of how labels affect people, to understand self-fulfilling prophecy, and to grasp how self esteem is built and destroyed Audience: Couples, Parents, Singles, Teens, Children Special Considerations: Wait until the group has met several times before you complete this […]