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: 10 to 30 Time Needed: 15 minutes or more depending on how long the story takes Goal: To create group cohesion and use creativity to solve problems Audience: Parents, Couples, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Give participants a good example of being silly and creative, especially with the second sentence. It is also […]
Group Size: 1 to 25 Time Needed: 15 minutes plus time for discussion Goal: To help participants learn to recognize and talk about feelings Audience: Parents, Couples, Children, Teens, Singles Special Considerations: Some adults may find this challenging. Facilitators should act out a feeling or two to make sure participants understand the directions and most […]
Group Size: 10 to 30+ Time Needed: to 20 minutes depending on group size and length of discussion Goal: To facilitate group bonding, discuss the importance of groups and support systems, and talk about the meaning of healthy interdependence Audience: Couples, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Requires mobility and sitting on the ground, so this […]
Group Size: 10 people or smaller (larger groups can be broken down, or some may participate and some may observe) Time Needed: 10 to 15 minutes Goal: Leads to discussion on communication, problem solving and power Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Requires high level of trust among participants. Because some participants will […]
Group Size: 11 to 50 Time Needed: 10 minutes Goal: Encouragement and fun, helps with goodbyes Audience: Couples, Children, Teens, Singles, Parents Special Considerations: Bring your ear plugs! This activity can get loud. Resources Needed: One small “post it” note per participant One large balloon per participant Step-by-Step Instructions Pass out one post it note […]
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: 11 to 25 Time Needed: 20 minutes or more Goal: Gain understanding of individual differences and the unique challenges that each person faces in life. Audience: Couples, Teens, Parents, Children, Singles Special Considerations: May need to assist some participants inflate a balloon Resources Needed: One balloon per person, different sizes of balloons, masking […]
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 […]