Great Group Games

Grandparents and Children: Review of "Building Character from the Start: 201 Activities to foster creativity, literacy, and play in K-3"

2010-04-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lynette from Texas just posted a review of our newest book. She writes from the perspective a grandmother, so it was fun to read her review:

"Building Character from the Start: 201 Activities to foster creativity, literacy, and play in K-3" has so many games and lessons that I can use with any of the kiddos. What an asset for home daycare providers as well as home-school moms! There are many tools to help foster creativity, literacy and play. We played Animal Charades and did Workout Rolls. It was fun to hear the answers that popped out of the kiddos mouths when they were guessing what animals we pretended to be. I would never have thought aardvark. Oh, I could not do many of the workout rolls with my bum knee. But the kiddos showed me how well they could bend, twist, roll and shout too! There is also a CD-rom that is both Windows and Apple capable.

Penny Icebreaker

2010-02-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun icebreaker game to play with a stack of pennies. My mother-in-law just shared it with me, and I thought you would like it!

Hand out pennies at your next gathering and ask each guest to share a story that happened during the year his or her penny was minted. If the coin predates a friend, let the person improvise. (Rachel Harrison Massa, Stamford, Connecticut)

Great Group Games - a new E-Book!

2009-12-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

Great Group Games is now available as an e-book - so cool! So now you can download your favorite game on your smart phone and carry it to the ball field, rec center, office, classroom, camp, or wherever else you might want to play with purpose!

Introducing our Newest Book!

2009-11-01T15:50:00.001-08:00

How do you present complicated lessons about character to a kindergartener? How do you get a group of 8-year olds to think about purpose or integrity?

You play games;

you act out storybooks;

you draw and paint.

And while they’re busy having fun, you ask the questions that help them think and shape positive values.

In Building Character from the Start: 201 Activities to Foster Creativity, Literacy, and Play in K-3, you will find a plethora of activities to engage children in learning, get them moving, and prompt them to think about character.
40+ drawing pages that explore character
90+ books followed by activity ideas
70+ games to help you play with purpose

The children will be having so much fun looking for hidden treasures or trying to balance on one foot that they won’t realize they’re also learning conflict resolution, responsibility, and other valuable life skills.

This book is ideal for anyone who works with young children, including teachers, parents, day-care providers, and after-school teachers. It includes a CD-ROM with printable activities. Available for $29.95 at your favorite bookstore or at Search Institute Press.

Listen to a podcast about the book
Schedule a workshop or inservice with Saylor and Ragsdale
See other books by Saylor and Ragsdale

Itsy Bitsy May I?

2009-08-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

I found this game on the education.com blog this morning. It looks like a fun game to play with little ones. Just like it sounds, it's a combination of Itsy Bitsy Spider and Mother May I. Click here to read more about Itsy Bitsy May I.

6 Ways to Spice Up Your Teen's Studies

2009-08-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Mike Calhoun at education.com just posted some clever games to promote academic learning.

Here is one of my favorites from his post:

"Tell all the players to study some science related material. Next, have everyone stand up and form a circle, facing in, looking at each other. Toss a ball or some other round object to one player and have him or her tell what they thought was the most important concept they just learned. That person then tosses the ball to someone and that person explains what they though was the most important concept. Continue the exercise until everyone has caught the ball at least once and explained an important concept."

Check all six ideas out at 6 Ways to Spice Up Your Teen's Studies!

Book Deals Today at Borders Bookstore!

2009-08-15T06:29:00.001-07:00

If you've been waiting for a sale to buy Great Group Games or Ready to Go Service Projects, today is your day! Print a Borders coupon for 40% off any paperback through Sunday, August 16th (off list price).

Great Group Games: usually $16.95
Ready to Go Service Projects: usually $18.00

I love Border's sales!

National Backyard Games Week

2009-05-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

National Backyard Games Week is May 18-25, 2009. I found some great articles with ideas to celebrate this fun week:

Outside Games for Toddlers - Celebrate National Backyard Games Week
Take it Outside! It's National Backyard Games Week
Philadelphia Family Entertainment Examiner: Celebrate National Backyard Games Week

You can also find 175 more games in our book, Great Group Games - and they're all zero prep ideas! If you use the "Going Deeper" questions at the end of each game, you'll also be 'playing with purpose' - using the games to build character, relationships, and leadership skills.

Play with Purpose - tshirts, bags and more

2009-04-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

If you believe in the power of PLAY, check out our new product line of t-shirts, mousepads, bags and more at CafePress.

The simple designs make great presenter gifts, decorations, or happy gifts for you and your colleagues.

If you need to adapt the design or order in bulk, feel free to contact us at cad(at)theassetedge.net.

From A Seasoned Game Player - Review of Great Group Games

2009-04-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

I love the Great Group Games book! It has the kind of games in it that are fun and make people feel happy to play instead of like they or others are stupid. The instructions are easy to understand and communicate to others and I like the chart in the back that lets you determine what kind of game you need and then helps you choose one to use. I also like the "Going Deeper" section after the explanation of the game that helps you tie the game into what you are doing. I've got a shelf of game books and keep buying others hoping to find games I'd want our youth playing and am usually disappointed in either the philosophy of the games or the difficulty of figuring out what you are supposed to do. Now I think I can quit searching and get to playing. Would you send me three more of it? I want to keep one at my house, one in the church library, and one in our Middle School Sunday School class.

Cheryl R. Peeples

Workshops at the Center for Innovative Educators

2009-04-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

We will be teaching two workshops this summer at The Center for Innovative Educators in Nashville, TN. Both workshops will highlight how educators can use the Great Group Games book - as a foundation for advisory groups and as a primer for service-learning. The advisory workshop also teaches educators to use the Developmental Assets as a framework for student growth. We would love to have you and your colleagues join us for our workshops, or any of the other 14 creative professional development opportunities available throughout the week. The early-bird registration ends May 1, so you have 3 more weeks to get the discounted rate.

Global Foundations: Advisory as a Key Part of Your School Culture
Friday June 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Advisory groups – little time with big results! Come learn how to power-pack your advisory time with tried-and-true tools, techniques and structures to make your advisory time more meaningful and productive. Based on research on the 40 Developmental Assets, we will look at a framework for healthy student development that will help advisers mentor their students. You will be equipped with a toolbox of 200 activities to build character, leadership and personal development. These activities will also strengthen bonds between diverse students and foster the connection between advisers and students. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of Great Group Games: 175 Boredom-busting, Zero-prep Team Builders for All Ages.

Global Foundations: Service Learning as a Key Part of Your School Culture
Thursday June 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You want to change your school culture. You want people to be committed to serve in meaningful ways. But you’re overwhelmed and stuck. In this workshop, community-minded educators at the middle and high school levels can learn strategies for establishing a common vision for helping others, generating a contagious desire to serve and weaving compassion into the foundation of your campus – from clubs to teams to advisory groups to classrooms. Learn how to assemble a team of students, faculty and community partners to get people excited about meeting community needs. Find secrets for getting your administration excited about service-learning and finding money to fund the projects your students want to do. Discover systems that will make your job easier and help you create a culture of service on campus.

Find more information about these workshops and 14 other creative professional development at www.HarpethHall.org. Early-bird registration deadline: May 1

The entertainment committee - a game from a student reader

2009-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

We love it when readers share games with us! This game was shared by Ashley, a high school student from Newberry, Michigan.

The Entertainment Committee
Ask a few volunteers to leave the room, and give those volunteers the instructions to make the audience clap. They can do whatever they want; they just have to make the group clap. Separately, you give the audience instructions to copy the actions of the person outside. This includes repeating what they say. You bring in the people from outside one at a time. When the outside volunteer claps, the audience will also clap – thereby declaring the volunteer to be a winner.

Am I a Leader?

2009-03-31T19:05:00.001-07:00

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

~ John Quincy Adams

(I saw this tagline on my friend Yolanda's email, and I had to share it with you!)

Preview of Our Next Book - Building Character from the Start

2009-03-29T19:36:00.001-07:00

Here's the cover art for our next book - I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek. :)

You can also see a teaser of the content here.

We just finished editing the text, so we're getting closer to the finished product. Next steps will be finishing the graphic work, page layout, print, marketing, and the release date in August.

Whoo-hoo!!

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

2009-03-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from Great Group Games: 175 Boredom-Busting, Zero-Prep Team Builders for All Ages by Susan Ragsdale and Ann Saylor. © 2007 Search Institute

STAGE 1: STARTING OFF RIGHT
Every group has a beginning. How they begin is important. Starting a group off right can save you from having to go back later to do damage control or try to re-establish connections that didn’t take the first time.

STAGE 2: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Relationship building is on-going. Natural changes within group dynamics can impact group bonding. This calls for attention and care to be given to intentionally engaging, energizing and strengthening group identity on an on-going basis.

STAGE 3: BECOMING A TEAM
With time, groups evolve from many individuals into a cohesive unit. This happens as friendships develop and trust takes root. Groups need to discover and develop their team identity through team builders that require trust, cooperation, communication and working together.

STAGE 4: DEEPENING TRUST
Deepening trust is vital to the health and cultivation of successful teams. Thriving teams must stretch beyond their comfort zones and dare positive risks, both emotionally and physically. The rewards are self-discovery, confidence, group cohesiveness, confidence in voicing opinions and achieving goals.

STAGE 5: CHALLENGING THE TEAM
With established trust comes the ability to tackle new risks, further develop leadership skills, practice critical thinking and decision-making skills and resolve conflicts. Teams are put to the test through challenging, stress-induced activities that call for various leadership strengths and styles.

STAGE 6: AFFIRMING GROWTH & CELEBRATING SUCCESSES
Transitions offer opportunities to reinforce established bonds, recall important moments, group experiences, learning and growth. They also provide a time to celebrate talents, time together, successes and positive group identity. Marking these moments lets the group experience real affirmation and accomplishment.

Within Great Group Games, we have given instructions and reflection questions for 175 games that correlate with these 6 stages. The games will help usher your team or group through all 6 stages of group development.

Sneak Peek into the "Great Group Games" book

2009-03-14T18:07:00.001-07:00

Get a free sneak peek into our "Great Group Games" book. This is a really cool website that lets you preview books. Click here to see 21 pages of our book.

Free shipping on Great Group Games and other Search Institute products

2009-03-02T12:26:00.001-08:00

FREE Shipping on any searchinstitutestore.org order through Wednesday 3/4/09

That means you can get Great Group Games and your other favorite Search Institute products without paying shipping fees!

Candy Bar Taste Test

2009-02-15T19:02:00.001-08:00

Here's a fun icebreaker that I learned from my friend Elizabeth. It would be great to do with your colleagues or with young people:

It's a candy bar test. You take 10 paper plates and number them 1-10. Then you use a fork to squish a different miniature candy bar on each plate. Give each person a piece of paper & a pen. After they # their papers 1-10, they either pass the plates around or walk beside each plate. Without knowing the candy bar options, they quietly try to guess which candy bar is on each plate. They can't taste the candy mush, but they can look and smell. Reveal the answers and see who gets them all correct. It's very fun!!

Q/A from a Reader - Common Ground and Candy!

2009-01-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

Question: I’m planning a luncheon and we need a fun game idea for table groups. There will be 60 people - 10 tables with 6 chairs at each table. Anyway, are you able to share any ideas with us?

My answer:
I think the Common Ground game would work really well for your luncheon. Here are the details:

Ask each table group to compile a list of as many things as their whole group has in common as possible. Give them 3-4 minutes to make their lists on a piece of paper. Then ask each group to submit outloud one answer for each of the following questions. Award mini prizes for the group with:
• the most commonalities
• the funniest commonality
• the most creative commonality
• the 'deepest' commonality
• the most adventuresome commonality
• the most memorable commonality
• whatever else you think of...

If you would like to have a conversation started sitting on the tables when people arrive, you could let table groups do the Candy Quiz together. It's a good way to get people to start talking, by working on a common project.

1. A famous swashbuckling trio of old ___________________
2. Elmer Fudd’s sleight of hand or magical maneuvers ______________
3. Places of interring enemies of those who tend & drive cattle and who are usually mounted on domesticated, large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous mammals ____________________
4. A broad, luminous, irregular band of astral lights that encompasses the stellar sphere ___________________________
5. Crimson-colored libidinous cravings ________________________
6. A celestial body fourth in order from the sun, conspicuous for the redness of its light _______________________
7. Multiple expressions of mirth, joy, or scorn in a covert or suppressed manner ____________________
8. An idiom, used here singularly, employed to describe one whose dexterous deficiency denies proficiency in getting a grip on goods _______________
9. Possessive clone alphabetical characters ______________________
10. Childhood name of a former renowned baseball player whose strike-out record is recondite __________________
11. Celebrated street in the Big Apple _______________
12. The 24-hour part of the week set aside to compensate for labor and toil ______________________
13. Subordinate herbs or seasonings _______________________
14. Lactic flops _______________________
15. The jubilant sensation of an ellipsoidal and edible nut ______________
16. Label on the body bag containing the remains collected after a cat named “Reese” was run over by a mower _______________
17. Dissonant confectionery mixture of dulcet and piquant seasonings ____________
18. To rotate several members of the cylindrical-shaped component of the vowel family _______________
19. Big orb in the sky meets round sweet culinary dish of apple or cherry _____________

(You can email us if you’d like a copy of the answers)

These are both games from Great Group Games – you can find 173 more fun group games with detailed instructions in the book.

The Animal Game

2009-01-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

Directions:
Each participant chooses an animal and a movement to match the animal. Everyone stands in a circle and you go around, the first time just showing your movement to the group. Then you pick one person to start. They do their movement then someone else's movement. The person whose movement they did then does their own movement and a different person’s movement. If a person takes too long to do someone else's movement or they do the movement of someone who is already out then they are out. Eventually you get down to two people and you have to wait for someone to mess up. The whole game is played without saying anything (but you can remind someone they're out). (Directions shared by Ashley, a young person from Newberry, Michigan)

Going Deeper:
*How did you choose an animal?
*How did you remember other people’s animals?
*What strategies helped you be successful in this game?
*Can you use any of these strategies to help with other experiences in life (sports, school, homework, hobbies, relationships…)?

The asset connection:
Creative activities * Achievement motivation * Homework * Responsibility * Planning and decision making * Interpersonal competence *

If YOU have a favorite game to share, please send it to us at ann(at)TheAssetEdge(dot)net. We'd love to share it with other folks around the world!

MVParents - Beat the Winter Blues

2009-01-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

Lynette wrote a great post last week at MVParents titled Dealing with the Post-Holiday Letdown. She gives a lot of ideas for helping children/youth/teens transition from the holiday season back into the routines of everyday living.

One of her ideas for children ages 6-9 is playing games - and she highlights our book, Great Group Games. She's right - playing games (whether cards, board games, games from our book, or other family favorites) is a great way to spend time together. It keeps everyone engaged, it keeps minds active, and it's a great way to make memories.

Check out her other ideas for 'beating the winter blues'.

Free copy of Great Group Games

2008-12-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

Win a free copy of our Great Group Games book! See this email from the Search Institute:
----------------------

Tell us what you think - for the chance to win a copy of our #1 Best Seller Great Group Games!

Do you have . . .
· Ideas for blog topics?
· Ways that we can make asset building easier for you?
· Feedback on our Web site?
Please let us know!

My Newest Book - Building Character From the Start

2008-12-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

Our newest book is finally finished - well at least the first stage of publishing is finished. Susan & I just turned in the final draft of our latest book, which will be published by Search Institute Press in fall 09:

Building Character From the Start

201 Activities to Foster Creativity, Literacy, and Play in K-3

Here is a brief description of the chapters included:

Unit One: Finish the Pictures – Opportunities for children to draw and write stories that ‘finish the pictures’ on the page.
Unit Two: Experiencing Books – 98 books that encourage self-expression, healthy relationships, creativity, and strong character. Each book connects to talking points and activities for further exploration.
Unit Three: Masterpiece Creations – full of story starters, activities with food, and artistic explorations.
Unit Four: Play and Move - games that promote literacy, creativity and play.

We're very excited about the books, games, and writing activities that will inspire children in homes, schools and other youth organizations. We thank God for his many blessings!

If you want to receive an email when the book is released, leave your contact info in a comment box or email me at mommysecretsblog(at)gmail(dot)com.

If you want to take a peek at our other books, click below:

Healthy Communities Healthy Youth Conference - Igniting Sparks

2008-11-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

We just returned from the Healthy Communities Healthy Youth Conference in Minneapolis, MN. We had a great time presenting workshops, meeting really cool people from around the world, swapping stories, previewing new books, and hearing great speakers.

One of our favorite presentations was given by Peter Benson, the president of the Search Institute. He spoke about SPARKS - the passions that bubble up out our hearts and give our lives meaning and purpose; the flames that ignite our lives.

He mentioned 32 primary categories of sparks, ranging from artistic to musical to service to leadership to writing to learning about special interests. I could immediately identify one of my sparks - helping people grow to be strong in mind, body & spirit. Susan's spark is giving - giving information, giving stories, and giving gifts. My sister's spark is hospitality - blessing people by welcoming them into her home. My friend Mary's spark is creativity - through decorating, gardening, and creative activiites.

Every single person has at least one spark, but not everyone can name their spark. And far too few people have a 'spark champion', or someone who nurtures and encourages their spark.

You recognize a person's spark by watching what makes them sparkle & shine; by asking them what they love, what makes them feel alive. By looking for patterns in what makes people feel happiest and where they feel like they are making a difference. Playing GAMES with PURPOSE is a great way to discover a person's sparks.

It's important to know and utilize our sparks, because they make life fun and give life meaning. And they are part of the unique imprint that we have been given to make a mark on the world. These unique sparks might simply be a hobby, or they might lead to opportunities to serve others, or they might even lead to a career.

I'm fascinated by the concept of sparks - it's so simple to understand and apply, yet completely grounded in research about healthy youth development.

Peter Benson has just published a new book, SPARKS: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers. Find out more about his book, and free downloads that can help you identify the sparks of your children and teens at his website, http://ignitesparks.org/.

Back to School - Games Style #4

2008-09-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

Here's another excerpt from our book, Great Group Games: 175 Boredom Busting Zero Prep Team Builders for all Ages.

Hidden Hands

Time: 15 – 25 minutes

Supplies: one comic strip panel (make a copy of the strip for each group of 3-4 participants), one envelope for each group

Description:

This activity is good to give participants practice in communicating with other team members and in making group decisions. You will need a comic strip (duplicated so each work group has a copy), and one envelope for each subgroup. To prepare, photocopy enough copies of the comic strip to provide one for each work group. Cut each strip into separate panels and place the panels in an envelope.

Instruct the participants to form work groups of three to four members each. Distribute one envelope containing a set of comic strip panels to each team.

Direct the members of each team to open the envelope, place the panels of the comic strip face down without examining them, and shuffle them around the table. While the panels are on the table face down, hidden from view, members of each team take turns drawing a panel (without showing it to others), going around until all panels have been chosen. Team members are allowed to describe their own panels as fully as possible, but they are not allowed to look at the panels of the other participants or to show their panels to others.
When the team members have agreed on which panel is first in the cartoon (based on the participants' descriptions of the panels), they place it face down on the table. After they have placed all the panels face down in the order they have determined, they then turn them over to see if they have sequenced the comic in the proper order.

Going Deeper:

§ What communication process was used to describe the panels?
§ What are the strengths and challenges of your communication style?
§ How did the team decide what panels went where?
§ Did you readily share your opinions, were you hesitant to share, or were you perhaps a bit too wordy in your sharing?
§ How might this activity challenge your group to more effectively work together in the future?

Assets: social competencies, commitment to learning, boundaries and expectations

Kelly's Thoughts on Great Group Games

2008-09-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch just made my day! She just read our Great Group Games book, and look what she had to say!! You can also enter her free giveaway for your own copy of the book!

By the way, if you don't already know about Kelly's blog, she has great things to say about nurturing young people, including her own new book, Empowering Youth. Take a look at her great stuff!

Back to School - Games Style #2

2008-08-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

I finally added a paypal link to the blog, so you can buy our Great Group Games book directly from here! Thanks to Joanne Heim for coaching me through the process.

Here's another warm-up for a new group during this back-to-school season:

It’s Your Birthday
Time: 10-15 minutes
Supplies: music

Description:
“Today is your birthday and this is your party! As hostess/host of this party you have to introduce as many of these people to each other as you possibly can.” After people have had a chance to mingle, do a quick hand count of who introduced the most people. To make it more like a party, play some music as the people mingle.

Assets: support, social competencies, safety

Back to School - Games Style

2008-08-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

Back to School time equals start-up time for clubs, classes, sports teams and youth organizations. Playing GAMES with PURPOSE is a great way to kick off your year to a great start. You can find 175 ideas in our GREAT GROUP GAMES BOOK, but here is one name game to help your participant's (and you!) learn everyone's names:

Names in Action
· Time: 10 – 30 minutes
· Supplies: none
· One by one, each participant introduces herself to the rest of the group by putting a motion to each syllable of her name as she says it out loud. (For example: Crystal has 2 syllables in her name, so she puts her hands on her hips with “Crys” . . . and bobs her head with “tal.”)
· The group, in turn, repeats back the name with the action motion (affirming the person and solidifying the name in their heads).
· The next person goes. The group repeats their name/action and then repeats the name of the first person again.
· And so it goes until all action names have been done.

Variation: For the Brave and the Bold and Those Who Want to Have FUN
· After everyone has gone around and all names have been done, put on a compilation of music. Randomly yell out “do the Crystal!” or “do the George!” or whoever is in the group and everyone can dance around doing the motions of that particular person to the beat until you yell out the next person, then they change to that person’s motion action.

Reading List for Youth Workers

2008-07-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

I received this great reading list from SLYPN, the Service-Learning Youth Professionals Network. I already love some of these books, I can't wait to read others:

Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
By Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell considers the elements needed to make a particular idea take hold. The tipping point occurs when something that begins as small turns into something very large. Gladwell's premise rests on three rules: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

Good to Great and the Social Sector: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
By Jim Collins
This monograph is a response to questions raised by readers in the social sector, and it is not a new book. The author wanted to avoid any confusion about the monograph being a book by limiting its distribution to online retailers. This monograph is based on interviews and workshops with over 100 social sector leaders.

Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits
By Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant
What makes great nonprofits great? Not large budgets. Not snazzy marketing. Not perfect management. Great nonprofits spend as much time working with institutions outside their four walls as they do managing their internal operations. They use the power of leverage to become greater forces for good. This reveals the six powerful practices of twelve high-impact nonprofits and tells their compelling stories. Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant spent four years surveying thousands of nonprofit leaders, conducting hundreds of interviews, and studying in-depth a dozen high-impact organizations to uncover their secrets to success. Their quest took them from the well-known, Habitat for Humanity; to the less well-known, YouthBuild USA; and to the unexpected, the Exploratorium. What the authors discovered surprised them.

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business
By Patrick M. Lencioni
Lencioni uses a parable to frame his advice on how to get value from time spent in meetings. Meetings are like movies in that they need conflict and resolution to hold people's attention. They also require seriousness of purpose, diligent preparation, and a persistent focus on stated goals. He then offers explicit advice about providing drama and structure.

The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action
By Cathryn Berger Kaye

How to Change the World
by David Bornstein
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD tells the stories of people who have both changed their lives and found ways to change the world. It tell stories of people who have discovered how to use their talents and energy to advance deeply meaningful changes -- defiant people who refuse to accept the status quo, who simply cannot sit still in the face of injustice, suffering or wastefulness. The book shows (and analyzes) how innovators advance new models to solve social and economic problems -- how they make headway against the odds. Full of hope and energy, pragmatic solutions and compelling characters, this book will be practical and inspiring reading for individuals who seek to understand the fast growing field of "social entrepreneurship" and discover opportunities to enrich their work and their lives. Whether they are teachers or management consultants, bankers or doctors, nurses or social workers, writers or engineers, the people in this book are successfully demonstrating that one person with initiative and the courage to try out a new idea, along with a determination to seek out and connect with other changemakers, can advance changes that improve the lives and unleash the potential of thousands or even millions of others.

The Call to Service
by Robert Coles

Leading from Within
by Nancy S. Huber

The Impossible Will Take a Little While
by Paul R. Loeb

Finding Your Voice
by Lorraine R. Matusak

Games in Unlikely Places

2008-07-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

We received this letter from a woman using games from Great Group Games in the prison system. It's amazing to see how many different types of organizations and businesses and schools can use this resource! It's exciting to see!

The women in our program are truly enjoying the games in your book. Just to give you some background... I work at the Tennessee Prison for Women (the only maximum security prison for women in the state). I am a Substance Abuse Counselor in the Therapeutic Community, which is a long-term substance abuse program within the prison. The ladies in our program are incarcerated for charges related to their addiction to drugs or alcohol ( i.e.- vehicular homicide, possession of controlled substances, child abuse, etc.) We primarily utilize cognitive-behavioral therapy to address their criminal thinking and anti-social behaviors.

Our program is structured as a hierarchy- every person in the program has a function and responsibility. They are all put on different crews, such as Education Crew, Service Crew, Orientation Crew, and Creative Energy Crew, just to name a few. The responsibility of the Creative Energy Crew is to motivate the women first thing in the morning with some type of game, skit, activity before they start their therapeutic groups. As you can imagine, having to do this every day, they are running out of ideas. When I saw your book, I thought it would be perfect to help give them some great ideas that require little preparation and few props. It is ideal because we are limited (as staff) as to what we can actually bring into the prison. Most things are considered contraband, so it gets challenging for us to "think outside the box" when it comes to motivating the inmates.

So far, they LOVE the games! This morning, in fact, they did the one where they have to sing their name to the group and then the group in unison sings it back to them. We were all laughing hysterically and it got the day off to a great start.

The book truly give ideas that are great for any setting-- from a corporate group to inmates in prison. Thank you for your contribution and we are going to keep on having fun!

Amber Stevenson

Fusion - A Peek Into Our Working Style

2008-06-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I went to the beautiful Barefoot Republic Camp in Kentucky with a group of 28 teens, college students and adults; working to build unity among teens in Nashville through a series of worship events called Fusion. We had the best time singing, planning, and hanging out together.

My job was to create a sense of community among these volunteer leaders who will carry out 3 events for 200 teens this summer. They wanted me to lead games from our Great Group Games book because “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” (Plato)

So we played – lots! Our first session was focused on getting to know each other. We bounced, finger fenced, searched for commonalities, sang, played with balloons, and scavenged for treasure. We learned the stories behind the names of people from teammates around the world.

The second playtime was about leadership and community building. We played silly games that led to deeper conversations about change, empowerment, appreciating diversity, listening, using the group’s strengths, creative problem-solving and trust.

We laughed together for 24 hours and left with 28 new friends, ready to make waves of change in our city. I feel so blessed in my job!

Hog Call

2008-06-25T19:31:00.001-07:00

A stage 2 game from Great Group Games

Time: 20 minutes

Supplies: index cards with compound words, one for each person

Set-Up:
Make a set of index cards with compound words. For example, on one card write ‘peanut’, and on the other card write ‘butter’. On one card write ‘shoe’, and on the partnering card, write ‘lace’.

Description:
Shuffle the cards and randomly give everyone a card. When you give the cue, ask participants to hunt for their compound word partners. When everyone thinks they’ve found a partner, have them form a large circle, standing beside their compound partner. The group may need to problem solve & shuffle people around, because some words will have multiple possibilities for their partners.

Going Deeper:
§ How did you first respond to the task of finding your compound word partner?
§ What tactics helped you to succeed?
§ Did priorities and decision-making ever come into play?
§ If your word fit with multiple words, how did that make you feel?
§ If it took you an especially long time to find your word match, how did that make you feel?
§ How might these experiences apply to real life?

Assets: social competencies, positive identity, creative activities

Crossword Connections

2008-06-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

A stage one teambuilder from the Great Group Games book

Time: 15-20 minutes

Supplies: paper and pen for each participant

Description:
Give each person a piece of paper and ask them to write their full name in large letters across the middle of the page. Then ask everyone to mingle for 5-7 minutes, searching for “connections” (commonalities) they have with one another. When you discover a “connection,” write your new friend’s first name in crossword style to connect with your name, then record your specific commonality on the back of the page. See how many connections everyone can find in a short amount of time.

Going Deeper:
§ How can we be so different, yet so much alike?
§ How does finding commonalities affect your comfort level in a group?
§ Do we take the time to find commonalities in everyday life? Why or why not?
§ Does finding commonalities make it easier to start conversations? Build relationships?

Assets: interpersonal competence, safety, positive peer influence, support

Sticky I.D.

2008-06-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

A name game from the Great Group Games book

Time: 20 minutes

Supplies: a post-it note and pen for each participant

Description:
Give each participant a post-it note and a pen. Ask them to draw 2 lines (making a “t”) that split their paper into four squares. Have them fill in the blanks for the following questions:

*Something you liked doing when you were younger that you still enjoy
*One of your favorite things to do outside
*Something you'd like to learn more about
*A place you’d love to visit one day

When everyone is done, ask people to partner up with someone they don’t know very well, share names if they don’t know them and share the answers to their questions. When you blow the whistle, ask participants to find a new partner. After rotating through 5-6 partners, ask the group to form a circle and share some of the things they learned about one another.

Going Deeper:
* While talking with others, did you remember any fun activities that you especially enjoy?
* What kinds of topics were other people interested in learning more about?
* Did you discover anything that you had in common with someone else in the group?

Assets: Support, commitment to learning, safety, interpersonal competence, constructive use of time

Happy Birthday!

2008-06-25T19:15:00.001-07:00

The Great Group Games book is officially one year old. It's been a big hit with schools, camps, youth organizations, churches, and businesses all over the country. We've been SO blessed to hear stories about the ways YOU are using our games. You are PLAYING WITH PURPOSE - using games to shape values, relationships, skills, and leadership styles.

We're proud to say that the book has officially gone into it's 3rd printing - a very cool feat for a nonfiction book in the first year. HOORAY!!!

THANK YOU for all your support in this project. If you were here, we'd give you a slice of birthday cake! So why don't you go have a Hershey's Kiss, and celebrate with us!