Are you looking for good team-building and problem-solving activities? Here are a few I’ve tried as an elementary school principal. If I thought it was accomplished with a good amount of success, I gave those activities a “thumbs up”. I’ll also share a few that I thought fell short! Look for the “thumbs down”!
MAKE YOUR BED
I call this one, “Make your Bed” as it involves one item…a bed sheet. Easy preparation, easy instructions, but the solution is challenging! The size of the sheet(s) will depend on the size of your staff. A twin size sheet for approximately 15-20 adults or a queen size sheet for approximately 20-24 adults. You will have to be the judge on this one! The more crowded, the more challenging.
INSTRUCTIONS: Place the sheet(s) ready on the floor. The participants will turn the sheet over to the other side while standing on it. That’s it. The rule is that they may not get off the sheet. The first group to turn over the sheet is the winner, or if you have only one group you can time them. (It’s more fun to take pictures, though!)
Note: I explained one time that they were “not to touch the floor” and a gifted adult proceeded to stand on a chair that was beside the sheet! HA! (He was following the rules at the time.) He is the reason it changed to, “may not get off the sheet”!
I’M SO STUFFED!
Materials for each group:
1 XXL T-shirt
6-8 balloons (not inflated)
INSTRUCTIONS: Have one balloon inflated as an example of how big to blow up the balloons. (They will cheat otherwise!) The groups are to choose one person to wear the T-shirt. The remaining group members blow up the balloons, stuff them under the T-shirt of the person wearing it, and then proceed to try to pop them. Since it’s a problem-solving activity, the fewer the instructions the better.
Note: This activity gives “group hugs” a whole new meaning. I didn’t designate where to stuff the balloons during the directions, however, I had one group ask if they could put them in the back. No problem!
WET T-SHIRTS
Since I purchased the T-shirts for the “I’m So Stuffed!” activity, I tried another T-shirt problem-solving activity. Get the T-shirts wet, roll them up, and put them in the freezer overnight. They have to untangle the T-shirt and get one person in the group to put it on. Okay, there were a lot of laughs during this activity, however, there were also a lot of broken fingernails and cold, cold, freezing hands! Some of the T-shirts ended up torn from the pulling and beating…ha! The other downfall was the amount of time. It took a lot longer than expected. Thumbs down for me.
RACE TO THE FINISH
Materials for each group: (Look in your PE supply closet!)
4 scooters
1 pad or mat
4 jump ropes
2 hula hoops
baseball bat
1 plunger (a new one…HA!)
NOTE: The materials involved were what I had on hand. The new plungers were left over from making mini “tuffala trees”. Just call me resourceful! You can substitute items, add items, or subtract items (to make it more challenging). It’s basically up to you.
INSTRUCTIONS: Each group will use the materials provided to travel across the gym floor without touching the floor. If the floor is touched, they have to start over.
A lot of teamwork is required! Check out the pictures, they were doing a lot of thinking, planning… and having FUN!
Note: I was concerned beforehand about clothing and physical capability (I didn’t want anyone getting embarrassed…or hurt!). I assigned a couple with physical limitations to be judges. The judges watched to see if any teams touched the floor. They were in charge of making sure the group started over! The teams took care of assigning roles and helping one another within their groups. Thankfully, my concerns were not an issue!
Photo credit: from Wilderdom.com
TENNIS BALL TRANSFER
I tried another “gym” activity I saw on Pinterest. It involved a five-gallon bucket with ropes attached to it. The bucket was filled with tennis balls. The object was for each group to hold the ropes (I used jump ropes!) and travel to the other side of the gym and dump the tennis balls into a receiving bucket. The downside was the setup time was lengthy. Tying those ropes and gathering the materials lasted a LOT longer than the participation! It felt like it was over in a minute! And…it wasn’t as challenging as I thought. (Add it to the Minute-To-Win-It games maybe?!)
Photo credit: Elite Daily
HUNGRY, HUNGRY HIPPOS
Another popular gym activity is Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Google it and you will see several videos! We had a great time with this one! I think we even tried it more than once. Just remind them to watch their fingers! 🙂
Will the “thumbs up” activities work on your campus? You will have to be the judge of that. You know the temperament and make-up of your campus. I had a very competitive staff so most all of them liked participating. You will have a few that might not. Please don’t let that stop you from creating some “thumbs up” experiences!
PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNTS
Hands down and thumbs up, the most popular activity in my store is the “Photo Scavenger Hunt” complete bundle. I’ve received many great photos from the event. (Thanks for sending them to me!) Check it out by clicking the picture below. You can check out and read about the other Photo Scavenger Hunts here.
LIGHT BULB MOMENTS
Another problem-solving activity is called “Light Bulb Moments”. It has a lighthouse building activity along with certificates, gift tags, appreciation cards, and more. Just click the picture to see the preview.
FOUR CORNERS STAFF ACTIVITY
Check out the Four Corners Staff Activities that allows the staff to get-to-know each other better, and in turn, you’ll find out more about your staff!
Check out more activities in my store to motivate, encourage, and celebrate your staff!
Do you have a staff activity that you conducted or that you participated in that worked well? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Lead joyfully,
Gail Boulton
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