Bureaucrat, staff, administrator
832
edits
Changes
m
Reverted edit of Ipodsoft, changed back to last version by 203.201.62.50
* 1’ x 1’ squares of cardboard or foam or rubber baseball bases work well also(half to two-thirds as many squares as people in the group)
* you You can also substitute 8.5x115" x 11" pieces of paper
* 2 pieces of rope (or masking tape or 4 cones)
The object of the activity is to get all members of the group safely across the river. They must go as one big group, not multiple smaller ones. Also stress that everyone must be on the river before anyone can get off the river, forcing the entire group to be engaged at once.
Participants cannot touch the water (floor/grass) and therefore must use rafts (cardboard squares) to cross.
The water is filled with piranhas. Therefor Therefore if someone loses their balance and touches a hand in the water it gets eaten(put behind the back). Same goes for a foot. If a person completely comes off the raft they are gone and since this is a team exercise everyone must start over. I recommend using this motto with the group, "start as a team end as a team."
You can also be creative and add challenges in as the group crosses. For instance you can say a fish jumped up and tail slapped someone in the eyes so now they cannot see(blindfolded). Tell them the river is acidic and when two people share a raft it tipped and now their legs are fused together(tie ankles together). Use these tools to help take away the natural leaders or more outspoken participants and it forces the others to step up and take on more substantial roles.
No scooting or sliding on the squares. This can be a safety issue and it emphasizes individual work versus teamwork.
* The tiles can only go forward. They cannot move backwards
* No one can finish until everyone has left the “bank” of the river
* Choose to add challenges like muting individuals, using only 1 arm, eyes closed/blindfolded, no one can talk, others can be "gators" in the river and try to impede those crossing the river, stand in front of the group with arms outstretched to simulate tree they must go around.
* Give group an object that they need to carry with them to safety and discuss what that might represent
* Create situations for them to draw from that are connected directly to their group
* What might the different aspects of the exercise represent in your group: the squares, the river, the loss of squares, the facilitator, etc?
* When the first people rushed off the river and stranded some of you how did that feel?
<center><font color="#FF0000"> Can you help make this activity better? Do you know an alternate way to lead this activity? Click "edit" above and help improve this site for everyone! </font></center>
* [[Category:Rope Games]][[:Category:Rope Games| Rope Games]]
