[ instigate change ]

Hey folks! Sorry that this has taken so long to post. I've had a pretty hectic month of May (as I'm sure that most have). The last two weeks have been extra-special hectic because I broke my 4th finger on my right (dominant) hand and ended up needing surgery...a plate and 6 screws. Awesome! So it's taken me a little bit to get back in the swing of things with writing and typing. This next activity is a staple among my staff. When we have multiple team building blocks happening at once - this is one that is most often fought for. It's very simple but for obvious reasons - needs a physical apparatus to do. But it's value as part of a permanent program is very high Check it out! The Whale Watch Type of Initiative: Initiative Group Size: 5-15 people Equipment: The Whale Watch platform (or a balance deck) Objective: To balance the deck off the ground from the first person on to the last person. Playing the Game: Because of safety co...

Happy Thursday everyone!! I trust that this week has started well for everyone. I have fallen a little behind in the posts department. I still owe everyone the debrief from last week and I have a partially written post on Effective Teaching Practices in light of the workshops that I've been facilitating at teacher conventions. I was just at the Central Alberta Teacher Convention last week and I'm heading out to do the Palliser District next week in Calgary. Admittedly I always feel nervous leading up to the workshops because my brain starts playing tricks with itself. I find myself saying..."Who do you think you are? Teaching teachers? This is their business not yours...they know more than you! You won't teach them anything . They will hate your workshops." Yikes! It looks worse and yet, more ridiculous when you see it written down. But ultimately those are just the discouraging things that our world feeds us and that maybe I've been told ...

Hi folks! Sorry I've been a bit tardy this week in delivering an activity. It's budget time for me and so finding time when I have not been crunching numbers has been difficult. I've got an old faithful activity for you today that I've been doing for years. It is also a staple activity for many of my staff because it can be done just about anywhere and you don't need a set prop or permanent apparatus to do it either. I find that the majority of Americans (for what reason, I do not know) call this the All Aboard whereas I learned it as the Pile On. The funny story about the name "Pile On" is that when I first learned it...over ten years ago - I thought the facilitator had called it the Pylon. The name was confusing and I could only assume that she called it that because the tarp we were using was orange and the base of a vehicle pylon is square...so I called it the Pylon for years (seriously) until I was facilitating a group one day that tried to stack...

How do you start one of these blogs? I was so excited to paint the walls of this new/old blog and have a place to share ideas and philosophies with folks - maybe meet new people who are on the same journey as me. But I was suddenly struck last night with the overwhelming feeling that I'm a nobody in this world full of facilitators, shakers, and movers. Who am I to be writing about these things... I was reminded of a point about 9 or so months ago when I encountered my old gym teacher at a teacher's convention where I had an exhibit. I was going to be teaching some workshops on how to integrate team building exercises and cooperative games into school curriculum. We talked briefly about this and she looked up sharply and asked when I had gone out and gotten my Ed. degree. I said that I hadn't but that I had been instructing outdoor education and experiential education at a camp for almost a decade. She laughed, responding - "Who do you think you are...teaching teacher...