I am so excited about this week's team building exercise. If you have any fond child hood memories of playing dodge ball on the playground, this exercise is for you and you can play it at work! Paper Dodge Ball Use: Ice Breaker, Afternoon Energizer, Welcome Back, New Hire Orientation Purpose: This exercise is fun, it ss silly and it is a reminder of one the favorite childhood games. Use this an icebreaker before an event, a refresher after lunch a welcome back after a long weekend or a perfect getting to know you game. This game is meant to allow the participants to get up and use their body and well as a little bit of their mind. Materials: This exercise requires several sheets of paper, at least one sheet of paper per person playing the game. This can be played in a conference room, an office, over a desk, a dining table a rec room, training room or living room. This game can even be played outside in good weather. Each team member will need a pen or a pencil. Setup: It’s so simple…I mean that! See below
Conclusion I believe I said it best above so here it is again. At the end of the game, unroll the paper balls and give everyone a few minutes to read them. If you have time, allow everyone to share and discuss the answers. This info can be used as a way to connect with, appreciate or motivate team members. Post these in a public place for everyone to see and share for at least a week after the game. This is a great way to learn about the people you are working with in any capacity and its just fun to throw paper!
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This is one of my absolute favorite exercises to do with all kinds of teams. This exercise works as a fun energizer for well functioning long standing teams and can be made very silly and fun! This exercise may also be used to identify challenge areas in communication and trust within teams. Why is this important? Why should we engage in an activity where we are trying to highlight our perceived deficiencies? When building teams, whom are there to accomplish the same goals, it is important that we pay attention to areas that are weak. These areas will keep teams from functioning well and achieving their goals. So we need to acknowledge these deficiencies so we plan and implement changes or actions to correct them and improve them. Working with a team of people is not very different from a professional sports team. Coaches and players are constantly watching past game footage, finding mistakes and creating plans and strategies to constantly improve on their past performance. We as teams, can follow suit and become the best team that we can be!!! The full instructions are available below for download. As always please leave me a comment and let me know your opinion! Have a wonderful day!
The Marshmallow Challenge is a wonderful way to begin a meeting or an announcement. It will help your team mentally prepare for the meeting ahead. The game itself is fun and a wee bit sticky! It will help the team members "break" ties with previous tasks or preoccupations they have on their mind and even helps reduce stress or anxiety they may be feeling. The actions of the game providing to focus on a fun and challenging task. At the end of this short game, they will better prepared to focus on the new information or topic at hand. The instructions are included in this post as well as in a downloadable file. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think or better yet, what impact this game had on your team!
Thank you for joining me on my Facebook Live or Linked-In to watch the first installment of 52 Weeks of Team Building. This week I discussed the importance of building a culture of "Play" within your team. Remember, a team may be the people you work with, live with, friends, volunteer groups and more. You can use these concepts with any group you interact with regularly to develop a mind set and culture of "Play". Its about taking actions to help yourself and those around you more engaged, more active, less stressed, more focused and happier. Whether you are starting with us today or you find this post 5 months from now, I want to hear from you! Tell me how you used the Declaration of "PLAY" and what were your results! If you have questions leave me a comment or feel free to email me at beth@creativelearningsociety.com Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/creativelearningsociety The File for The Declaration of Play is Below. Please Click the File to view and save. Thank you Beth Ackerman-Ornelas Chief Creative Officer
Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters (simplyhappyfoodie.com)
I don't know about you but I love my Crock Pot! They are magical little devices where I can dump many ingredients...walk away and BAM! I get a meal. They are so magical that my friend's Husband calls her Crock Pot Witch Majic! I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is crazy easy and something that can easily be done with the family over the holidays. Maybe even make a tasty treat or gift for someone you appreciate. Ingredients 2 lbs White Melting Chocolate (White Almond Bark or Candy Coating) 4 oz Sweet Baking Chocolate (such as German by Baker's) 2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips 16 oz Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts 8 oz Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts 8 oz Cocktail Peanuts Instructions 1. Line your kitchen counter with parchment, or 3 baking sheets with parchment (this recipe makes a lot!). 2. In a 5 qt or larger slow cooker, add the white melting chocolate, sweet baking chocolate, and semi sweet chocolate chips. Put the lid on and set to LOW for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally (you will want to check it to make sure it is not burning). 3. When the chocolates are all soft and melted enough, stir to combine them. 4. Add all of the nuts to the crock pot and stir them in well. Put the lid on and switch to Warm, or turn off the slow cooker (but leave the crock in the housing to stay warm). 5. Use an ice cream scoop or a Tablespoon, depending on how large you want your peanut clusters, to scoop small mounds onto the parchment paper. After you have used all of the mixture, Rinse your crock with hot water. 6. The candies will take about an hour to really set. When they are set, transfer to an air tight container. These keep well for a week or so, and are wonderful to give as gifts! The Best Ever Microwave Peanut Brittle
The holidays and winter always have m running for the sticky sweet treats and peanut brittle is one of my all-time favorites! This recipe comes from Julie's Treats and is as tasty as it is easy to make. I hope you enjoy making this for you and your family! Ingredients 1 c sugar 1/2 c. corn syrup 1/8 tsp salt 1 1/2 c. unsalted peanuts 1 Tbsp butter 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp baking soda Instructions Combine sugar, syrup and salt in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 5 minutes on high. Stir in peanuts. Microwave 3 to 5 more minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. Microwave until syrup and peanuts are light brown. Stir in butter, vanilla and baking soda until light and foamy. Spread on buttered cookie sheet. Cool and break. I love any activity that brings people together and engages their creativity. Craft Socials are my way of doing just that! The purpose of the events is to have FUN! I tell everyone that these events are for the “Craft Misfits” and “Pinterest Failures”. If I can create an outlet for adults and children to exercise their inner creativity and give them a safe place to step out of their comfort zone all while meeting new people and hopefully making some friends....then I have fulfilled the purpose of a Craft Social!
Here are a few pictures of my recent craft socials. I hope you enjoy and Please Join is for our next Social or contact me to set up a Team Building or Private Event. Weekly Team Builder! Here is a fun game for any size group or team! Are you ready for the DRAMA??
Paper Bag Drama Supplies: • Paper lunch bags 5 • Miscellaneous items at least 3 - 5 items per bag • Camera – you won’t want to miss this! Preparation: Before your meeting, find and place 3-5 random objects into each paper bag. Items can be anything that fits inside the bag and is appropriate for your group. I have used items like glue sticks, cupcake sprinkles, scissors, paper, markers, earrings, q-tips, package of tea, coffee, sugar packets, string, lipstick and more. Close the bags and bring them to your meeting Instructions: Break your group into teams of 3-4 people. Once the groups have assembled. Explain that they will be given a bag. In the bag they will find some random items. Their mission is to create a short “skit” using the items in the bag. If needed they may use any other items in the room to assist them with their “skit”, Each team will be given 5 minutes to prepare their skit. Once you have explained the rules and answered their questions…hand out the bags and start the timer! I suggest handing out all of the bags at one time and allowing all groups to prep during the first 5 minutes. Then invite everyone to take their seats as the groups begin to perform their skits. Keep this activity light and fun! You can have the entire team vote for their favorite “skit” and give the winning team a small prize. If you have time, you can shuffle the bags and have the teams perform another “skit”. You can also have separate prizes for best actor, actress, most enthusiastic, worst actor ect… Everything Fall means baking and I love me some soft and sweet Pumpkin Bread. This recipe is amazing and gives you a moist bread and includes a new twist with the Maple Cinnamon Butter. Add a cup of coffee and I am in heaven! Enjoy!
This recipe comes from Stuckonsweet.com: Recipe type: Bread Serves: 6 Ingredients Pumpkin Bread 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice ½ cup vegetable oil ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs ½ of a 15 ounce can pure pumpkin. About 1 cup. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅓ cup water 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional) Maple Cinnamon Butter Maple Cinnamon Butter 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1 tablespoon maple syrup ¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together; flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside. 3. In a stand-alone mixer fitted with a whisk attachment cream together the oil and sugars, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 4. Next, add eggs one at a time and vanilla, scraping down sides of the bowl. 5. Next, add pumpkin, maple syrup and water, again scraping down the sides of the bowl. 6. Lastly, add the bowl of dry ingredients a little at a time until just mixed together. 7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan before turning the pan over to take it out. 8. To make the maple cinnamon butter, whisk all of the ingredient in a bowl and serve with bread. It would not be Fall.....without the addition of Pumpkin Pie Spice in absolutely everything we eat, drink and smell! Lucky for me, I happen to love this stuff! The recipe listed below can be used to flavor a multitude of Fall inspired beverages and tasty treats. So go ahead and put on your favorite Fall sweater and cozy up to a good book with a taste of this Pumpkin Spice. Read everything or skip to the end to see how you can use this recipe. This recipe is courtesy of Lexiscleankitchen.com
Ingredients 1/4 cup ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 2 teaspoons cloves Directions Place all ingredients in a jar and stir or shake to mix it up completely. Close with a tight fitting lid and store for up to one year (see note). Recipe Notes Spices are best kept for one year, so if you are starting with older spices it may lose its potency sooner than one year. Uses for Pumpkin Pie Spice Pumpkin Cheesecake Pumpkin Spice Cornbread Apple Pie Spiced Pumpkin Seeds Maple Sauce Strussel Pumpkin Spice Pretzels Pumpkin Spice Latte Pumpkin spice honey or syrup Pumpkin Spice Candles Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Pumpkin Spice Donuts And the list goes on and on! |
AuthorCreative Learning Society is a Team Building company. We believe in the power of "Play" and strive to build a platform of education built on creativity, fun and knowlege growth! Archives
January 2022
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