Great Group Games: 175 Boredom Busting, Zero-Prep Team Builders for All Ages
By Susan Ragsdale and Ann Saylor
Search Institute Press, 2007
There’s one thing we learned while growing up that we’ve never forgotten: play is important. It’s essential for the soul, for laughter, for building relationships and for learning. And it’s just plain good ol’ fun.
Play is vital to our lives. It helps keep us sane, it helps us laugh in a world that is seemingly mad, and it helps us make sense of our lives.
The Great Group Games book came into being from years of play: as participants, as camp counselors, as goofy kids (and adults) who couldn’t let go of a good time, as teen workers in the church, school and the YMCA, and as trainers. What’s included here is a revolution that started back in our childhood and evolved over time.
Susan: My earliest memories start with my third and fourth grade teachers who made learning fun by having us play Spelling Baseball and Jeopardy History to learn certain facts and tuck them away in our memories for the long haul (thanks, Ms. Colleen and Mrs. Martin). I can also recall being a 14-year-old summer sports counselor (merely two years older than the campers themselves) and creating wacky games to entertain the masses and keep them moving and having fun.
Ann: My fascination with games came later, as I sought new ways to teach teenagers in classrooms, camps, and conferences. I realized that most people, like myself, learn more effectively when they are using their hands, moving around, experimenting with behaviors, and solving challenges. With my love for laughter, games were the perfect tool, and I started collecting games from all my colleagues and friends. One of the first workshops I ever led was “Playing Games – Not Just Fooling Around” with Cynthia Scherer at the Points of Light Foundation.
This book carries several tried and true name games, warm ups, icebreakers, group games, team builders, challenge initiatives, and closings that work. But here’s the kicker that keeps you ahead in the game: each activity is linked directly to the assets it is helping to build, and has reflection questions that encourage conversations about character, leadership, self-awareness, and team spirit. It’s play with purpose.
Find out more by visiting www.GreatGroupGames.blogspot.com or www.TheAssetEdge.net. You can buy the book and see reviewers’ comments at www.searchinstitutestore.org.
Beyond writing books, Susan and Ann work with youth-serving agencies, schools, churches, and youth groups through their work with the YMCA Center for Asset Development. The mission of the Center is to equip youth and adults to live authentic lives of character, service, and leadership.
The YMCA Center for Asset Development provides coaching, curriculum development, and quality training for youth development professionals and young people. The Center focuses on developing and sharing youth development best practices related to team building, service-learning, empowering youth leaders, community building, and program development strategies.
The staff at the YMCA Center for Asset Development has extensive training and expertise regarding the Developmental Assets® and offers a number of workshops and a training series designed to help youth development professionals better engage the young people with whom they work. The trainings are ideal for many youth serving entities, including churches, youth serving agencies, and schools.
To learn more about the YMCA Center for Asset Development and the trainings and consulting they offer, or to get more information or join the Tennessee Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth initiative, contact center directors Susan Ragsdale (sragsdale@ymcamidtn.org ) and Ann Saylor (ann@theassetedge.net.) You may also visit the center’s website at www.theassetedge.net or call 615.262.9676 to learn more.
back to initiative