What is Team Building? Team building is defined as “the action or process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation.” Spending time as a family is something we are getting to do a lot of lately with having to stay home because of the COVID19 Pandemic. According to the child development institute there are six major benefits that come from spending time together as a family. These benefits include: 1) The child feels important and loved 2) He or she has an opportunity to model parent’s behavior 3) The parent can observe and learn about the child’s strengths and weaknesses in order to better guide them. 4) The child has a chance to voice their thoughts and feelings. 5) The parent and child develop a stronger bond. H Strengthening your Family Through Team-Building Activities How is team building effective in your family? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cohesive team? A cohesive family? Of course. However, as you know, that doesn’t always happen. So, what can you take from the ropes course to apply to your family and use at home? Team building allows your family to have fun, create and collaborate, communicate better, and celebrate together. At the Ropes Course we ensure to Debrief or “process” after each activity. This helps participants discover skills they have learned while doing the activity and how to apply it to their life. For a learning experience to be valuable, it must be analyzed, understood and the principles internalized. The type of question that is asked is important. These games and activities can be quickly turned into relevant life lessons with the right questions.
Here is an example of a game you can play with your family along with ideas of questions to discuss after. Mine Field (2-12 people) Equipment: Blindfolds, variety of obstacles, and boundaries. Objectives: • Put numerous obstacles on the ground in a path about 10-15 feet wide and 25 feet long. Natural obstacles are fine, but make sure it is safe. • Several people are blindfolded and expected to make it to the end of the dangerous minefield without touching any of the objects or “mines”. • Other people are appointed to lead them through safely with only verbal commands. • If they touch a mine they must start over. Variations: • Appoint someone to give them false information or distractions. • If they step on a mine, have them switch with their partner. • Mine Field II: The first partner is blind, deaf, and mute. The second partner can see, but is deaf, mute, and cannot use their legs. The partners must go together through the field. (Partner one ends up carrying partner two. They will have to create a way to communicate with one another non-verbally.) Discussion: • Why was it difficult for the person to make it through the mine field? • What methods of communication did you use to help your partner? • How is the communication in this game like that in your family? • Why was it important to rely on your partner? How is this like life?
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