Leadership - day 2 teamwork

Mindfulness Activity:

Trivia question: What is the national food of Canada?

a) Lobster rolls
b) Maple syrup
c) Poutine

Mindfulness Activity:

• Imagine that your pointer finger is a candle.
• Hold up your candle, take a deep breath in, then blow out the candle on your finger for as long as you can.
• Notice how your breath fills up your belly when you breathe in.

Shoe Tower

Supplies:

• Shoes
• 2 or more people

Work in pairs against someone else in your family. Build the tallest free-standing structure by only using shoes from your closet. The tallest structure wins!

Ask your child these questions:

• What strategies did you use to build your tower?
• What worked? What didn’t?
• How is this activity related to leadership?

Don't forget to clean up and put all the shoes back where you found them. A good leader knows it's their responsibility to always clean up after themselves.

Hip Ball

Supplies:

• Ball
• Random objects
• 2 or more people

Help your child set up an obstacle course inside the house or in your backyard.

Pair up with someone in your family to walk through the obstacle course, holding the ball between your hips without dropping it.

Time yourselves and see if you can improve your time.

Don't forget to communicate. Remember, a good leader has strong communication skills.

Hoola Hoop Pass

Supplies:

• Hula hoop
• 2 or more people

Gather your family and stand holding hands in a circle.

Each member must step through and pass the hula hoop to the next person without using their hands.

You can choose one person to be the leader to help with directions.

Review Questions:

Ask your child:

• What surprised you while you were working as a team? (Feel)
• Do you think strong teamwork skills is an important leadership quality? (Think)
• How can you work better as team within your own family? (Act)

Mindfulness Trivia Answer

Answer: Poutine

Mindfulness Activity:

Trivia Question: What’s the ideal size of a team?

Mindfulness Activity:

• Sit down so you’re comfortable.
• Notice the thoughts in your head.
• Let them go without judgement. Just say, “Let it go.”
• Do this for 30 seconds.

Shared Circle

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Crayons, markers or paint
• Glue or tape
• 2 or more people

Even though we are all individuals with unique traits, we are all part of the same community.

• Draw a circle and divide the sheet by the number of people taking part in this activity. Cut out the sections.
• Give each person a piece of the circle and ask them to decorate it. They can either follow a theme (superheroes, seasons, food, etc.) or draw a design that represents their own unique personalities.
• Bring all the pieces together to make a full circle by taping it on the back side or gluing it to another surface.
• Notice the beauty in the differences and how it all fits together. What does it say about us and our community?

Marshmallow-and-Toothpick Challenge

Supplies:

• Small marshmallows
• Toothpicks
• 2 or more people

Working in a team helps us share responsibilities and think of more ideas.

• Have your child create the tallest structure in 10-20 minutes. Measure how tall it is.
• Have them do the same thing, but this time with you or their siblings. Make sure to provide same number of toothpicks, marshmallows and time.
• Which one was the tallest structure?

Trust your Team

Supplies:

• Blindfold
• Various objects
• 2 or more people

Part of making teamwork successful is learning to listen and trust your teammates.

• Blindfold one person. The other person must give specific and clear directions to complete a task with the space and objects you have.
• Make sure to switch roles so all the participants have the chance to try both roles.

These are some ideas for tasks:

• Building a Lego shape
• Going from one area of the house to another without touching furniture
• Arranging objects in a pre-set order
• Learning a new dance move
• Drawing a shape or picture. The person giving directions should not say what the shape is, they should only provide directions.

Review Questions:

Ask your child:

• How did you feel when working in a team setting? (Feel)
• Do you think you work better alone or in a team? (Think)
• What are some thing you can do to motivate a team? (Act)

Mindfulness Trivia Answer

Answer: Between 4-9 people

Mindfulness Activity

Trivia Question: What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?

Mindfulness Activity:

• Sit down and notice your thinking.
• In your head, tell yourself to relax. Notice what happens next.
• Are there any more thoughts popping up inside your head? Are they negative or positive?

Who's in the Bag?

Supplies:

• Paper bag
• 5 personal objects
• 2 or more people

A team is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. It could be your family, peer groups, or a club or sports team. Getting to know and trust your teammates helps build a stronger team.

• Find someone who lives with you or call up a friend on video chat.
• Put 5 personal items that represent you and make you unique into the paper bag. For instance, you may grab picture of your family and share how important your family is to you.
• Share all 5 items with your teammate and have them share 5 items as well. This is an opportunity for you to get to know someone better, which helps build a trusting relationship.

Deserted Island

Supplies:

• Pencil
• Paper
• 2 or more people

Watch the Deserted Island video

Teams often deal with difficult situations.

• With two or three friends, or with your family, pretend you are stranded on a deserted island for one full month.
• Besides the clothes on your back and enough food for one week, think of five things you would want to have with you. Think about things that will help you survive for one month.
• Write down the five items you have selected and your reasons for those items.
• Have everyone in the group come up with their own five items.
• Compare your items and challenge which ones you think are most important.

Team Brainstorming

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil

Being part of a team means working together and brainstorming ideas to help others in need.

• Work with your siblings or call a friend to come up with ideas you can do to help out at home.
• Take the time to think about your home environment and what things you could do to help at home.
• Think about ideas everyone on your team could contribute to and do it safely. For instance, an idea to help your parents clean up the house or volunteer to make dinner.

Things to consider when brainstorming your ideas:

• Who benefits from this?
• Do you have the skills and resources to complete this task?
• Has everyone on the team shared an idea?
• Do you all agree on the ideas?

Review Questions:

• How did you feel about the team building activities? (Feel)
• Why do you think teamwork is an important skill to learn? (Think)
• What made it difficult to determine your decisions as a team with the group activities? Was it easy or difficult? (Act)

Mindfulness Trivia Answer

Answer: Your name.