i work in a school and want them to improve their social, team-working and problem-solving skills and want them to jump from a great height and to be caught by another group; the classic outdoor and adventure activity but im not sure on progression of this activity. Any Help? and help for other activities in this field?
First of all, they can’t jump from a "great height." They could get hurt, and the speed of their fall would make it difficult for people to catch them. I recommend having them stand on a table edge, turn around backwards, and fall. The catchers should be two-by-two, facing each other, with their arms paralell to each other. For example, a girl stands facing left with her arms in front of her. The next person faces right with his fingertips next to that persons shoulder, and so on down the line.
The amount of catchers should be based on the height of the person falling.
October 17th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Time and trust are the two keys your looking for.
Show them that you can trust them, and in return it will help "break the ice".
If one will lead, others will follow.
-Void
References :
October 17th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
First of all, they can’t jump from a "great height." They could get hurt, and the speed of their fall would make it difficult for people to catch them. I recommend having them stand on a table edge, turn around backwards, and fall. The catchers should be two-by-two, facing each other, with their arms paralell to each other. For example, a girl stands facing left with her arms in front of her. The next person faces right with his fingertips next to that persons shoulder, and so on down the line.
The amount of catchers should be based on the height of the person falling.
References :
October 17th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Jump from great height? Caution.
This sounds like a concern and an insurance issue. Make sure you are properly insured and that the school is behind your plan. I hope you plan to use a safety net or similar to catch the person. Please consult with the firefighters or invite them to participate. However, I would start in small steps.
Training
Trust cannot be demanded but can be built. I would train the group of students by spreading out a very soft mat on the floor (or several stacked one on the other). Or, I would stack up a bunch of big bean bags as security means.
Then I would have a person stand by the mat or bean bags, with his or her back turned to the mat or bean bags, falling backwards, while a group of students will catch the falling one. There must be an adult holding the person, if the students fail. The fall should be safe and soft in any case.
This is a great exercise to build trust. However, some students may not want to even try, they should not be forced.
Right Into Heaven
There is another very good exercise. Those who do not want to try falling may want to try this one. I feel that this one should precede the one I mentioned above. A person lies on the ground. A group of strong people hold their hands under the person on the floor: under the head, and on each side under the shoulders, the chest, the waist, the hips, the thighs, the knees, the calves and the ankles. At a quiet command (like nodding of the leader), they all lift the person evenly and then starting to rock the person gently, shifting the person along the length of the body back and forth, while gradually, very slowly lifting the person higher and higher, still shifting back and fort. Then, at a quiet command, the group shifts the person back and forth while evenly lowering the person gently and slowly back to the ground. He person should have a few moments to enjoy the feeling, while the group still surrounds the person.
To the person it feels like being lifted to heaven!
Important
The head and the hips are the heaviest areas. Have some strong person hold the head, several persons hold the hips. Get enough people together to do the lift, a fall of the lifted person would be detrimental. Always have some responsible adults between students to lift the person.
I think your idea is basically very good. An experience is worth a million words!
Wishing you success, may you have a chance to also experience the heavenly exercise.
Cordially, India.Magica
References :
Classes in group psychology
Experience