Noticed some droopy shoulders and pale-looking faces around the classroom? Maybe it’s about time you bring your students out for some fun team bonding games.
An orchestra would have no significance if the whole ensemble doesn’t play in sync. Similarly, a football team would lose if the goalkeeper fails to show up. What does this mean? Well, when a group works together in unison, great things happen; a no-brainer, right?
Fun team bonding outings are perfect for teaching students the virtues of effectiveness and collaboration, the need for communication, motivation, and productivity. But to determine the right kind of team bonding event, maybe you’ll Google something like “fun team bonding ideas” and stumble upon a post explaining the various types of them. Honestly speaking, students will love any outing that’s thrilling and adventurous and done at an extraordinary place.
There are over a hundred different types of fun outdoor team bonding games. However, for the sake of your students, you could try the following:
Scavenger Hunt
As you may have guessed, Scavenger Hunt is an action-packed team bonding game, often played for 1 hour. It can accommodate as many players as necessary, and all that’s needed is a pen and paper. To play it, however, members will have to be subdivided and each group will be given a task to complete.
Now, the best part is getting the job done. Imagine a group that’s expected to solve a mystery within a limited period, get familiar with strangers and take photos or even take a selfie with them. Whoever finishes the list of tasks first is the winner.
The Perfect Square
Yet another exciting team bonding game that takes about 30 minutes, the Perfect Square game is as its name says – perfect. It is a 5-20 people game that involves having a long piece of rope and blindfolds. All players are blindfolded, and the participants asked to keep quiet before the game starts. For the whole 30 minutes, every player will be expected to walk as furthest from the starting point as possible, before asking them to get back. Once they are back, you will give each person a rope to form a square.
The Egg Drop
You may either know this game or have played it before. The Egg Drop can be played the entire day or for 2 hours. However, there must be 10 or more players, office supplies, including fresh eggs. The whole class will be split into groups of two or three before the ‘Eggpocalypse’ starts. During the next 10-15 minutes, each team will be busy building a contraption around the egg, to hold the egg. Once the time for building the small structures is up, the ‘Eggpocalypse’’ starts. A team whose egg survives wins!
Escape Room Games
Imagine being in a room where you are expected to work your way out by cracking a series of clues and puzzles? Well, it exists! Escape room games are perfect for educating students the virtues of collaboration, intuitive thinking, and communication among other traits. Basically, it entails a team of 8-10, all frantically searching for keys and other items that would help them escape within a limited time. A team that gets out first is the winner.
The Barter Puzzle
This fun team bonding game takes an hour or two and involves four or more small groups, with each team battling a different jigsaw puzzle. Of course, all puzzles ought to be of a similar difficulty. A team that solves the problem faster than the others is the winner. However, it isn’t a small feat – teams work in collaboration by trading, exchanging or hawking off parts of the puzzle.
The real winner after playing these games is the students themselves. Some skills are better taught through such experiences, away from the walls of the classroom.
