ACTIVITIES to Connect Generations

GROUP JUGGLING
GAME GROUP JUGGLING

Goal: Using coordination,

concentration, and teamwork, a
series of tennis balls are passed
around in an established pat-
tern, resulting in the entire
group juggling together.
Intention: Participants will be
asked to think about who they
can turn to in difficult times,
and what they can do to sup-
port others in need.
Supplies: Several tennis balls and a rubber chicken.
How to play:
n Firstly, donʼt worry about the length of this section. Itʼs not as difficult as it may seem!
n Find a moment when you can secretly hide a rubber chicken under the back of your shirt.
Make sure no one sees you or knows itʼs there.
n Begin by having everyone form a tight circle, then have everyone take one large step
backwards to create some space between them. Show them a tennis ball, and tell them
youʼre going to teach them how we can all juggle as a team.
n Tell the group theyʼre about to establish a pattern, and will need to remember that pattern
and keep it the same every time.
n To establish this pattern, have everyone point at the ceiling with one hand. Tell them you,
and you alone, are going to begin by pointing at someone in the circle with your arm
thatʼs currently pointing at the ceiling.
n The person you are pointing at will then point at someone else, who will point at someone
else, and so on. They can only point at someone whoʼs pointing at the ceiling. Ask
everyone to continue to point at their person until this section is completed.

more •4

•— Experiential Games that Bring Youth and Adults Together —•

 Group Juggling, How to Play, continued

n The last person to be pointed at will have to point at you to complete the pattern.
n Ask everyone to look at the person they are pointing at. Tell them that is the person they
will always gently toss the ball to. You may wish to add a note here that you did not say
“Hurl the ball as hard as you can at their head!” Emphasize “gently toss!”
n Have everyone look at who is pointing at them, and tell them they will always catch the
ball from that person. Make certain everyone remembers who theyʼre catching from and
tossing to.
n Point out that we are juggling as a team and that our goal, all together, is to make sure
none of the balls get dropped. So if the person weʼre tossing to isnʼt ready, should we
throw the ball to them? No! We should get their attention somehow and make sure theyʼre
ready first.
n Toss one tennis ball around in the established pattern, making sure the pattern is followed
and no one is left out. Practice this for a minute to build their confidence.
n Then, show them that you have several more tennis balls. Tell them that youʼll start with
one, and when it seems as though everyone has that one going pretty well, youʼll add in
another, and another, and so on. Remind them that theyʼll have to really pay attention to
both their throwers and their catchers!
n Once you have three or four tennis balls going around the pattern at the same time with
some stability, keep this going for a moment. Then quietly add the rubber chicken to the
pattern, throwing it around the pattern as though it were another tennis ball. Usually, utter
chaos will erupt and the tennis balls will end up all over the floor!

TIPS FOR FACILITATORS:

• It may take a few tries for participants to get the hang of this. If a ball is dropped, consider
pausing for a moment to ask everyone what happened and how they improve their
juggling technique.
• If the group is struggling, use only two balls in the pattern.

ORID Debrief:
Objective: How did we establish a pattern for this game? What did you see others doing
that was helpful? What did you see happen when I added the chicken to the pattern?

more •4

•— Experiential Games that Bring Youth and Adults Together —•

Group Juggling, continued

Reflective: How did you feel when we first started? How did you feel when we were
juggling more than one ball? How did you feel when someone dropped a ball? How did
you feel when I added the chicken to the game?
Interpretive: Did this game remind you of anything from your life? Do you ever feel
in real life like you felt in this game? Do you ever feel like you’re juggling a lot of things
all at once? How does this feel? What kind of things are you juggling?
Decisional: What can you do when you feel like you’re juggling too many things? How
can you make things easier for yourself when you’re struggling? What can you do when
you see others who look like they’re juggling too many things? How can you make
things easier for others when they are struggling?
Possible Discussion: Following is an example of a discussion Alaska ICE facilitators
often have with teenagers. It can be adjusted to relate to any age group:
“Do you ever feel like, in your life, you’re juggling a whole lot of things at once?
Maybe you’ve got school, homework, chores, work, relationships with your friends,
relationships with your family… lots of stuff you’re juggling all at the same time? And
sometimes everything might be going along pretty well – you’re doing okay in school,
keeping up with your homework, getting along fine with your parents and your friends,
and then suddenly life throws you a rubber chicken. Something happens that throws you
off. In this game we just played, what happened when I threw out the rubber chicken?
Yup. We started to lose our rhythm and dropping the tennis balls all over the place! We’d
been doing pretty good keeping everything up until that chicken surprised us.
Sometimes things like this happen to us. Something unexpected happens, and it throws
off everything else in our lives. It might be something as simple as not getting enough
sleep. What happens when you don’t get enough sleep? That’s right. You don’t get
enough sleep so maybe you’re late to school and you get in trouble. Then maybe you
fall asleep in class and get in more trouble and miss the homework assignment. Then
maybe you’re grouchy and you end up saying something mean to a friend, so now you’re
fighting with them. And maybe when you get home, all this has built up and you’re in
such a bad mood, you say something rude to your parents. Now you’re not doing so well
in school, at home, or with your friends, all because you didn’t get enough sleep. We
call a bad day like this a “Rubber Chicken Day.” And it might be as simple as not getting
enough sleep, or maybe it’s something a little more serious. What else might cause you
to have a Rubber Chicken Day? Right. It could be something serious like losing a friend,
someone we care about moving away, or someone we love passing away.
When you’re having a Rubber Chicken Day, what can you do about it? Sure – you can go
for a walk, take a nap, write in your journal, etc. What about talking to someone about it?
Who can you talk to? Yes – friends, parents, counselors, your dog, your stuffed animal,

more •4

•— Experiential Games that Bring Youth and Adults Together —•

Group Juggling, continued

etc. Very good. What is it about these people that makes them good to talk to? What do
they do that you find helpful when you’re having a Rubber Chicken Day? Great – they
listen, you can trust them, they make you laugh, they care about you, etc.
Now think about your friends. When your friend is having a Rubber Chicken Day, what
can you do for them? Right – you can listen, be there for them, make them laugh, etc.
Now think about those qualities we talked about, those things that make some people
good to talk to when you’re having a Rubber Chicken Day. Are you doing those things
for your friends? Are you being a good listener? Are you someone they can trust? Do you
let them know you care about them? Very good!
The first thing we have to do when we’re having a Rubber Chicken Day is to recognize
it! We have to realize “Hey! I just yelled at my best friend for no reason. Maybe I’m
feeling really grouchy today. I wonder why?” Once you realize you’re having a Rubber
Chicken Day, you can start to think about why you might be feeling bad, and you can
start to find a way to feel better!”
Variations:
n Rather than several tennis balls, try this with a couple tennis balls, a ping-pong ball, a golf
ball, a rubber bouncy ball, etc. This is a lot harder!
n With younger kids, play this game more like “Hot Potatoes” where they just roll the balls
around on the floor in the established pattern.
n With very young kids (Head Start/Preschool), itʼs fun to just roll or pass the ball around in
the circle.
n Also with younger kids, use cute stuffed animals rather than tennis balls, still saving the
secret rubber chicken for the last moment.

•— Experiential Games that Bring Youth and Adults Together —•