This time of year many summer recreation and camp programs are gearing up to begin the season. These programs offer great opportunities for youth to develop important social and emotional skills through a myriad of activities. Though many of these programs offer great structured activities led by adults, it is important to allow some opportunities [...]

  In my last post I described how I have been re-purposing the well-known ice-breaker Have You Ever? into Anyone Who as a strategy to engage participants in reflecting on or reviewing content from a lesson. I recently had great success using this game in adult staff training days, in guidance groups and in a [...]

This is a follow up on a popular post from last fall that offered ways to actively engage learners in the classroom, boardroom, training or group counseling setting.   Research on the brain and learning emphasizes the importance of breaking up lecture and direct instruction with activities that involve learners socially, emotionally and physically as [...]

Last week I mentioned my favorite way to divide a group into teams using a “Which One?” scenario where partners practice compromise/decision-making. After reading the last entry my colleague Kristen reminded me to share my funny “success” story from using this method with students in an elementary school: I was working with a 2nd grade [...]

The Disappearance of Neighborhood Games of Kick-the Can, Part Two: Strategies for Helping Participants of All Ages Learn Through Play.   In Monday’s post I mentioned that I had observed a trend of children and adolescents missing out the development of important social & emotional skills because of a lack of time for “free play” [...]

In my work with students in a variety of schools and treatment programs I have noticed over recent years that they increasingly seem to struggle with group decision- making. I often observe students on the playground during recess coming to ask teachers for help in resolving even the simplest disagreements or conflicts. They often depend [...]