Small Group Ministry June, 2011: Play

Quotes

“Play is the exultation of the possible.”  ~Martin Buber

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.”
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Play is not only recreation, but, in a finer sense of the word, it is a matter of creation and recreation." ~Robert Fulghum

“Work and play are rooted in the very nature of beings. If the universe itself is not playful and creative, then how could creativity arise in human beings?” ~David Fiedler

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” ~ James Howell

“Play Hard. Play Fair. Nobody Hurt.” ~New Games Foundation

Opening Words

“Play is to fun as joy is to happiness. Things tend to make us happy, whereas joy is a capacity of the soul. Happiness is often fleeting, joy is self-replenishing. When we go somewhere or take a trip, we’re often asked  “Did you have fun?” as if fun was a place we go to and then return from, sated by a visit to another country, content now to exist again in its absence. The ability to be playful rests less in the objects that surround us than in the quality of the spirit within us. Playfulness is a potential within us that allows us to recapture the lightness of our being and the spirit of the child. Playfulness is not to be confused with the donning of rose-colored glasses, a defense against the sorrowful side of life.  Indeed, it can be said that only those who can laugh with all their being are also those whose tears are most real.  Playfulness is an ability to see the heights of the depths of life.”

Reading
One day a little boy was playing in front of his house, when it occurred to him that he had never seen an adult playing with a red wagon like his. And he burst into tears. When his mother asked why he was crying, the boy said he was afraid that when he grew up he wouldn’t be able to play with his red wagon anymore. The mother assured the child that when he grew up he could play with his red wagon if he wanted to. That quieted him for a moment. Then he burst into even greater sobs. The mother asked, “What’s the matter now?” The boy replied, “I’m afraid that when I grow up, I won’t want to play with my red wagon anymore.”
~ Anthony Friess Perrino, The Numbering of Our Days (adapted)

Game Playing (see game choices below)

Sharing/Deep Listening
Share your ideas about:
The experience you just had (if you tried the games)
The value of play
Your memories of playing in the past or your favorite ways to play as an adult Incorporating moments of play into your work or your everyday life

Singing

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap,clap)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands  (clap,clap)
If you’re happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap,clap)

Going around the circle, let each member of the group pick a new action for each successive verse, as in, “If you’re happy and you know it go like this…” 

Closing Words

May I remember to keep my face to the sun,
To play, laugh, and experience joy whenever possible,
To celebrate the world and my fellow human beings,
To say YES! to life each day.
~ based on “I Do Not Pray” by James Madison Barr

Group Games
These are “everybody wins” games.  The only way we don’t win is if people don’t play. Encourage everyone (including you!) to maybe step just a tad outside your comfort zone, if necessary, and PLAY! You’ll want to set up chairs in a circle around an open space rather than sit around a table for this session.

Moderately Active Games

I Like People…

Sit in a circle with one person standing in the middle (and the exact number of seats for everyone else).  The person in the middle says:

“I like people, but I really like people who…(example) are wearing white socks”. 

Then all of the people who are wearing white socks have to stand up and find a different seat.  (You are not allowed to sit back in the same seat or sit in the seat directly next to you) 

The one person who is left without a seat is now in the middle and has to come up with a statement of his or her own.  For example, “I like people, but I really like people who hit the snooze button in the morning, or “I like people, but I really like people who know how to play an instrument” or “I like people, but I REALLY like people who love animals.”  See what new  things you can learn about one another!

Line-Up
There are many different ways to do this game– try several! Have everyone in the group line up by birthday (month and day) without talking. You could have them line up by height with their eyes closed. Another possibility is to have the group line up by shoe size without looking down at their feet or talking. Another fun challenge is getting everyone in the group to line up by eye color without talking.  

Secret Agent

In this game it’s best to have a pretty good sized, open area.  Have everyone form a circle.  Say, “There is someone in the group out to get you – a “secret agent, but only YOU know who it is!”.  Each individual also has a “bodyguard” who only they know about.  They must then select their “secret agent” and “body guard”, but they must do so in their head, without pointing or telling anyone.  After everyone has made their selections, let them know that they are now free to move around, but they must keep their “bodyguard” between themselves and their “secret agent” at all times.  This can get pretty funny and interesting as people move about.

Seated/Talking Games

Facts of Life

Tell the members of your group to take a few minutes to think of three statements about themselves, two of which are true and one statement that is untrue (but seemingly conceivable).  Then go around the circle and, one at a time, have each person take a turn saying his or her three statements.  The other members of the group try to guess which of the statements is false and why.   After they have reached consensus and made their guess, have the person reveal which is the untrue statement.  Go on to the next person in the circle – have fun with your carefully crafted statements while they are still a mystery – something about the real you will soon be revealed! 

Fizz-Buzz
To play Fizz-Buzz you need several people.  They should stand or sit in a circle.  One person is chosen to start the game, and players take turns around the circle.  When the person starts, they start by saying a number from 1 to 99 (or, just start with 1 every time.)  The next person must then say the next number, and so on.  Each person takes their turn by saying the next number in sequence….but…. This is where the game gets interesting:

If the number is divisible by 5, the person doesn’t say the number.  Instead, they say, “Fizz!”

 Also, if the number contains a 5, the player must say, “Fizz!”

 Similarly, if the number contains a 7 or is divisible by 7, they must say “Buzz!”

 These fizzes and buzzes combine together.  For example, instead of 35, I would say, “Fizz, fizz, buzz!”  because the number contains a 5, is divisible by 5, and is divisible by 7.

When a fizz or a buzz is said, the direction of play is reversed (from counterclockwise to clockwise, or vice-versa)

A player who makes a mistake is penalized somehow.  A good rule in Small Group Ministry might be for the person who made a mistake to pause and impart some sage words of wisdom to the group!   

This is a duck, this is a book.
For this game, you need two objects.  They do not need to be a duck or a book.  You can use whatever happens to be around that you can pass around the circle.  In fact, it is more fun and challenging if you use two objects that are neither a duck nor a book, but still stick to calling them a duck and a book!  I am sure that this exercise boosts brain power! 

The starter will simply pass the first object clockwise, saying:
Player 1:  This is a duck.
To which the next person must respond,
Player 2: A what?

And the starter answers,
Player 1: A duck.

Clear enough?   Until…this rule:  Everyone is to act as though the original person who first passed the object, the starter, is the ONLY one who actually “knows” or is  able to  “remember” what the object is called for longer than a few seconds.  Therefore, every time a person asks, “A what?” to whoever handed them the object, that person also turns to the one before them and asks, “A what?” and that person turns back to the person before them, and on and on back to the original person, who finally answers, “A duck!”, which everyone can then pass back down the line, kind of like telephone or whisper down the lane! 

Player 1 (to player 2): This is a duck.

Player 2:  A what?

Player 1: A duck.

Player 2 (to player 3): This is a duck.

Player 3:  A what?

Player 2 (to player 1): A what?

Player 1:  A duck.

Player 2 (to player 3): A duck.

Player 3 (to player 4):  This is a duck.

Player 4:  A what?
Player 3 (to 2):  A what?

Player 2 (to 1): A what?

Player 1 (to 2): A duck.

Player 2 (to 3): A duck.

Player 3 (to 4): A duck.

And so on! 

Things really pick up when the leader takes a second object and follows the same procedure, but this time passing it in the counter-clockwise direction:

“This is a book!”   
I learned this game in Germany, where the objects had nonsense names:

“Das ist ein urps, Das ist ein opf.”

Laugh Track
Pretend you are in a recording studio to make a laugh track for a funny TV show.  Have one person be the “director”.  The director signals to the group when to start laughing and when to stop with his or her hands.  Start with “Take One”. When the director signals,  everyone starts laughing hilariously.  Then, after a few seconds, the director should cut off the group, motioning for them to be silent.  Try at least 3 or 4 more “takes”, so that you can get the “recording” just right!  If you are having fun, you might want to do more!  See if the fake laughter doesn’t give way to real laughter!

Match 3
There are three poses:
Movie Star (big smile with “jazz” hands near face, like posing for a picture)   
Thinker (one hand near mouth or stroking beard with the other hand touching the elbow.)
Animal Charge (teeth bared, hands up like claws)
Go over all three pose options with the whole group, so everyone knows them   Now, partner off.  Stand face-to-face with your partner (If you have an uneven number of people, you could have one trio – makes it mathematically interesting)

The game works kind of like rock-paper-scissors, only the goal is to match your partner (no one pose “beats” another).   With your partner, count out loud, “One, two, three!”

Immediately after the count of three, do one of the three poses.  Did you match?  Keep going.  What’s your best number of matches out of  3, 5, 10 rounds?