Promoting positivity on social media, a number of posts, memes, broadcasts trickle past on my timeline. Here is one such post worth sharing on teamwork with practical reflections.
Teamwork
A teacher brought balloons to school and asked the children to blow them all up and then each write their names on their balloon.
Balloons, permanent pens or labels? I think labels would work best. So far, so good.
They tossed all the balloons into the hall while the teacher mixed them from one end to the other.
Okay, so to make this worth while, how many balloons are needed? I would suggest at least 100+ balloons. A small Primary? Year group? Maybe two?
The teacher then gave them five minutes to find the balloon with their name on it.
Hence you need sufficient balloons for pupils not to find their balloon. What happens if find your balloon? A bench to sit on?
The post goes on…
The children ran around, looking frantically but as the time ran out – nobody had found their own balloon. Then the teacher told them to take the balloon closest to them and give it to the person who’s name was on it. In less than two minutes everyone had their own balloon. 🤗
Finally the teacher said,
Balloons are like happiness. No one will find it looking for theirs only. Instead if everyone cares about each others they will find theirs as quickly as possible.
I can see this as a worthwhile activity. Practical. Colourful. If children didn’t know one another before hand, it would be a fun way to get to know one another. A possible ‘Opening morning’ activity?