Hello Friends,

It's that time of year when campus administrators are preparing for staff to return in August. I like to kick off the first day with fun activities. Last August, I implemented a team-building activity with my high school staff, and it was a tremendous success. Even teachers who typically don’t enjoy such activities fully participated and had a great time.

Last year marked my first year at Central High School, and I sensed that many staff members had common concerns about what changes the new principal might bring. To address this, I chose the theme "Being Awesome Ain't Easy" to reassure them about the amazing qualities of CHS and alleviate some of their apprehensions.

On the first day of PD, each teacher received a playing card. Their task was to find their group based on the card they were given—such as 2 of hearts or 4 of spades. They were organized into teams of four. I explained that there were 16 games set up in the gym, all run by students, and teams could select which games they wanted to play. When a team won a game, they drew a letter from a bag of letters held by the students running the game. The first team to spell the word "AWESOME" was declared the winner.

A twist in the game was that if they drew a letter they already had, they could not draw again. They had to play another game to earn a new letter. And there was not limit on the number of times a team could play a game.

Here are the 16 games I used:

Boom, Snap, Clap, Grab

• Line team members on opposite sides of the table. Place one cup in the middle of the table between each pair for a total of 4-5 cups on the table.
• The teachers will do what the student says: Boom (hit the table), Snap, and Clap. (Have fun and say things multiple times.) When the student says Grab, the teachers grab the cups. The teams who’s members get the most cups in a round wins the round.
• A team must win 3 out of 5 rounds to draw a letter.

Cup Stacking

• Have 6 solo cups stacked upside down for each team. Participants use the string to open the rubber band, place the rubber band over the solo cup, move and stack the solo cup, pull on the string to open the rubber band and release the solo cup.
• The first team to stack all 6 cups in a pyramid (3 on bottom, 3 on top of the 2, and 1 on top of the 2) wins and gets to draw a letter.

Solo Cup Pong

• On one end of the table arrange the cups in a pyramid. Each team gets 10 ping pong balls. Teams will stand on the other end of the table and take turns bouncing balls into the cups.
• The team that makes the most total balls in cups wins and gets to draw a letter.

Add Up to 12

• On each side of the table lay out the cards numbered 2 through 12. Teams line up on opposite sides of the table. Each team gets two dice. When they roll a number they flip over that card. Teams keep rolling until they flip over all of their cards.
• The team that flips over all of their cards first wins and gets to draw a letter.

• One member from each team sets up in front of a grid. When the student says go, the participants will slide cups to get the odd colored cup to the designated square.
• The first team that gets their odd colored cup to the designated square gets to draw a letter.

Ball Drop

• Two members from each team holds the string on the box lid. With 10 ping pong balls in the lid, the team uses the strings to maneuver the box top to drop the balls through the hole into the box below.
• The first team to drop all 10 balls into the box below gets to draw a letter.

Bug Tug

• One player from each team. Players stand back to back with a line on the ground between them. The players bend over and reach down between their legs clasping hands with the other player. The first player to tug the other player over the line wins.
• A new player from each team repeats the game and a third player from each team does the game if needed.
• A team must win 2 out of 3 rounds to be the overall winner and draw a letter from the bag.

Balloon Bounce

• Each team gets in a circle and holds hands. The student will drop a balloon into each circle. The players bounce the balloon in the air without letting go of their hands. They can use hands, head, elbows, feet, etc.
• The team that drops the balloon to the ground first looses.
• The team that wins 2 out of 3 gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Backups

• Two players from each team partners up, sits on the ground back to back, legs out in front, and link arms. By pressing their backs together and slowly backing up, the partners support each other as they stand up.
• The team that gets up first wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Stick Balloon Triad

• Three players from each team will participate. Each team gets 3 sticks and a very inflated balloon. Each team will hold their balloon with the sharp end of the sticks. The team that makes it to the designated line without popping their balloon wins.
• The winning team gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Balloon Burst Relay

• Each team needs a chair about 15 feet away from the starting line. Next to the chair is a box of uninflated balloons. Players line up by team. The first player in line races to the chair, sits while blowing up a balloon, then pops the balloon by sitting on it. Once the balloon pops, the player races back to tag the next player in line who races to the chair, etc.
• The first team to complete the relay wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Drinking Straw Balloon Races

• Two players from each team gets a straw and a balloon to share. Players use their straws to hold the balloon and the go to the designated line and back. Players can only use the straws to touch their balloon. If they drop it they must use their straws to pick it up.
• The team to make it back first wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Hip Hop Pair Reply

• Two players from each team hold a balloon between their hips and walk to the designated line and back. Players are not allowed to touch the balloon with their hands or arms.
• The team to make it back first wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Toss Relay

• Teams toss a ping pong ball to each other making their way to the designated line and back. If a team drops the ball, they must start over.
• The team to make it back first wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Rocket Balloons

• Teams stand behind a line and each get an uninflated balloon. One at a time the team members blow up their balloon and release it.
• The player who’s balloon goes the furthest wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

Catch Me If You Can

• Team members sit in the chairs. Each team member gets a bucket. The first member scoops ping pong balls into their bucket and pours them over their head. The player behind them tries to catch them in their bucket and pours them over their head. This continues to the last player who dumps their bucket into their box.
• The team with the most ping pong balls in their box wins and gets to draw a letter from the bag.

If you use these games, please let me know and share your experience with me at Kathleen.Eckert@iCloud.com

Check out my book, School Transformation Through Teacher Appreciation, available on Amazon, for more teacher appreciation ideas.

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I offer engaging, fun, and hands-on professional development for campus leaders designed to increase teacher retention. You can find more information about presentations and workshops on my webpage.

Bring me to your School!

If you would like me to help you create a detailed teacher appreciation plan for your campus, or you would like me to mentor and work with your administrative team on your campus contact me at Kathleen.Eckert@iCloud.com.

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Thank you for loving teachers,

Kathleen Eckert

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