It was a special Halloween day at Forest School. The Coyotes got to play old games with a new Halloween twist of grossness. What's it like to grab a handful of ectoplasm (jello) or worms (noodles)? What about touching duck feet or squid tentacle? Ask your child where their comfort level was.
Playing the game Gross Capture the Flag created big emotions for the Coyotes, leading the teams to question the rules and how fair the game was. Interestingly the teams did not look to change their strategies which may have helped them play more successfully. Not wanting to finish the game on a sour note we came together as a group to hear everyone's concerns and decide how we could change the game to make it more enjoyable for everyone. It was decided to revert to a way we had played the game previously.
A psychologist named Tuckman has proposed there are phases a group goes through to establish a cohesive, trusting, efficient group. He identified these as
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
Considering the emotions and discussion that came out of Gross Capture the Flag, the Coyotes have left the "Forming" phase characterized by uncertainty, formalities and people slowly getting to know each other. The Coyotes have now begun "Storming". This phase has group members communicating their feelings whilst still seeing themselves as individuals rather than a part of the team. There will be tensions and disagreements before the group moves towards working together and trusting each other. We will share this with the Coyotes next week so they can identify where they think they are collectively and individually and recognise the role they play in the group dynamics.
Connecting Questions:
What grossness did you handle? How gross was it?
Were you successful in the Walk of Fear?
What did you want changed in Gross Capture the Flag?
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