Teambuilding activities are a great way to begin a new school year! You may find yourself with new students and students from different classes than the previous year, creating different dynamics. Teambuilding is a great way to create and cultivate a positive classroom culture and climate. This blog will provide you with some teambuilding activities you can use throughout the school year!
1. Pizza Box Relay
Split your class up into even numbers of groups. Place an even number of pizza boxes 10 – 20 yards away. Player one runs down, picks up one pizza box, returns, and hands it off to the next person in line. Player two runs down, picks up one pizza box, returns, and hands two pizza boxes to the next person. The pizza box relay continues until all teams have collected their pizza boxes and returned to their line.
Variation #1: Each team could use a hula hoop to carry the pizza boxes to make this more challenging. Two players from each team run down while carrying the hula hoop, pick up a pizza box, put it on top of it, and run back to their line, handing it off to their teammates. The following two players run down while holding the hula hoop with one pizza box on top, retrieve a second pizza box, and run back to their line, handing it off to their teammates. The pizza box relay continues until all teams have collected their pizza boxes and returned to their line.
Variation #2: Same concept as above minus the hula hoop. Each team gets a jump rope and a scooter and has to put the pizza box on top of it and pull it back to their team.
2. Flying Chicken
Each team will get a parachute, which could range from 6 feet in diameter to 12 feet in diameter. One team will get a rubber chicken (Team Launcher). The game’s objective is for Team Launcher to work together to send the chicken flying to the other team while the other team catches it in the air. You could increase the distance between the two teams to increase the game’s difficulty.
Variation #1: Same concept; students try to catch the chicken in a bucket instead of using a second parachute.
Variation #2: Same concept; instead of using a second parachute, two to three students try to maneuver a hula hoop for the chicken to go through.
Variation #3: Same concept as variation 2; however, students try to maneuver a hula hoop for the chicken to go through, and a third student will try to catch the flying chicken as it goes through the hoop.
Equipment Link: ElevAir Deluxe Parachute – Gopher Sport
Equipment Link: Rainbow Rubber Critter Sets – Gopher Sport
3. Jellyfish
Using a giant parachute, students will all get into a frog/squatting position. On the count of 3, students will stand while holding onto the parachute, extend their arms over their heads, and let go of it simultaneously. See the video below:
Link: ElevAir Deluxe Parachute – Gopher Sport
4. Scooter Ships
Each team will get one foldable gym mat and two scooters. Each team will build a scooter ship using the scooters and the gym mat. After building their scooter ship, they will test drive it by having one person sit on the mat, and the other teammates will push them to the opposite side of the playing area and back.
Variation #1: Teams can race against one another.
Link: https://gophersport.com/tumblepro-2-urethane-foam-speedship-tumbling-mats
Oodles of Noodles: The game is similar to the pizza box relay; instead of the pizza boxes, you will use pool noodles.