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 Book
Review: Raptor and other Team Building Activities by Sam Sikes, 2003.
Review by
John Kudelka
Raptor is the latest book
from the active imagination of Sam Sikes, who is most famous for
co-authoring 50 Ways to Use Your Noodle, the excellent anthology of pool
noodle activities from a few years back (which now has an excellent
sequel, 50 More Ways to Use Your Noodle, but that’s a different book
review).
Sam Sikes is one the most
creative forces in experiential education.
His previous books Feeding the Zircon Gorilla,
and Executive Marbles, stood out for their blend of new challenges,
innovative twists on classic activities, affordable, easy to find props,
and an approach which did not require groups of exactly 12.
Raptor has is all of those
and more. Sam has gathered a truly unique collection of meaningful,
interesting, and dynamic activities that can be quickly and easily
picked up by anyone doing experiential programming. Teacher’s will find
classroom appropriate challenges (Keypad Too p126), trip leaders will
find propless initiatives (Gyroscope p106) and experienced practitioners
will have plenty of “why didn’t I think of that” moments (Extra-Portable
Zig Zag p85). Perhaps the most intriguing is the very thorough sequence
of Mousetrap based activities, which are nearly guaranteed to give any
group a few “oh my goodness” moments. The book name comes from the
addictive game of Raptor (p157), which is a cross between bocce ball and
croquet and has taken over our office lunch breaks
The layout of the book is
clean, the explanations concise, and Sam helpfully provides variations,
thoughts, and things to watch out for. Karl Rohnke, in his forward puts
it best with “Raptor is a well organized, humanely written, creatively
structured, expository book about games and initiatives that can be
immediately implemented in almost any education program”.
Book Review: Climbing Walls, A Complete Guide
to Climbing Walls by Jim Stiehl and Tim
Ramsey
Review by Kathy Haras, Ph.D.
This is a
book that lives up to its title. Although I have a whole shelf of books
on rock climbing and climbing walls, three things convinced me to add
Jim Steihl’s and Tim B. Ramsey’s Climbing Walls: A Complete Guide
to my collection. The first highlight is found at the start of the book.
The authors begin by describing the benefits of climbing and the
planning process that accompanies the construction of a climbing wall.
This section is great for people who need to convince skeptics, support
their grant application or gather information on all options that exist.
Numerous pictures help bring readers up to speed on technical terms and
highlight key areas you’ll want to cover with your builders before their
crew starts drilling holes in your facility.
Most
climbing books stop once they have covered the technical aspects of
climbing. Jim Stiehl and Tim B. Ramsey go on to cover the management
aspects that are vital to the safety and effectiveness of institutional
climbing programs. Although it is difficult to get excited about
paperwork, this section was my second highlight because of the way that
the authors walk teachers, principals, camp directors and recreation
leaders through the documentation process and support their suggestions
with the extensive collection of sample forms and checklists in the
appendix.
The third
highlight of this book was the curriculum section. Having a climbing
wall at a school, camp or recreation centre means that the same
participants will be climbing again and again. The authors provide a
helpful section on climbing games and activities for both bouldering and
top roping. Instead of the same list of games that I have grown used to
seeing, there were a number of unique activities that I have already
incorporated into our Climbing Wall Instructor courses.
With
something for people who are already responsible for climbing walls and
those who think they want to build a climbing wall, this book truly has
it all!
Book Review: A Teachable Moment: A Facilitator’s Guide to
Activities for Processing, Debriefing, Reviewing and Reflection By Jim
Cain, Michelle Cummings and Jennifer Stanchfield
Review by John Kudelka
I can’t
say this enough. This book rocks. It’s awesome. It’s the book I’ve
dreamed of for years as a facilitator. It’s the book that offers hope
for any who’ve ever felt crushed under oppressive group silence when
leading a debrief (which is pretty much all of us). It’s a book that
you’ll be glad you own as you effortlessly whip out yet another clever,
elegant and meaningful processing activity. Over one hundred different
debriefing activities collected in one place. One hundred tried and
tested activities. And (my favourite part) one hundred debriefing
activities explained clearly and concisely, in an
easy-to-flip-through-scanning-for-ideas-because-you’ve-only-got-five-minutes-before-the-next-activity
format. All that a facilitator needs is here—metaphoric objects (keys,
clothing, weather), classic tools (plus delta, journaling), conversation
guides (playing cards, first aid kits), engaging activities (dominoes,
ricochet balls). So much good stuff. Artistic approaches, solo
reflection—there’s even a section on “Alternatives to the Traditional
Sharing Circle”.
This book
has the thoroughness that Jim Cain is known for, including a thick
resource section, extensive references, multiple indexes, where to
purchase props, and how to make your own. The section on processing
concepts is straightforward and readable, it smartly avoids being overly
simplistic or academic. Michelle Cummings and Jennifer Stanchfield have
brought to this collaboration a real sense of creativity and fun. Both
are very experienced practitioners, and have clearly brought their best
material to this book. A Teachable Moment deserves a place on your shelf
alongside Jim Cain’s earlier Teamwork and Teamplay and Karl
Rohnke’s Silver Bullets—all are valuable resources that will
serve anyone in the education field for many years.
Book Review: The Empty Bag by Chris Cavert and Dick Hammond.
Review by John Kudelka
After ten years of leading
adventure activities, I’ve learned (and forgotten) hundreds of
activities. Maybe thousands. So it’s a treat to see a book like Chris
Cavert and Dick Hammond’s The Empty Bag. As an instructor I don’t want
(or always have time) to flip through a three hundred page tome to jog
my rusty memory into coughing up a few small group initiatives. I need
a book that is brief, to the point, and full of proven material, which
Empty Bag is. Written as a guide to propless adventure programming, it
is densely packed with classic activities (Tick Tock), current
favourites, (Switch Change Rotate) and cool new stuff (Caterpillar
Pass), all explained quickly, succinctly, and with an emphasis on
safety.
Camp staff will love The
Empty Bag, especially canoe trippers, who will appreciate the book’s
small size, and that not one of the games requires any equipment. New
practitioners will like that the games are grouped by the traditional
activity cycle (Icebreaking, communication, trust etc…)
But the best part of this
book (and something truly original I’ve not seen before) was the section
of “challenge energizers”. Conveniently marked off by a grey tab, these
pages outline 21 brief, easy to explain activities. My favourite: “Use
your fingers (everyone must be included) to come up with a math formula
that equals ____. (any number can be used.)” What a fantastic idea.
Original, inclusive, challenging to all abilities, and good for any
group size. It’s as close to the perfect game as you get. So I’m
hoping that the office doesn’t ask me to return my reviewer’s copy of
this book. I’ve already stashed it in my activity pack, ready for the
next time I need some quick inspiration.
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