2015-2017 resources. ice-breakers. may 2015
Getting To Know You Icebreakers for new groups women just getting to know each other These icebreakers offer gentle fun ways for women to get to know each other, particularly if this is the first time many of them will have come together in a group. With the exception of Flags, each activity should only take 15 minutes to do. Donuts Supplies: large pieces of paper 1 for each group; scissors; pens and pencils - Draw a donut (two circles) on each paper. - When the group has gathered, divide into small groups of 4. - Give each group one of the large pieces of paper with the donut drawn on it. - Instruct the groups to cut their donut into sections and give each woman in the group a section. - Instruct women to write down things about themselves in the donut for 5 minutes. - After 5 minutes, each small group puts their donut together and discovers the commonalities shared and differences between members of their group. If time permits, invite the entire group to come together and ask what they ve discovered in common about themselves. Or each small group could introduce itself to the larger group using its donut. 2 Who here...? Supplies: List of questions This works best if all group members have a chair or place to sit. - Leader invites group members to sit for this game. - She will then ask the group a question from the following list. (Please adapt the questions to fit your group.) - Each woman who answers yes will stand. If their answer is no, they stay seated. - The leader then reads the next question and gives everyone a chance to respond. Pause between questions to give participants a chance to see who here answered yes. Part of the fun (and purpose) is to discover new things about each other! Questions for Who here...? Slept more than 6 hours last night? Knows how to sew? Has a calendar on their fridge? Doesn t like coffee? Ate cereal for breakfast? Power walks or runs for exercise? Did a load of laundry today? Works part-time? Has children in high school? Made their bed this morning? Prefers a bath over a shower? Has a coupon in her pocketbook? Read a book in the last week? Works full-time? Knows how to play an instrument? Was on a sports team in high school? Is caring for an elderly parent? Has been to a movie in the last month? Prefers salty over sweets? Knows all the words to Oh Canada? Will be taking a trip to the beach this summer? Is a grandma? Likes to play board games? Knows how to ice skate?
Getting To Know You Icebreakers for new groups women just getting to know each other Me, Too! Supplies: Spool of twine or string at least 100 feet long for each group of 8-10 ladies (If your group is larger than 10, you ll want to break up into smaller groups of 5-8 ladies.) - Give each group a spool of string. - Choose someone who will start the game by telling their group something about themselves such as: My favorite color is green. I like to sing in the shower. I have two children. I dip my pizza in ranch dressing. - Once the person with the string says something that applies to another person in the group, that person calls out, Me, too! The first person holds on to the end of the string and passes the spool to the other person. - If more than one person has a me, too then the string passes to all those people, and ends at the last person to say me, too. - The person with the spool then says something else about themselves. In the end, the group will end up with a web of connections. Have each lady count the number of me, toos she had and point out how much women have in common with each other. Strings Supplies: at least 20 pieces of yarn/string cut into different lengths (short, medium and long). These cut pieces should be rolled up into a ball. - Leader passes the ball to the woman on her left. - The leader invites her to pull out a piece of yarn/string from the ball and while she pulls out that piece, to say something about herself. - As soon as the piece is completely pulled out, the woman sharing about herself stops. She passes the ball to her left and that woman begins to pull out a piece of yarn/string while sharing about herself. The fun element in this game is that no-one will know how long her particular piece of yarn/string will be! Interview This icebreaker is for a smaller group or for a large group divided into groups of 4-5 women. Supplies: None needed. - The leader divides the large group into small groups of 4 or 5 women. - In these small groups, women turn to those seated next to them and find out 3 things about those women. - After each woman has found out 3 things about the women next to her, and shared 3 things about herself in turn, the leader calls the group together. - The leader asks women to introduce each other to the large group. 3
Getting To Know You Icebreakers for new groups women just getting to know each other Speed Dating Supplies: A list of 5 or 6 get-to-know-you questions. - Women stand up in two straight lines, facing each other. Or, they may stand in two circles (inner and outer) with women facing a partner (inner circle and outer circle face each other). - The leader asks a question and partners have 2 minutes to talk about that question with the person in front of them. - When 2 minutes is up, the leader invites women to take a step to the left or right and meet a new partner. - The leader then asks a new question. Flags Supplies: Provide large sheets of paper, crayons, markers and paints (if you feel adventuresome). Suggested questions for Speed Dating If you had to be a flower, what flower would you choose to be? What or who are you most grateful for? If you could do anything in the world and you had all the resources to do it, what would you do? What piece of music (song, hymn, chorus, instrumental... ) has moved you most deeply? What s your favourite thing to do on a perfect summer day (or fall afternoon ro winter morning or spring night - whatever season you re in when doing this exercize)? - Ask each woman to draw a flag which contains some symbols or pictures describing who they are, what s important to them or what they enjoy. o Each flag is divided into 4 or 6 segments. o Each segment can contain a picture i.e. favourite emotion, favourite food, a hobby, a skill, where she was born, her family, her faith. o Give everyone 20 minutes to draw their flags. - When the time is up, ask some of the women to share their flags and explain the meaning of what they drew. 4
Come a little closer Icebreakers for groups that have been meeting for more than one month most women know each other Bingo (20-25 mins) The object of this game: to have women race to fill in their bingo cards. They need to fill in their cards by finding out if the other women in the group match the clues on their bingo card. Supplies: Bingo cards made up ahead of time one bingo card per woman in the group; pens or pencils - Create bingo cards using information you ve got from the Getting To Know You icebreaker and create bingo cards. o Divide the card into squares. o In each square, list one tidbit about each of the women in the group one tidbit per woman, per square. - When women arrive, hand out bingo cards, pens pencils. Or leave cards in the middle of tables. - Give women 15 minutes to fill out their bingo cards. Examples of tidbits to fill in each square (of course these tidbits will be based on information you know about each woman in the group): She s a grandmother A widow Mom to teenagers Only has nieces Is the youngest child Didn t grow up in Canada Is about to retire Just got a new job Is engaged Got married in the fall Works in a bank Plans to go back to school Joined a choir when she was 4 years old Did a short term mission trip in the last 5 years 5
Come a little closer Icebreakers for groups that have been meeting for more than one month most women know each other Speed dating (15 mins) This is the same exercise as the speed dating activity for new groups. The leader may want to ask different questions. Two Truths (15 mins) Supplies: None - One by one, women say 3 things about themselves. 2 are true; 1 is not. - The other women in the group have to guess which 2 things are true. I Love To (15 mins) Supplies: Sheets of paper (1 sheet per group member); pens and pencils; a basket (if using). Each sheet has the following 3 lines on it: I love to I don t like to One change I ve made since joining this group is. - The leader gives a paper and pen or pencil to each woman. - Each woman fills it out. - The leader either asks women to share what they ve written or collects all the papers in the basket. If she s collected them, she then pulls out one paper at a time, reads out the answers and asks women to guess whose paper she s pulled. (The basket could also be passed around and each woman has a turn to pull a paper and read out the answers.) Notes (which icebreakers worked tweaks and variations you ve made to icebreakers listed here icebreakers you ve found or created for your group) 6
Strong and Steady. Give Your All. Icebreakers on the theme verse (1 Corinthians 15:58) and tagline for 2015-2017 Twenty Dollars (an exercise led by the facilitator) (10 mins) This teaching should not take more than 10 minutes in total. Leader could also use a $10 bill. Supplies: a $20 bill. - The leader holds up a $20 or $10 bill for the group to see. - The leader then asks: Who would like this $20 (or $10)? Hands will go up. - Leader says, I m going to give this $20 (or $10) to one of you, but first let me do this... - The leader crumples up the bill into a small ball and holds it up again. - Leader then says: Now who wants it? Hands will go up. - Leader says: Well, what if I do this... and drops the ball to the floor and steps on it. - The leader holds it up again. - Leader then says: Now who still wants this even after it s been through so much? Hands will continue to go up. - Leader says: Here s the valuable lesson that illustrates the first phrase in our theme verse. No matter what I did with the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It is still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we may feel that we ve been dropped, crumpled and walked on by the decisions we make and by circumstances that come our way in life. We may feel we are worthless to God, to our families, to our bosses, to our children. But know that no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value as a woman loved by God. Dropped, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to God. The worth in our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are beloved of God. Always remember: you are beloved. You are valuable. As our theme verse says: Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the LORD because you know that in the LORD, your labor is not in vain. 7
Strong and Steady. Give Your All. Icebreakers on the theme verse (1 Corinthians 15:58) and tagline for 2015-2017 Question Web (20 mins or more depending on group size) Supplies: a ball of string or wool for this game. - The leader asks the group to stand in a circle. - The leader holds on to the end of the string and throws the ball to one of the group to catch. - The leader then chooses one of the suggested questions for that person to answer. - The person who s caught the ball holds the string and throws it to another member of the group. - That new person answers the same question. Then holding the string, they then throw the ball to another member of the group. At the end of the game (when every person has had a chance to answer the question and throw the ball), the leader says: Every woman in this circle played a part in creating this unique web and if one person was gone it would look different. In the same way, each of us participates in the work of the LORD. When we make space for each other and affirm each other s gifts, our work becomes stronger and steadier. 8 5 Suggested Questions for Question Web (adapt to your group!) What three character traits do you bring to any project or task you do? (It could be at home, at work, at church, with friends...) What project or task gives you the most joy as you do it and why? What keeps you strong and steady in your life? Finish this sentence with a verb that ends in -ing + a noun: If I could, I would change the world by. Finish this sentence: I appreciate when the people I do ministry with. Flags (25 mins) Supplies: same as the Flags icebreaker for new groups. Same as the Flags icebreaker for new groups. - However in this version, each woman draws symbols or pictures representing the theme s Scripture verse or tagline. - Give women 15 minutes to draw their flag. Then ask some of the women to share their flags and explain the meaning of what they drew. This warm-up is best done after the group has done one or more of the online or live Bible studies on the theme. Grateful (15 mins) Supplies: None - Go around the group and everyone shares: - A) one thing for which they are grateful. - B) how that thing for which she is grateful helps her (or could help her) remain steadfast and immovable in the work of the LORD.