Juggling Reasons Why People Don’t Smoke

- plays like group juggle

Purpose: To learn to work together and communicate as a team. Group participants will start having conversation about staying tobacco free and passing the information to other students about the benefits of staying tobacco free.

Materials: At least 4 mismatched balls. Small one may be better. One other odd object such as a rubber chicken or whatever works.

Activity: The group should get in a circle. The leader takes one ball and begins to set up a pattern by tossing the ball to a specific person in the group. It should be someone across from them in the circle and not next to them on either side. When setting up the pattern, tell the group participants they must remember who threw the object to them and who they passed the object to. Once that person catches the ball without dropping it, he/she tosses the object to someone else; then that person tosses the object to a new person until the object gets to every group participant one time. Once the pattern is set up, try again and tell the group participants that they have to always pass the object and receive the objects from the same person. They have to remember the pattern.

At this point, you will want to give the objects specific significance. Each object should symbolize things in people’s lives that keep them away from tobacco. The goal is not to drop any of the objects. When one object is dropped, stop the juggle and start the process over again. Ask the group participants when the object is dropped for ideas on getting the objects around. If the group is struggling, you can ask them for the number of drops they find acceptable. Once the first object goes around start it again and then add the next couple of objects.

Each object goes in a particular pattern you set up. However, once the objects are going the group facilitator can add the odd object which could symbolize a crisis that get people to take up tobacco use. The odd object should go in a random pattern; rather than the pattern that was set up for the other objects.

Processing:

1. How did the group work together?

2. How does the communication matter in discussing tobacco use between group members?

Page 2 Juggling Reasons

3. How did the group work to keep up the things in peoples’ lives that kept them from tobacco use?

4. What happened when more than one thing was in the air?

5. Was it harder?

6. What happened when something was used that was out of order?

7. How does this apply to real life?

Resource: MPS Ropes & Challenge Education Curriculum