Reasons for doing this activity:
• To give the Elfins a project whose success depends on listening closely to everyone in the group.
• To demonstrate how everyone has something significant to contribute and not listening to one person can bring the whole group down.
• To show Elfins how to make toys from recycled materials.
• To have fun making something simple but clever in a somewhat chaotic way!
What to do:
Start by putting all the craft materials together in a box and put the box in the centre of the room.
Explain to the Elfins that they are going to make something co-operatively.
Give each Elfin an instruction from this instruction sheet. Be sensitive to the children in the group who are still learning to read and make sure that they are properly supported to read their instruction. Get them to memorise it.
Get the Elfins to hide their instructions in their pockets or in their shoes. The object of the exercise is to get them all to listen to each other, so reading each other’s slips of paper is considered cheating!
Do not tell them what they are making. Get them to find everyone from their group (each slip has a shape on it to identify which group the instruction belongs to).
Each member of the group must repeat their instruction. Together the group must work collaboratively to complete their craft.
If a group get stuck, give them a prompt by telling them what they are trying to make.
After everyone has completed their task, encourage the Elfins to show their creations and explain how they made them to the rest of the group.
Discussion
Bring the group back together and ask them
- Was it hard to do a craft in this way?
- Why was it hard?
- Was it hard to hear people?
- Was it hard to speak out?
- Was it important to listen to everyone in your group?
- If one instruction wasn’t heard, what happened to the thing you were making?
- Is it important to listen to everyone in your Elfin Group? Why is this?
- Does everyone in your group get a say?
- Are there ways in your Woodcraft Group that you can make sure that everyone’s voices are heard?