Wednesday: Team Building

Wednesday: Team Building

Today was team-building day! Today was my favorite day of being in Nicaragua at Carazo Christian Academy. I felt like today was a day I really was able to connect with teachers and them with me.  Our day was filled with presenting team dramas, giving group lectures, and me leading a session of team building activities!

Over the past two days 11 teachers and 5 volunteers have been grouped into teams to practice and present a drama. There are four teams total. Each team was given a children’s story for them to dramatize. The purpose of performing these dramas was 1) to build teamwork, 2) develop new ways for the Nicaraguan teachers to involve their students, 3) FUN! My team's drama was “Little Red Riding Hood.”

After lunch I had the opportunity to lead team-building activities. This was a great opportunity for me to apply my training and skills I have developed while working for Baylor Outdoor Adventure. For those who don’t know I have worked as a challenge course facilitator, outdoor adventure student guide, and climbing wall instructor for the past 2.5 years. Through these experiences I have developed team-building skills. So thank you Baylor Outdoor Adventure! I really enjoy being able to challenge groups, teams, students, and even summer campers to over come their fears and to work as a team. During my time with the Carazo Christian teachers today I was enthused to see their positive response to my leadership, and for them to set goals and accomplish them as a team. Even better, many were able to translate the lessons learned in the activities to their jobs as teachers here in Nicaragua.

For you challenge course facilitators…I lead Eagle Egg Pass and Toxic Waste. I wanted to show you the materials I used. It’s a developing country so I had to improvise. At the bottom I attached a picture of the Toxic Waste set up. Typically with a steel ring and twine; I cut out the ring of a pasta sauce can lid and tied plastic string. Instead of a pvc pipe for placing the ring, I used water jugs. And for eagle egg pass. The school did not have 50 tennis balls! We instead went to the market and I bought a sac of cebollas (onions)! I was proud of making this improvisation work and had to share :)

This is the game toxic waste. The objective is to transport the tennis ball (aka ball of toxic waste) from one transport (here water jug) to another. If the team drops the ball then they must start over. This is the teams second attempt. This time I made it harder for them by blind folding 5 and allowing only a few to talk.

They had to travel across the arena, and here also across and over the playground.

It is important for the leaders to lead and for the team to follow while still protecting those who can not see.

Almost there.

Buenos Trabajar equipo! Good job team. They did this well.

Another team building game we played was called "Eagle Egg Pass." Since this is a school, the scenario I used was that the teachers need to safely transport with care each of their "ninos" (really onions) from the beginning of the school year (basket one) to the end of the year (basket two). Rules: Each teacher needed to touch each onion once, and can't pass right next to them. Objective: create a goal of how many "students" they would take care of and put in the basket and goal of how many they would allow to land on the ground.

It took three times for them to accomplish their goal. Each time they worked to come up with new ideas to decrease the amount of students dropped and increase those that made it in the second basket.

My proud developing country improvisation for making equipment!