Trust The Process

(Me leading the Count 6 activity)

In the fields of experiential and environmental education there are many processes that we use in our programming. There is the Group Process: Form-Storm-Norm-Perform-Transform, The Adventure Sequence: Icebreakers-Trust Sequence-Initiatives-Peak Experience, and the Experiential Learning Cycle: Experience-Reflection-Processing-Application to name a few.

I remember when I first began facilitating ropes course programs I had a very formulaic process. I had learned a sequence of games, my trust sequence, a series of initiatives, then onto the high ropes, and then a final debrief. The process worked fairly well. My groups provided good feedback and I felt like I was doing good work. It was not much different when I began running outdoor/environmental education programs. I had learned how to run certain activities, knew my schedule for the program, and knew a certain amount of the local natural history. The length of the program really didn't matter. I would adjust the length of my talks and the length of the activities. And again, I felt that I was doing good work by getting people out into nature, and people gave me good feedback.

I was doing what I thought was good work, and at the sam time I was beginning to feel a little stuck in a routine. I remember hearing the statement from my friend Tom to "Not get attached to how I think things SHOULD look.". It was an evolutionary moment for me. This was combined with reading Stephen Covey's ground breaking book; 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was the first book I had read that talked about-at least how I interpreted it-the habit of process. And that it was not a clean thing. It might be messy, and a challenge. It was when I received this two gifts that I  really began to examine how I was doing things. 

It was an internal change. I realized that I was not only a facilitator of other people's process, I was in the process whether I wanted to be or not. I had my own process, and by keeping it formulaic I was limiting possibilities. I made the conscious decision to really trust, and embrace process. I also knew in the back of my head that I could always fall back on the formulas that I knew. I must say that it was an adventure. Not necessarily and easy thing, but it was an adventure and full of learning. 

I tried new processing techniques in both the ropes course programs I was running, and in the outdoor educational programs I was running at summer camps. I decided to learn more knots, read more books on teaching, personal development, and adventure education. I also was beginning to help run train the trainer programs for a ropes course company, which provided me with a whole new arena to explore process. 

Deciding to be part of the process also entered into my school work at college. I began to look at eduction, and my own educational process, in a different way. I began to bring aspects of my camp knowledge of groups and attitude around play and learning, and my newly found knowledge of adventure education, into my own learning. It was an entertaining and rewarding time. I began exploring how seemingly unrelated topics were actually complimentary.  

Now, I will admit there have been times when I have tried to remove myself, or exert control over the process for a variety of reasons. In almost every case, the results of the programs or activities I was leading when I remained "in control" of the process rather than flowing with it, were not as rewarding for me. They may have been good programs for the participants, but for me, it felt dull. Something was missing. That spark. That feeling of being "in" the process, rather than trying to control it. 

Now I am not encouraging just throwing activities out there and sitting back and let things go. I am saying to learn more about the processes that you use in your work with your participants, and then trusting that they will work. A frustration I see in new camp staff I work with is that they see seasoned staff doing wonderful things with apparent ease. What they do not see is the work that went into being able to do things with apparent ease. The seasoned staff have a strong foundation from which to work from, and that collection of experiences and knowledge of how things can work, allow more seasoned staff to perform and create with a greater sense of ease . 

For example, doing icebreakers/ de-inhibitizers at the beginning of a program serves multiple purposes regardless if you are running an adventure program or an environmental program. You get to physically warmup participants, give some ground rules, set the tone, observe behaviors within the group, and have some fun! Another example is building skills in an intentional manner. Doing at least trust leans and Willow in the Wind before engaging in more dynamic spotting activities. 

And having said that, and not being attached to how I think things should be, there are times when you have to rely on your observations, intuition, and the process to guide what you do. You still have to keep your participants safe, but sometimes doing things out of sequence, or spending more time on a specific activity, is exactly what is needed. The group's process, it just that, the group's process, not yours. We are guides on an expedition of experience and learning. And our awareness of the process is a critical component of being a guide.

In this age of trying to control everything, letting go and trusting the process can be difficult. I admit, that it can be a challenge for me at times even after all these years of facilitating. It can also be a challenge if you work with folks who are not as aware of process. Allowing the energy of the group, the activities, and your facilitation/teaching to be free and flow can be a little scary/exciting. and the results can be amazing.

And a final story that I feel goes with this theme. I was listening to an interview with George Lucas on NPR recently about his experiences over the decades in film. One of things that impressed me was when he was talking about the process he went through in the 70's and early 80's when he was making films. For those of you who don't know, that is when the original Star Wars come out. Anyway, Lucas was talking about how back in the 70's he, Spielburg, Coppola, and others would get together and look over each others work and provide feedback. They would look at scripts, and even watch rough cuts of their films together. Can you imagine that happening today in most fields? These folks created some of the biggest movies in history, and they trusted their collaborative process to make things better. That is one of things I really admire in the fields of experiential and environmental education, there is an active movement to share information and skills for the betterment of our programs. So, the next time you are out there with a group, trust the process and enjoy the ride. 

No activities this time, but next time there will be several classics with some variations. Until then, enjoy exploring the connections you find, or create, in your life.

Link to Lucas interview:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122279258

Please leave comments here or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

And a bit of self promotion, I will be presenting a pre-conference workshop on 

Ecological Processing Methods and Models 

at the National Challenge Course Practitioners Symposium (NCCPS)

in Boulder, CO on February 24th. 

The conference runs from the 24th until the 27th. Here is the link:

http://www.leahy-inc.com/nccps_invitation.php

I am also presenting workshops on
Ecological Processing Methods and Models and Using Initiatives to Teach Ecological Literacy
at the upcoming Residential Outdoor Environmental Education (ROEE) conference at Camp Galilee in Lake Tahoe, NV.
http://roee.raincloudpub.com/
February 12-15, 2010.

Your Teaching Edge

(Right on the Edge)

Photo from Tom Andrews

As I was sitting on my deck today, after a week of rain and winter storms, doing some reading and enjoying seeing the sun after a week. My awareness of the world around me kept drawing me out of my book. I began listening to the birds sing their songs around me, I began to notice how the light changed as the sun passed behind the trees in front of me, and began thinking about the edges of things. I know that my reading was influencing my thoughts. I was reading about Coyotes (Canis latrans) and how they live on the edges of human society. I began thinking about what edges do we work near with our participants.

As a facilitator I have found that from time to time I get into a routine of doing the same activities over and over. Sometimes because of time constraints, and sometimes from simply not challenging myself. And then there are times when I try out new activities or concepts during a program, either experiential or environmental, and I feel more alive and the programs get great reviews. I have a greater energy after these programs and they often push me into trying even more new things. It is a great re-enforcing system!

I challenge you to explore your teaching/ facilitating edge. Look at what you do that is safe and where you tend to be more restrained in your choices of activities, processing tools, and personal challenges. See if there are activities you use to find daunting, or try a new debriefing style, teach something new to your next field group, or expand your talk on your least favorite nature subject. 

Another way to explore and expand your teaching edge is to dive into the opposite side of where you usually fall in a discussion. Look into the other side of the political spectrum from where you usually look, listen to radio stations or blogs you usually avoid, you get the idea. Take some intentional time and explore your edges, and the edges you provide your participants.

Activities to explore:
ECO-SCULPTURES:
Here is an environmental variation of two classic teambuilding activities: Sightless Sculpture from the New Games Foundation, and Artist, Model, Clay from Karl Rohnke.
This activity allow participants to express themselves in an artistic manner in small groups. Take your group and divide them into smaller groups of 4-6 people. The small groups will be representing environmental concepts by creating living sculptures.

Depending on your group you can decide if you want to let their sculptures make noises. Sometimes being able to make noises makes the process easier, and it can sometimes allow the group to rely on sounds rather than their presentation skills. You will give the groups a topic which their sculptures will represent. I usually give each group 5-10 minutes to create their sculptures. After the creation period, each small groups presents their sculpture to the other groups. Here is a suggested progression that I have found to work well:

1) The Food Chain
2) A tidal pool or pond.
3) Recycling.
4) Sustainability.

You can use this activity in a couple of ways. First, simply as an activity to use in the middle of a program to get creative ideas going. You can also use this activity to recap information from another activity. I use this with kids the day after we go to tide pools and after a day of exploring the forests. I have also given out cards that have things that need to be in a sculpture, and then let the whole group come up with a larger sculpture. It is a way to front-load information before exploring an area.


If you are working in a more traditional ropes course based program, you can also use this activity with a group to get them to focus on certain concepts that may serve them well in improving their performance in your activities. You can also use it as an activity to recap topics that kept recurring through out the program. This activity also allows participants to express thoughts and ideas in a non-verbal method. You could use the following sequence of topics with a teambuilding group:

1) Working a plan.
2) Effective Communication.
3) Leadership.
4) Teamwork.

You get the idea. I have also used this with summer camp staff and asked them to build the following sculptures:

1) Camp Spirit.
2) A safe cabin.
3) What a parent should know about camp.
4) What excites them about this summer.

Websites to visit:
The Association for Experiential Education.
http://www.aee.org/

The North American Association for Environmental Education.
http://www.naaee.org/
Upcoming conferences:

National Challenge course Practitioners Symposium: Feb. 24-27, 2010. Boulder, Co.
http://www.leahy-inc.com/nccps_invitation.php

The Connecticut Challenge Course Professionals conference. March 13, 2010. Windsor, CT
http://www.thecccp.com/

Have a wonderful week and if you have any comments, please feel free to leave them here. If you have any suggestions for future topics or other questions, please email me at: 

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

or visit my website:

www.asinglefootstep.com

As a self promotion bit:

I will be at the National Challenge Course Practitioners Symposium-NCCPS

 February 24-27th, 2010 in Boulder CO. 

On the 24th, as a pre-conference offering, I am running a workshop on 

Ecological Debriefing Methods and Metaphors. 

Contact me for more information. 

The Keeping of Experiences

(The Magic Box-A Keeper of Experiences)

There are times when I have been facilitating a group, either experiential or environmental, and I wished I had either written down the results or been able to video tape a specific experience for the learning that occurred. Years ago a ropes course training company I worked for used to video tape training sessions of new facilitators to be used as review material in the evenings. In many cases people would remark that they never remembered things that they saw on the video tapes. We got wonderful feedback from participants on how the video sessions helped them get more learning from the entire experience.

As many of you may experience when working with groups, either 1-day or multi-day, the retention of learning may not be as long lasting or impact-full as we want it to be. In the traditional days of an Outward Bound course where the group was together for up to 30 days, time for transference was much more available. In the shorter length programs that many of us run, debriefing and creating transference of the experience may not get a sizable amount of time.

I want to present a technique that I have used in both environmental and experiential programs. I call it the Keeper of Knowledge, or simply The Keeper. Before I get into describing the process, let me provide a little background. In working on my masters program in Environmental Studies along with my research on Indigenous Wilderness Skills I noticed that many indigenous cultures had members of their societies who held sacred positions within the community and were responsible for keeping certain knowledge alive. Examples are Storytellers, Fire Keepers, Medicine People, makers of certain tools, and Scouts. These positions were often handed down from generation to generation within a tribe or clan.

I began thinking about how indigenous cultures keep their traditions and how they teach their children. In many cases from the Kalahari to The Americas to Australia, indigenous people used non-verbal traditions to pass on culture and to teach place-based education. While we as facilitators and naturalists do use verbal skills for a large part of our facilitation process, I wanted to add an additional method to help participants retain more of the teachable moments of their programs that would also engage participants.

So what I began doing was creating a role for the group called The Keeper. The role has a very specific task. Wether you are facilitating a ropes course group or working with participants in an outdoor/environmental education program, the role of Keeper can be implemented rather easily. In general I have the position of Keeper be in charge of recording data and important actions. I do provide a note book, or in a few cases I have also provided a digital camera and once a video camera. And there is more to the position than simply recording data.

In teambuilding groups I have either given the Keeper a set of tasks to look for or a set of questions to answer. Some sample questions have been "Who was taking a leadership role?", "What ideas were the group ignoring?", "What are examples of efficient and inefficient communication that you noticed?", and  "How well did the group follow the plan they created?". You can really guide the learning if you want to go that way. And you can also go more towards a participant centered process. If you want to involve the group a little more, have the group create the items that the Keeper will be keeping track of during the activity. This way the group is more involved in their own outcomes and the learning they deem important.

In an outdoor or environmental education situation, I have had the Keeper record the learning points of the day, including items we found on our Discovery Hike. I have also found that the Keeper can record key questions that are asked and also help in getting the group together after an activity to record our findings. For example, I have used the Keeper role after a group has gone tide pooling and we didn't bring our journals down to the pools. But after we all finished exploring, the Keeper was able to help record all of the cool things we had found.

I have found that the role of Keeper can also be useful when you have participants that for any number of reasons, are not willing or able to take part in an activity. It can keep people engaged in the process, and help the group enhance their overall learning and retention levels. Be cautious about letting a single person use this role as a way to disengage from the group. I have found that in many cases withdrawn participants have become involved in the group by way of reporting back to the group on their performance and actually become very vital to the group.      

At the end of your program, make sure your group gets the notes and information collected by the Keeper. A corporate group can continue to review the notes if they are committed to group development, and a school group can use the information in numerous ways throughout the semester. I hope you enjoy exploring how to use Keepers in your programming. Let me know how it goes for you. I look forward to hearing feedback from you.

You can always send in comments, and feedback here on the blog, or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

The Group Process

( A group of Naturalists working on group development)

We all work with groups in some way shape or form. Those of you in the teambuilding realm may have groups that last a few hours, a day, several days, or several meetings over a prolonged time. You Naturalists or Outdoor Educators may have a single group of kids for up to a week or maybe only a nature hike. In every case, your group will be in some stage of the Group Process, and may move from one stage to another during your program. Having an understanding of the group process may not guarantee a successful group, but it can help you in understanding their behavior and help you be more intentional about activity selection.  

In 1965 Bruce Tuckman presented a model of group development that was composed of 4 stages. He named the stages Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. In 1975 he added Adjourning to the model. Some folks use the term Transforming rather than Adjourning to keep the flow smoother.  Here is a brief description of each stage:

Forming: 

The group comes together and gets to know each other initially and to form the group. People are usually acting civil, and often people are looking to discover where the physical and emotional boundaries are. 

Storming: 

A chaotic period with individuals vying for various positions, often with a good deal of conflict.

Norming: 

Agreements are reached on how the group will operate as a group with the task(s) presented.

Performing: 

The group implements the behavioral agreements and becomes effective in meeting its objectives.

Adjourning/Transforming: 

The process of transitioning the group into another form or disbanding the group all together and moving on.

At the link above, and here, there is much more on the Group Process model developed by Tuckman. However, in a more immediate sense, this information can be useful for you during programs. These 4-5 stages occur in many ways. If you are working with a group for any period of time, one or more of these stages will be occurring. In a multi-day program for example these stages can occur over the whole time the group is together. They can also occur over the period of a single day. And they can manifest within a single activity. The Group Process is not a simple 1 dimensional, linear process. It can be a multi-layered, constantly adjusting model. And, it does provide us as facilitators- on a challenge course, or with a environmental education group- with a template to work with when selecting activities. 

Do some research using the links provided to deepen your understanding of Tuckman's model. And with the next few groups that you work with keep your awareness on what level of the process your group may be in and which direction are they moving. Also keep your awareness on the behaviors you notice in each stage. Keep notes if you want to on your findings. Enjoy the process!

Some things to try: (remember to sharpen the saw)

Overhand Knot:

This is one of my favorite low prop initiatives. All you need is some space and a length of webbing or rope. I use a piece of cordage (again-webbing or rope) that is about 18-24" long depending on the group.  A 24" piece is good to have because it makes the activity a little easier if you have participants who are bigger than others. I also provide some other pieces of the same length for the group to practice with during the activity.

To start with I gather the group around and show them what an Overhand Knot looks like. If you don't know, it looks like this:

I tell this group that this is the knot they use when they first begin to tie their shoes. This is a hint to the solution. Have the group line up holding hands. Then in the middle of the line have the two middle people break their connection and give them each one end of the piece of cordage. The rest of the line remains holding hands.

The goal of this activity is for the group to tie an overhand knot in the cordage without breaking contact with each other. Also the people holding the cordage can also not let go of the cordage. That includes doing little finger dances to manipulate the cordage into a knot. The only hands that can be used to manipulate the cordage is the two free hands on each end of the group line.  

I do allow participants to break hands in order to plan and strategize with the extra pieces of cordage. Also let the group change who are the people holding onto the cordage and even the lineup as long as has equal numbers on each side of the piece of cordage. Allow this between attempts, not during.

Although this sounds rather simple I have seen groups take more than an hour to complete! Other groups have done it in less than 20 minutes. The key is to monitor the group and make sure they are following the guide lines around letting go of the cordage. There are at least 4 methods that I have seen work for this activity. Be forewarned that some groups can become very frustrated while doing this activity.

Disco Hike:

Todays activity is to take a walk through or around where you work with groups. A good Disco Hike lasts about an hour or 90 minutes. A Disco Hike is not some new dance craze. But come to think of it a Dance Hike could be a blast! A Disco Hike is a Discovery Hike. Your only goals, besides having fun, is to notice more and give your participants an opportunity to get passionate about exploration! If you want to make it more "formal" perhaps make an initial inventory of the things you notice so your group could explore more about the objects they discover later on in your program or when they get home. A Discovery Hike is not necessarily a naming or labeling hike. It is about walking around and looking for cool things to discover. Try and inspire before you label everything.

As you walk around, simply be on the look out for things that catch your attention, and more importantly-catch the attention of your group. It could be something you see, hear, or smell. Then go check it out. Try and resist naming the item. Sometimes I provide just a bit of info such as telling the group that a mushroom is a kind of decomposer. If you want to, write a description of the item or take a picture. That way you can look it up later. Just enjoy the process! Have fun, and maybe get a little dirty. As I am leading a Disco Hike I tell my participants that when they notice something they want to share with the group they should call out "Disco!" and then the group will come to them. I do take advantage of a Disco Hike to point out potentially harmful items such as poison oak/ivy/sumac, and other items like property boundaries or off limit areas.

While you are out on a Disco Hike try some of the following things:

-- Just walk and look. You could even try a walk without talking.

-- Listen for various birds.

-- Notice the birds flying overhead.

-- Look for all things red, or blue, or brown, or orange (natural or man made).

-- Count the conifers in the area.

-- See if you can notice tracks or trails.

-- See if you can notice 10 things you have never seen before.

-- Count cool insects.

-- See if the moon is still out.

You get the idea. If you can, try and make taking a Disco Hike a routine. Maybe take mini Disco Hikes everyday with your group if you have them for a few days, or when you get to a new place. I have also done Disco Hikes when a group returns to an area so we can explore and see if there are any changes or new things to discover.


Connections:
A couple of websites to check out this week:


This website, The Encyclopedia of Life, is the creation of E.O Wilson. Quite a cool place:
http://www.eol.org/


Want to learn some new knots, or forgotten a few? Animated Knots by Grog is the place to go!
http://www.animatedknots.com/

Have a wonderful week and if you have any comments, please feel free to leave them here. If you have any suggestions for future topics or other questions, please email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

As a self promotion bit:

I will be at the National Challenge Course Practitioners Symposium-NCCPS

 February 24-27th, 2010 in Boulder CO. 

On the 24th, as a pre-conference offering, I am running a workshop on 

Ecological Debriefing Methods and Metaphors. 

Contact me for more information. 

Sharpening Your Saw or Personal Composting!

(It could be a new activity.)

Howdy Folks!
I hope you are getting to enjoy the holiday season and perhaps getting a little break in running programs. With this seasonal lull in professional activity, remember to Sharpen Your Saw. Now last time we went through our BOT and hopefully you did a little cleaning and added a few things to your bag. And hey, maybe if you're really good you will get a new bag for the holidays! But just re-organizing and cleaning out your BOT is not really sharpening your saw. It is more like gathering the tools.


Regardless if you spend most of your time running teambuilding/ ropes course programs or you are an environmental educator/ naturalist, you need to take care of your self as well as your participants. In Steven Covey's classic book on personal and professional development, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the 7th habit is called "Sharpen the Saw". Covey uses the metaphor of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days straight and is becoming less and less productive. The process of cutting dulls the blade. So the solution is to periodically sharpen the saw. The same goes for ourselves. We need to keep ourselves, our greatest tool, sharp and ready to serve. In Ecological terms, sharpening the saw is similar to composting leftover food. You are giving back to the soil which produces food for you. You are giving back nutrients to the Earth. You need to give back to yourself as well.


I’ve found that in practice, many people, including myself, are not always clear on what sharpening the saw really means. If you’re overworking yourself and your productivity begins to fall off, common wisdom says to take a break, maybe even go on vacation. However, that isn’t sharpening the saw — that’s putting the saw down. When you put down a dull blade for a while, the blade will still be dull when you pick it up again. Now don't get me wrong. A vacation can be a component of Sharpening your Saw, but it is not the only one. 

Sharpening the Saw is actually an activity, just as the metaphor suggests. Think about what it would mean to sharpen the saw of your life. Here are some saw-sharpening ideas:

1. Exercise
2. Improve your diet
3. Educate yourself (read, listen to audio programs, attend a seminar)
4. Learn a new skill
5. Join a club, or start a club!
6. Meditate, or attend a religious service.
7. Write in your journal-Or get yourself one!
8. Have a deep conversation with someone
9. Set some new goals or review/update your old goals
10. Organize your home or office- Or your BOT if you haven't already!
11. Go out on a date
12. Go and do some of the activities you teach. When was the last time you road a Zip Line or went on your own Night Hike? 

You get the idea.  In addition to cleaning out your BOT, I encourage you during this period of time when many of us are not at peak programming levels to choose a single activity that you do all the time. It could be a game, an initiative, a certain way you teach about photosynthesis, your night hike sequence, or something else, and really look at how you do it. Are there areas you could change? More information you could provide? Does it fit in well in your schedule of events? Please do not attack ALL of your activities at once! That might get a little overwhelming! Start small, and work your way through your collection of activities. 


You can also consider making this a community activity. Gather some of the folks you work with, and as a group work on refining some activities or facilitation skills. You could also create a Mastermind group or partnership. A mastermind group or partnership is a connection and agreement that you make with other people to meet at a set time and do some growth work. It could be a session of sharing ideas, new books, great experiences, or not so great experiences. It can be more effective if you have mastermind connections that are outside of your daily life. By brining in outside resources or inputs, you can help build your own "biodiversity" and make yourself stronger and more resistant to stagnation. Have fun with the creative process!

Some books to consider:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. 

Sharing Nature With Children by Joseph Cornell.

Processing the Adventure Experience by Reldan Nadler and John Luckner.

Nature's Revenge ( A book about Poison Ivy, Sumac, and Oak) by Susan Carol Hauser.

NEXT TIME:

The Group process and one activity for Teambuilding and one for Environmental Education to start the new year!

Please send me your ideas for topics to explore and any feedback!

You can leave a comment here or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Your Bag O Tricks!

(Some days the mug of motivation needs to be this big!)

So here we go with the first posting for the Ropes of Ecology. Before we get into the first posting, I want to give you a little background to this blog. I have been working in the field of experiential education for 21 years, and the field of residential camping and outdoor education for 25 years. I think that working with kids and adults in an experiential manner is perhaps the best job in the whole world. It gives us an opportunity to be creative, provide challenges and adventures to people, and help people learn and develop both personally and professionally. I know students might not be developing professionally, but we are helping to build their future.

Anyway, this blog will be addressing two areas that can be integrated with great results. I will be writing about experiential/ adventure education and environmental education and ecological literacy. Sometimes the topics will be combined, sometimes there will be separate musings. The age focus for this blog will be fairly broad. Many of the activities or concepts can be applied to any age group, while some will be specifically for a certain age group.

My goal is to provide you the reader with tools that you can use in your work. And as a challenge to you, this blog will be better if it is injected with ideas and question from you. So subscribe and write comments frequently. So away we go!

YOUR BAG O TRICKS!

In the experiential education world the term Bag O Tricks is often mentioned as something we should all carry for our work. In fact Karl Rohnke even had a newsletter and a couple of books with this title. Now in some cases the bag is a physical thing: a backpack, duffle bag, or brightly colored sac. It is the sacred object we use to carry around our toys, props, and mobile initiatives. My friend Tom carries what he calls his "Captain Fun" bag.

On the other side is our metaphorical bag that we carry in our head. It contains the metaphors we use with groups, list of activities and initiatives, sayings, debriefing models, ecological concepts, and other random things we pull out at random times to help us facilitate and guide our groups. Both Bags O Tricks can be invaluable in our work.

If you do not have a physical bag that you bring with you to your programs, get yourself one. It does not have to be spectacular, but it should be functional for you. I have a large duffle that fits most of my portable gear, and then I have a smaller backpack that allows me to take what I need with me during a program. I suggest that your bag have at least a few small pockets to hold smaller items like markers, cards, and things that would get buried at the bottom of your bag.

If you already have a Bag-O-Tricks (BOT), take it out and go through it. Clean it out and restock some items. If your throwables are dirty and nasty, wash them or get some new ones. If your raccoon circles are looking like they could not hold a rubber chicken safely, replace them. You get the idea. Also I would challenge you to put at least one new item in your bag. You know that cool thing you heard about at a conference last year or read about in a teambuilding book, or a piece of writing that inspires you. Keep the BOT fresh and relevant.

Now do the same for your VBOT-(Virtual Bag-O-Tricks). You know the gray mass between your ears. When was the last time you tried a new debriefing method? Have you been using the same intro speech for EVERY SINGLE ONE of your activities? If so, change them up!

Now this is not only for those of you who work outdoors. Those of you who work in a classroom or in an office, do the same! Look at what you are using both in your BOT and VBOT and clean them up and add something fresh!

Here is your challenge:

My friend Case McCrea gave me this idea years ago and I still use it. Sit down with a piece of paper, or computer, and get ready for a brain dump. First create some categories. For example: games, trust, songs, skits, portable initiatives, closing activities, topics to cover, debriefing tools, etc. Then write out all of the items you can think of for each category. If you have resources such as books or internet sites, use them. Now do not get ridiculous, unless you want to. After all, as Karl Rohnke says,"If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing".

The idea is to make yourself a usable, portable list you can carry around with you during a program so you can refer to it when ever you need it. If you can, laminate your list so it will last longer. Perhaps keep it in a small note book-which you should have anyway- so you can add to it when the ideas come rolling out of your brain.

I have found that when I do this process, and I do it at least once a year, I remember some great activities or tools that I used to use and had stopped for some reason. It is also a good refresher to keep me on my toes and to remember to keep things fresh.

Tools to use:

Here are some websites to help you out: Next time even more links!

http://www.mcphee.com/shop/ Where else can you find an inflatable fruitcake?

http://www.karlrohnke.com/ Karl's website, and a list of his books.

Remember, send me your ideas, favorite websites, activity ideas, comments,

and ideas for future topics!

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

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www.asinglefootstep.com