Group Juggling
We Get by With a Little Help From our Friends

by Lauren Colyn, Don DeGraaf, Ph.D., and Diana Certan

Materials
Variety of objects (i.e., balls, stuffed animals, rubber chicken, koosh ball, etc.)

How to play
The objective of this activity is to work cooperatively to juggle a number of different objects in the group. Rules include: 1. Have the group stand in a circle facing inward. The group develops a sequence involving all players for how they are going to pass the ball. 2. The first person tosses the ball to the designated person, who passes it to the next designated person, and so on. 3. Once the group is comfortable with this, the first person adds a second ball, a third ball, etc. The group tries to keep all the balls in play in the correct sequence. 4. See how many balls the group can successfully juggle at once.

Adapted from: Rohnke, K. (1984). Silver Bullets. Hamilton, MA: Project Adventure.

Variations
Once the group is working well together, add a wild ball (we use a rubber chicken). This wild ball can be thrown to anyone except the person to whom you usually throw.

Sample Processing Questions

1. Did your group juggle more or fewer objects than you thought the group could?
2. What are some of the things you are “juggling” in your life?
3. What support systems do you have to deal with problems at school? At home? At camp?
4. How do you deal with unexpected problems when they arise?

Metaphors

• Once the sequence for group juggling has been established, stop the activity and talk about how the group allows you to juggle more balls than you could juggle alone. Ask the group what would happen if one person stepped out of the circle. With the network broken it ruins the group’s ability to help each other — they are all connected.
• Have each individual take an object and tell the group what it represents in his or her life. What is one of the things he or she is juggling right now?
• Stop the juggling again and introduce the wild ball. The wild ball represents an unexpected problem to be dealt with quickly. Ask individuals to identify examples of unexpected problems in their own lives. During the processing time, the group can explore how to deal with these problems in a positive manner.

Source: Kottman, Ashby, & DeGraaf (in press).

Lauren Colyn is a sociology major at Calvin College.

Don DeGraaf, Ph.D., is a professor at Calvin College with over fifteen years of experience working in organized camp.

Diana Certan is a program coordinator for New Horizons, a Romanian nonprofit organization that sponsors the Viata program.

Originally published in the 2008 March/April issue of Camping Magazine.