Gap Fillers

There are occasions on Pioneer Trek when you will find extra time on your hands. These “gaps” often occur between meals and scheduled events, or when there is some unforeseen hold-up in the scheduled events. Rather than sending your restless family off to find trouble, you can initiate one of several activities. Some of these activities will work best with a few families combined. The following is a list of games and activities that can be used as “gap-fillers”.

Getting to Know You Games

FIND YOUR TWIN

This game is played in rounds, and in each round the members of the group need to find their twin and ask 3 or 4 set questions. The leader of the activity gives directions for how each person is to find their twin in each round, i.e. round 1-find someone the same height as you, round 2- find someone who is in the same year in school, round 3- find someone who likes the same type of music, etc.

When everybody has found their twin, they ask each other the 3 or 4 set questions (i.e. What’s your name? How would you spend your last $10? What’s the best thing about trek so far?)

Variation:  Swap

After finding your twin and asking the questions for that round, swap one item with each other (ie. Shoe, sock, necklace, hat, bandana, etc.) and then move on to the next round. At the conclusion of all the rounds you should have a collection of items from the people you met. Ask a few people in the group to stand up and share what items they have, who they’re from, and the answers to the questions, then return the items to their owners. After a few people have shared, make sure everyone returns items.

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

Like speed dating. Split the group into two equal groups. Have the groups stand in two concentric circles with the outside circle facing in and the inside circle facing out. Each person should be facing a partner. Give the group 3-4 questions to ask each other. The partners have 2-3 minutes to ask the questions and find out the answers before the leader of the activity rings the bell (or similar) and the partners change. Move the inside circle one person to the right. Repeat the process until everyone has met each other or till time allows. Select people to share with the group who they met and what they learned.

THIS OR THAT

Objectives: This on-your-feet activity helps team members get to know each other and appreciate each other on a new level, while learning how to capitalize on their commonalities and diversity. 

Instructions/Script: 

Part I: Say the following: “Everyone please stand in the center of the room. To learn more about our commonalities and differences, I’m going to read pairs of items, and if you feel that you are more like the first item, move to the ‘This’ side of the room (point to the sign). If you feel that you are more like the second item, move to ‘That’ side of the room (point to the sign). You’ll do this for each round. Ready?” Read one pair of items from the list on the next page or create your own list. Encourage a few participants from each side of the room to explain their choices to the opposing side of the room. Keep the conversation brief and the activity moving. 

Are you more like . . .

“This”   “That” 

 1. The sun   The moon 

2. Summer   Winter 

3. A dog    A cat 

4. An elevator   An escalator 

5. A pen    A pencil 

6. Wallpaper   Paint 

7. Go    Stop 

8. A taxi    A limousine 

9. Water    Soda 

10. A rollercoaster  A merry-go-round 

11. Yes    No 

12. Silk    Cotton 

13. A hotel   A motel 

14. A lake    A river 

15. A magnifying glass A telescope 

16. A television   A radio 

17. Slow    Fast 

18. Skiing    Snow boarding 

19. On    Off 

20. A microwave oven  A crock pot 

21. A candle   A flashlight

22. Fire Place Heater

23. Indoors Outdoors

24. Truck Car

BUTTON, BUTTON WHO’S GOT THE BUTTON?

Get a button. Choose someone to be guess and choose a leader. The leader walks around the circle with a button in hands pressed together pretending to drop the button in each player’s hands. Once the leader has gone to every player the leader asks the person guessing, “Button, button who’s got the button?” The player guessing chooses someone. If after 3 guesses the player has not picked the right person, the person guessing becomes the new leader. If he chooses correctly, then the leader remains the same and repeats the process with a new player guessing. 

BUTTON STRING

Get a long string with a button threaded onto it. Players sit in a circle with a leader in the center. Each player holds onto the string. The button is moved from player to player while all the players pretend, they are moving the button from fist to fist. The leader must guess where the button stops when the leader calls out “stop”! 

RAILROAD SPELLING BEE

The first person spells any work of their choosing. The next person uses the last letter in the previously spelled word as the first letter in a word of their choosing. The next person follows in a like manner. People misspell their words and sit down.

DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR?

 Players stand in a circle-formation with one person in the middle. The middle person is “IT”. IT asks one of the people in the circle, “Do you love your neighbor?” If the player answers “Yes”, the players on each side of him must switch places before IT can take their place. If the player answers, “No”, he must then say who he does love. He will say something like, “No, but I love everyone wearing blue.” Then everyone wearing blue must switch places before IT can take their place. The person left without a place is the new IT.

STATES

Players sit in a circle, and everyone chooses a state (or fruit or famous person, etc.). Go around the circle twice, having each person name their state so that the players can memorize them. IT stands in the middle with a hat or bandana and approaches a player who must name another state (belonging to another player) before IT hits them on the head with the bandana. IT must hurry to the persons whose state was named and try to hit them before they can name another state. Whoever is hit on the head before they can name another’s state is IT. If a player says his own state or a state not included in the game, he becomes IT.

TANGLE

Stand in a tight circle. Have everyone put their tight hands in the middle and instruct them to join their left hands with someone else’s right hand. No one should join two hands with the same person. Now, without letting go, the group must become “untangled”.

STRENGTHS and FEARS 

Each person in a circle shares one of their greatest fears. When everyone has shared a fear, go around the circle again and ask everyone to share one of their greatest strengths.