The Human Knot is a GREAT icebreaker to get kids to work together toward a common goal. To initiate the knot, get an even numbered group of people in a circle. Have everyone put their right hand in the circle and grab the hand of another person. Then have them put their left hand in the circle and grab the hand of a different person. PRESTO! Magically knotted! Now for the fun part: GET UNTANGLED WITHOUT LETTING GO! Some of our kids are great with problem-solving!
The Silent Line is one of my favorite activities. This game forces kids to rely on something other than their mouths for communication. The rules are simple: No talking, grunting, humming, or mouthing of words at any point. You may use any hand signals you like but you must put yourself in a line according to what your teacher says. The two we tried were height order (very easy because it is mostly a visual thing) and birthday order (a real challenge!)
The point of this activity is to get 10 people standing on a square 25" by 25" long enough to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat". It may sound easy, but it is TOUGH! I only had one team successfully complete the mission, but I saw a lot of great ideas and problem solving skills!
This one is definitely the most fun to watch as an outsider. Split your group into two equal teams. They must hold hands (or wrists for the boys who are sensitive) and a hula hoop will be placed between two people somewhere in the circle. When the teacher says go, the teams must past the hula hoop all the way around the circle back to the starting point without letting go! I've never seen kids move so fast in my life.
I only tried this with one group.....and it was successful....for about 2 seconds! Luckily I had the camera waiting! For this, the group must get in a circle facing the back of the person in front of them. Make sure to get close! All together they sit down and balance on one another!