Small Group Ideas

Please email me me other ideas for this list. Use the format I have. Think about what new experience you want your small group to have. This is the MAIN point. The rest is just how to go about that....

Things I have tried and I feel have worked:

'Stages of Group' Race

Activity:

Get a bit of paper and draw a short stretch of road wide enuf for 6-10 matchbox cars to easily fit accross the lanes.
Get everyone to bring a matchbox car - or simular - that represents themselves somewhat.
Explain the stages of being in a group. 
We are all at different stages in how we feel in the group.
Put down markers that indicate each stage the track - ie red at the back, orange middle etc.

Red - Don't trust you yet.
Orange - Might be safe...lets see.
Green - Let's go, it's all good.

Get everybody to place their vehicles where they feel they are right now in the group.
Pay attention to see if they move them once others have placed etc etc.
Give each person a turn to first explain why they chose the car they did.
This can often be very revealing and provide an opertunity to get to know somebody much deeper.
Facilitator needs to make the most of this with gentle probing questions.
Then ask about why they placed the car where they did.
Take interest in which direction it is going also.

Experience:
Very here and now. Talking about stuff as it is right now. 
Chance for people to say what made them feel safe or not in the group. ie give feedback.
Facilitator and group gets to know where the groups is at as a whole. (Generally a group won't move to the next stage until all of the members are in the current stage.)
Facilitator and group get to know what they do that makes the group safe or not.

Johari Window

Activity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_Window
Explain it. 
Everybody gets a piece of paper and pen.
Everybody draws their window with their different size boxes.
Take turns sharing how they view themselves.
Facilitator picks up on groups response and any differences between how a person percieves themselves and how the groups sees them. Make talking points about this.

Alternative/Follow up
Everybody has a turn drawing the window of the person on their left then explains it.
This facilitator makes sure that people use I statements and emphasises that this is perception only, not nesasarry reality. Great opertunity for people to practice taking and giving feedback. 
Not a place for arguments or defenciveness. Listener being talked about just listens. If its really hard for them, encourage them to write down the thoughts and feelings that came up for them as they were listening and they can share that (or not) after.

Experience: Being told posative and negative stuff about you, in front of people, and being ok with that. ie surviving non shaming feedback.
Giving feedback - this is really hard for many people.
Seeing a side of ones self that you hadn't seen before. 
Blind spots becoming smaller due to feedback.

Whine and Dine

Activity:
Bring pizza bases - people bring toppings.
Everybody helps making different pizzas.
Just eat all night.
At the same time...Life can be messy - like pizzas.
So, get a big piece of paper and stick it on a table somewhere and tell people they can write crap stuff that's happened in the week on it.
Its the whine and dine night.
Whine on the paper, dine on the the pizza.

Experience: Eating and honesty together. 
Cathartic release without anything spoken out loud.
Community without the intensity of group.