Building Relationships – Use Your Spidey Senses!

Creating opportunities to share an experience together is one of the best ways we can help build relationships with others. Whether it’s establishing connection with our kids, co-workers, spouses, or family & friends, shared experiences are the building blocks in the foundation of relationships. As teachers and parents, it’s important for us to create opportunities that allow our kids to engage in those experiences. Whether you’re a parent with kids at home or teacher with kids in school, it’s important to be intentional in the experiences you’re providing.

One of my favorite relationship building activities for both home and school is this one right here…

Abby and I created Spidey Senses with shared experiences in mind…a way to provide our kids opportunities to engage in teamwork. We not only wanted to give our kids a way to collaborate, but to practice their communication skills as well. And let’s not forget about the importance of having fun either! Having fun and creating memories together are great ways to build and strengthen relationships, too.

This is in incredibly easy activity to implement any time of your day whether you’re in a classroom or at home. Here’s how to play…
(Scroll to the bottom of this post if you prefer the video version)

Print out the spiderweb game mat and spidey senses blindfold
(blindfold printable optional…you can use anything as a blindfold so long as it’s something that can cover your eyes!).

THE OBJECTIVE

PARTNER 1: Cover as many spiders as you can…blindfolded!…in one minute (using either a crayon, dry erase marker, or pom)

PARTNER 2: Direct your partner to cover up as many spiders as he can using ONLY your words (give him directions, tell him where to move his marker, where to cover, etc.)

Set a timer for one minute. Partner 2 will direct Partner 1 (who is wearing a blindfold) where to move his marker or pom & circle/cover a spider. When the timer is up, it’s time for Partner 2 to put on the blindfold & Partner 1 to be the guide! Reset the timer for one minute and resume play. At the end of the two minutes, count to see who covered the most spiders. You might even consider using two different color crayons/markers or two different colored poms so it’s easier to distinguish between both players.

After playing, follow-up with a few questions…
* Was this game easy or challenging? Why?
* What would you change about this activity to make it easier?
* What would you change about this activity to make it more challenging?
* How did you and your partner work together as a team?
* Do you think you and your partner had good teamwork?
Why or why not?
* How could your teamwork improve?