Alternate Activity 2: Creating a Web of Connection (30 minutes)
Materials for Activity
- Yarn, preferably acrylic or cotton, at least 30 feet (10 meters) for each participant
- Optional: Scissors
Preparation for Activity
- Create a large ball of yarn. You may need to tie together several skeins in order to do this.
- Determine whether you will need to set a time limit on each participant's sharing in order to complete this activity in the time allotted.
- Choose one of three methods for taking apart the web: asking participants to drop the web on the floor, tossing the yarn ball among participants in reverse and rolling it up, or passing scissors for participants to cut their own pieces as a reminder of their interconnectedness.
Description of Activity
Introduce the activity with these or similar words:We will toss this ball of yarn among us. When the ball comes to you, hold it and speak briefly to the essence of your response to: Who is my neighbor? What does it mean to me to love, respect, be with my neighbor as I love, respect and am with my self?
If you would prefer to receive and toss the yarn in silence, you may.
When you are finished speaking or holding the yarn in silence, unroll some of it, hold on to the strand and toss the ball to someone else in the circle. We will continue until each person has received the ball of yarn and spoken. Then the last person can toss the ball of yarn back to the one who began the toss.
If you are setting a time limit for each person's sharing, announce that at this time.
Conduct the yarn toss and sharing, timing participation if necessary. After all participants have spoken, offer closing words for the activity. You may say:
We are part of a web of connections, a community of life. We want to bridge separations between and among people. We are weaving connections.
Take apart the web using the method you chose in advance: asking participants to drop the web on the floor, tossing the yarn ball among participants in reverse and rolling it up, or passing scissors for each participant to cut their own piece as a reminder of their interconnectedness.
Including All Participants
Some participants may not have much agility in catching or throwing the yarn. Make it OK to not be an expert catcher or thrower, and assure participants that it’s OK to ask for help.Last updated on Saturday, April 19, 2008.
