Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: World of Wonder: A Program on the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism for Grades K-1

Activity 1: Earth Ball Name Game

Part of World of Wonder

Activity time: 5 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Inflatable earth ball or globe, available from Amazon

Preparation for Activity

  • Inflate the earth ball or globe.

Description of Activity

This activity engages active learners while helping everyone learn the names of participants and leaders.

Stand in a circle with participants. Say, in these words or your own:

One important way to make connections and help everyone feel welcome is to know each other's names. We will use this earth ball each time we are together to help create connections in our group. When someone throws the "earth" to you, catch the ball and say your name.

Demonstrate by throwing the ball gently to a co-leader. Have the co-leader say their name.

Then everyone says "Welcome, [co-leader's name]." Then, that person will gently throw the earth ball to someone else in the circle, who will say their name and be welcomed by the group.

Continue until everyone in the circle has been introduced.

Including All Participants

If throwing and catching the ball is difficult, do the activity seated with legs out and feet touching, rolling the ball instead of throwing it. If any participant cannot stand or sit on the floor, have everyone play in a circle of chairs.