Trust Chair Activity
Purpose:
The Trust Chair activity teaches following instructions and Trust.
Objective:
To be laying on each other, suspended off the floor, with nothing touching the ground but each person’s feet.
Warning:
You may need to be mindful and respectful of some of your group’s physical limitations (bad backs or injured legs) or their religious beliefs (some are not permitted to touch others) for this game. They can still be included as Pullers but may not be capable or find it appropriate to be Participants in the chairs.
Supplies:
1 Chair for each person in group.
Recommendation:
Start with a group of 4 and create larger and larger groups in future rounds.
Directions:
1. Set up 1 chair for each person in the group (no less than 4).
2. Have each Participant sit down in a chair, filling all the chairs.
3. Have at about 1 person for every 5 or so chairs to be Pullers.
4. Instruct all Participants to do the following:
*Turn their entire body to face left (each Participant facing the next Participant’s back).
*Sit only halfway on the chair as if someone was sharing the chair with them (as in “1 Cheek on, 1 Cheek off”).
*Plant their feet securely on the ground, with their legs their knees at 90-degree angle to the floor. (It will probably fail if this does not happen.)
*Cross their arms over their chest (touching their own shoulders). This keeps them from touching the ground.
*Lean back on the person behind them. (Tell the to make sure their legs stay perpendicular and that they are squarely on the other person’s legs.)
5. Let them know that you are about to remove the chairs from beneath.
6. Have the Pullers carefully remove the chairs, reminding Participants to keep their feet planted.
*You do not want this to take forever, as this activity is not comfortable for participants, which is why you should have 1 Puller for about every 5 or so Participants, unless you have few Pullers that are both fast and as gentle as reasonably possible.
Done correctly, everyone will succeed, but if someone’s feet are not squarely planted, it could take down the entire group.