Yagilu Started Today-But You Didn’t Miss the Bus
Rifling through desk drawers. Digging through closets. Hunting through basement storage baskets. Hollered calls of “Mommmm, where’s my camo jacket?!”
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Yagilu Roll Call, Starting With!
One of the first things on the agenda every session in Yagilu is to set up a roll call. Each camper gets a number that will be theirs for the rest of the summer. To make sure everyone is with us before starting an activity or discussion, the head counselor announces: “Yagilu Roll Call, starting with!”, and we go through the full count.
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Rubber Chickens and Pool Noodles
10 reasons why I like hanging out with other facilitators (especially Yagilu counselors):
1.They own rubber chickens and know what to do with them.
2. Brainstorming activity ideas for facilitating a challenging group can happen instantly.
3. No one looks at you weird when you walk down the hallway of a convention center carrying 27 pool noodles.
4. I always get the opportunity to be a learner again.
5. If you throw a beach ball up in the air, someone is bound to shout ‘MOON BALL!’ and 15 people will instantly try to set the new world record for the most number of hits without letting it touch the ground.
6. New ideas are freely shared.
7. Meaningful conversations can happen in a 10-minute time period.
8. It’s not weird when someone randomly walks up to you and hands you an obscure object and asks you how you would use it in a group.
9. I always get great feedback on workshops I’ve delivered hundreds of time. This helps me be a better facilitator.
10. Creativity is contagious!
Y-Alumni: Yosef Gillers
Who are you?
I’m originally from Newton, MA, and now we live in Englewood, NJ. My wife Sara is an RN, and our daughter Zeva is 2 years old. I went to Maimonides from K-12, then learned in Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Yerushalayim. I earned my BA in Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010, with some concentration on Education and Glassblowing. I founded GrowTorah in 2014 and have been working on it ever since.
What are the big things you’re working on now?
Right now, I’m taking my organization, GrowTorah, from a successful project at a few schools, into phase 2. We build educational Torah garden programs for Jewish Day schools. Phase 2 will mean bringing GrowTorah to every Jewish Day school across North America! Our vision has every Jewish school featuring a GrowTorah garden, creating a space to learn about Torah, science, health, Jewish values and ethics, and more! We were just accepted into the OU’s Impact Accelerator program, earning seed money and valuable mentorship opportunities, so that will be a big step in the right direction.
What impact are you having on the world around you?
We’re inspiring thousands of kids to love Hashem through nature, and to use that love to then care for Hashem’s world through animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and Tzedakah. We feel that this is both an essential Jewish value and perspective on life, but doesn’t get much attention in today’s modern world. We’re looking to fix that.
We’re inspiring thousands of kids to love Hashem through nature, and to use that love to then care for Hashem’s world…
Are there things you learned from Yagilu that you use consistently?
Every setback we encounter, I always think of the 10-day hike I was leading back in 2008 or 2009, when it rained for 7 of those 10 days. Even just one day of rain on a hike can really dampen the enthusiasm of a group, and it takes a lot of effort and positive vibes to overcome that. If I could endure seven whole days of that, and lead my campers through with joy and fulfillment, than I can definitely endure a logistical setback.
What’s the most important thing you learned from Yagilu?
The importance of a debrief. Not only following a group activity, but for any learning moment. It is so crucial to reflect on what you learn from any experience, whether personal or group. But honestly, the most important life lessons that guide me day-to-day all came from my time working in Yagilu.
Honestly, the most important life lessons that guide me day-to-day all came from my time working in Yagilu.
What’s your favorite camp memory?
My first summer as a counselor, in 2006, we built a pretty cool project [one of the highlights of Yagilu 1 is the building projects. Campers have the opportunity to use the skills they’ve learned to design and build incredible projects among the trees of our forest campus. The creative opportunities are literally endless] with ‘couches’ 15 feet up in the air, a swing, and a sturdy ladder. I loved teaching my learning group up in the “living room” on the floating couches.
Don’t Just Break the Ice, Shatter It With This Game:
Speedball
Speedball is a fun, active icebreaker game. When played right, it can lead to a terrific finale and a productive debrief. Through the game, participants are encouraged to share creative ideas and work together to accomplish a shared goal. At the same time, the fun element keeps things loose and low pressure, creating a great environment for a new group to start getting to know each other. All you need is something that can be thrown relatively easily; a ball is good, but something a little wacky, like a big stuffed animal or a sleeping bag, can be even better. In this game, you don’t immediately reveal the final goal.
Check out our piece on icebreaker misconceptions here before you read this!
Setup
- Arrange everyone standing in a circle around you.
- Introduce the speedball. Have some fun with the intro, as it helps set the tone for fun and creativity.
- Explain, “We’ll be playing an awesome game with the speedball. The most important rule is that the speedball doesn’t touch the ground.” Toss it to someone in the circle; he should catch it.
- This participant will be involved for the rest of the game, so choose wisely. Choose someone who will influence other people to participate, or someone who you’re afraid will quickly wander off if not engaged.
- Give him a quick round of applause, and ask him to throw it back to you. This time, before you throw it to him, explain that each person, before throwing, should announce their names; announce your name and throw to the same person you threw to the first time.
- Name is good for an icebreaker. If your group already knows names, use any other question everyone can provide an answer to.
- Assuming he caught it (and said thank you, of course), instruct him to throw the speedball across the circle to someone else. He should announce his name and toss across. The recipient should catch the speedball, say thank you, announce his own name, and throw it across the circle to someone else.
Oops!
- At some point, the speedball will inevitably hit the ground. Step in, ask for the speedball back while leading a quick cheer for a good effort, and start again from the first person you threw to. Everyone must throw to the same person they threw to originally!
- Someone might suggest just passing the ball around the circle. That’s a great idea, but not yet; for now, try to gloss over it. You can also say, “That’s a great idea-we’ll be ready for ideas in a couple of minutes!”
Sharing Ideas, Working Together, Succeeding Together
- Your first goal is for everyone to receive the speedball and for it to get back to you. After that, you will challenge them to get their time as low as possible. If the first round is done in 3 minutes, challenge them to get it to a minute and a half, then below a minute, then 40 seconds, 20, 10, 5, etc. Each time, you’re presenting a new challenge. First, congratulate them on reaching the previous goal, and suggest: “What do you say about x seconds!”
- The group will have to adapt its strategy either due to the time pressure or people having trouble catching the speedball. Either way, you’re looking for participants to suggest ideas that will speed up and streamline each round. In the beginning, you’ll likely have to draw attention to suggestions; towards the end, try to step out and encourage them to suggest and attempt new ideas on their own. Stay involved by starting each new round, so you can continue celebrating with them.
You Did It!
- If the group allows for it, you will often end up squished together with everyone touching the speedball, and everyone shouting their names on a count of 3; you can call that finishing in under 1 second! Celebrate and cheer!
Check out our posts on running a post-activity debrief: Part 1 and Part 2
There’s More to Icebreakers Than Superpowers and Ice Cream Flavors
Or, The Better Way to Break the Ice
If you had a superpower, what would it be? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? If you could be a color, which would you choose? Ketchup or mustard on your hot dogs? Tell us three things about yourself, two which are true and one which is not, and we’ll guess which is which.
These are classic icebreaker activities: go around the room, answer the question, and hope people laugh while learning people’s names. The cute question is meant to make the activity bearable, while everyone gets a chance to say their names. Very often, most of the answers will be dull and boring, leading to a monotonous ‘icebreaker’ that’s more awkward than fun.
The goal of an icebreaker is to, quite literally, break the ice. You have a bunch of people in a room together who don’t know each other. That’s uncomfortable. As long as it’s uncomfortable, they won’t really be able to start getting to know each other. Therefore, your goal is to provide a structure for the group to interact in a way which is natural, unforced, and NOT awkward. Here are 5 of the top icebreaker misconceptions:
1. The point of an icebreaker is to learn people’s names.
When was the last time you remembered 20 names after hearing them just one time? Exactly.
Many think that the goal of an icebreaker is for people to say their names so that the rest of the group can start learning them. Most of the time, going around a circle answering a silly (or serious) question and providing your name won’t accomplish that. Instead, think of an icebreaker as an opportunity for people to get comfortable interacting with each other. Set up an activity where a group needs to work together to succeed. Names will come naturally as they start discussing solutions, dealing with problems, and eventually succeeding together. All you need to do is provide the structure and a relaxed environment; the rest happens by itself.
2. The funnier the question, the better.
No matter what question you ask, you’ll always be playing to one personality type: the confident guy comfortable making himself the center of attention who’ll be fine providing a funny answer. Often, a majority of the group won’t fit this description. In that case, the overall feel will be awkward with a couple of funny parts. A facilitator might be able to help if he’s a big personality, but often won’t be able to totally save it.
When using a group game or activity, where the group is working together to solve a problem or puzzle, every personality type has a chance to shine. Leaders mobilize the group; brainy types think up solutions; creative personalities suggest new perspectives; athletes contribute their skills to implement the solution. Everyone gets the chance to present themselves to the group, not just the people who love the limelight.
3. Only use an icebreaker when nobody knows each other.
The point of an icebreaker is to facilitate a group coming together. That means that even if just a couple members of the group are new, the group will benefit from an icebreaker. Done right, the new members will start getting comfortable in the group while the old members will start getting to know the new people. The whole time, everyone’s having fun and working towards succeeding at whatever challenge you set for them, leading to positive vibes for the new group.
4. Only loud extroverts can successfully run icebreakers.
If you’re looking at the goal as getting people laughing while hearing names or personal information about everyone in the group, you’re right – it’ll be hard for someone more reserved to successfully run that type of icebreaker. However, someone on the quieter side can be very successful in setting up an activity for a group to work on together. Facilitating that is much easier for an introvert, and the group has the chance to get comfortable with each other through the shared experience of the game.
5. Icebreakers need to lead into/be related to the ‘actual’ activity.
This one comes from not appreciating icebreakers for their own merits. The more you invest in your group getting comfortable with each other and sharing successes together, the better any future activity or event you do with them will be. It is productive to run an icebreaker as the sole activity of a program, assuming you debrief it well. This way, the participants will recognize that they didn’t just ‘waste their time’ with a fun game for half an hour, but instead accomplished something significant (the content changes based on what happened and how you choose to debrief). Even if you are running another activity after the icebreaker that relies on the group having started to already come together, the icebreaker doesn’t need to lead into that. For example, you might be planning on leading a group discussion about free will in Judaism. Your gut for the icebreaker might be, go around the circle and have everyone share a time they felt they were being controlled rather than getting to exercise their own free will. That could work (but might not-see above), but is definitely not the only choice for warming up the group. A fun group challenge will also warm up the group, facilitating a great conversation. In fact, you may even be able to lead the debrief from the game into your discussion of choice! If it fits, you have a much more natural conversation than what you would have had in the first example.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting examples of this NEW type of icebreakers-group games where everyone works together to succeed. Stay tuned!
The Most Important Part of Every Event, Part 2
This is the second part of our post on leading a productive and successful debrief. You can find Part 1 here.
Debrief Stage 2: So What?
After warming up the group and jogging their memories with the What stage, you transition to the So What stage. 
Basically, you’re asking, “What was significant about some part of the event that we just experienced together?” As the group leader, you should have chosen something you wanted to guide the discussion towards while you were facilitating the program. Have that ready, but also be open to what the group feels was the lesson learned from the event. When you’re ready to move into this stage, you can often refer back to the person in Stage 1 (What) who described the part you want to focus on. Ask him to provide some more details or what he thought was significant about that stage. Another idea is to ask a big-picture question about the idea you want to focus on. This stage takes a deeper level of thought. Participants are thinking abstractly about the problems they encountered, how they dealt with them, and if there were better or more effective ways to have responded.
For example, we often start our programs with a game called Speedball (we’ll be posting a full rundown of the game soon!). In order to succeed at Speedball, participants need to suggest different ways to adapt their approach and reach the goal faster each time. We use that to discuss the role that every single person can play in succeeding, even if their idea wasn’t the last one to be used. When debriefing, you can ask: Who suggested an idea that led to succeeding at Speedball? While people will often point to the last person to suggest an idea, you can push them to realize that every person who suggested something, whether it was an original idea, a critique of another suggestion, or an adaptation of an existing strategy, was needed for the group to succeed.
Positive Feedback
Remember to give positive feedback to those who contribute to the discussion. This is effectively done by restating their ideas to the group and getting their confirmation that you understood and appreciated what they had to say. You may not agree with a statement a participant makes, or feel it will detract from the point you’re trying to make. If you’re confident that the rest of the group agrees with you, ask a respected member of the group how he feels; most of the time, he’ll back you up. Just be careful; if they take the other side, it can detract from the power of your message. However, the beauty of these discussions is that people can express their own opinions and differ from you. If you are confident in your message, it will stand on its merits. Your message will be even stronger if you allow people to disagree with you.
Stage 3: Now What?
After processing the event itself, you are ready to move on to the third stage: Now What? Here, you take the lesson and ask the group how they would apply it to situations that might come up in the future. Ask them to describe a scenario where the idea they just discussed could come in handy. For the Speedball example described above, I’d ask for someone to describe a project where multiple voices could help find a creative solution. This type of open-ended question allows for some interesting answers, and drives home the lesson learned from the game you just played.
When you’re ready, you can wrap up the discussion by restating the idea you discussed. It is powerful for you to say, “What I’m hearing from you is..” This way, you’re not TELLING them YOUR ideas, trying to make them learn lessons from you – they don’t necessarily care about what you have to say! Instead, you’re listening to them and restating THEIR experiences and thoughts, which they care about much more. Going forwards, you can reference the game in other discussions and the group will understand that you’re talking about the lesson you just discuss
ed during the debrief.
Now you know the secret of the debrief. Using this 3-part method, you’re going to help the groups you lead isolate lessons from the things you experience with them and figure out how to apply them to real life. Practice makes perfect, so give it a shot at your next event!
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The Most Important Part of Every Event, Part 1
Do you run incredible programs, get rave reviews, and make sure everyone has an awesome time? Of course you do. But if you’re looking for your group games, activities, and events to have long-term impact, you NEED to debrief after the event. What is a debrief, why are they so important, and how can you run one in 3 easy steps?
Debriefing
A debrief usually takes the form of a group conversation, led by the group leader, after an event or experience. In camp, we debrief after group
initiatives, big accomplishments like First Fires, Shelter Night, and the Forest Feast, and our hikes, as well as smaller debriefs at the end of each day. Youth group leaders, such as NCSY advisors or City/Regional Directors, can use debriefs after a Shabbaton active learning program, ChaBo/ReBo events, or as a staff after a Regional Shabbaton. Teachers can debrief after experiential education programs or after completing big projects. Parents can debrief vacations, important family milestones, or unusual events. The goal of a debrief is to help process an experience in a way which sticks with the participants. By discussing what happened as a group and pointing out highlights at each stage outlined below, each participant has the opportunity to frame what happened in a positive way and recognize a takeaway for the future.
A debrief has 3 parts: What, So What, and Now What.
Stage 1: What?
In the What stage, the group leader encourages participants to share their perspective on the activity or event. You’re asking, very simply, what happened? You can engage multiple participants by starting from the beginning of the process and going step by step. For example, picture a game where the group tried one solution, failed and began to get frustrated, discovered another method, which led to the solution which ended up working successfully. At each point, you can ask for a new person to get involved in recalling what happened. At each stage, ask them to describe the situation – how they were feeling, what they were thinking, or how they felt the group was doing. This stage is most often skipped in group discussions, because it seems so unnecessary. “We just did this, why do we need to talk about what we just did?!” is a question you will probably hear often. By starting with the What stage, you:
- Remind everyone of the steps needed to get to the end goal, rather than only remembering the final solution
- Encourage people to contribute to the discussion with easy ‘softball’ questions
- Demonstrate that people who contribute receive positive reinforcement from you and the group
Once you start asking the more difficult, nuanced questions in the next two stages, people will be more willing to speak up. You’ve already set the tone of the group discussion as a place where people talk and get good feedback for contributing. Next up, Stage 2: So What?!
Part 2 can be found here! If you want to make sure you don’t miss it, or generally like our posts and don’t want to miss any, subscribe to our email list-posts will be sent directly to your inbox!
Y-Alumni: Rabbi Netanel Goldstein
Welcome to a new division of Yagilu (and a new feature on the blog): Y-Alumni! Every so often, we’re going to feature alumni who have taken what they gained from Yagilu into whatever they’re working on.
_____________________________________________________
Who are you?
My name is Netanel Goldstein, originally from Chicago, IL.
My wife’s name is Sarah, we have two boys- Avi (4) and Gabey (2), and we live in Teaneck, NJ. I am proud to call Menachem, Tzvi, Tuvia and Yigal, also Yagilu alumni, my younger (but taller) brothers. I went to Skokie Yeshiva for high school, Yeshivat Sha’alvim for 2 years and Yeshiva University for undergrad.
I teach at Sinai Schools at TABC, a Special Education school housed within TABC. On Sundays, you can find me in Manhattan directing a Hebrew school on the Upper East Side for 63 students. In the summer, I am a division head at Camp HASC.
L-R: Menachem, Tzvi, and R’ Netanel Goldstein on Yagilu’s 1-Day Hike
What are the big things you’re working on now? How are they impacting the world around you?
I don’t work on big things. I work on meaningful things.
I am making Hilchos Shabbos and Maseches Sukkah accessible to students who need material to be presented in concrete and hands-on ways. For example, in order to understand what a Melacha is and how the Bnei Yisrael dyed the fabric for the Mishkan, we tie-dyed t-shirts using natural ingredients (turmeric, beets, carrots/onion skins, pomegranates, blueberries, blackberries and spinach). The purpose of this activity was to experience first-hand the time and effort that went into making a colored fabric in the time of the Mishkan. Showing the students how to start a fire using a bow drill gave the students a deeper understanding of what life was like back then.
I am also our site’s educational technologist. I assist students with technology, recommend apps to families and students, and train teachers to use new technology to better reach their students. For us, technology is not the goal, it’s the means to the goal.
At the Hebrew school, we are redesigning the Hebrew school experience to make it more individualized and meaningful. Over the last two years, the school has grown by 20%. Do you have coworkers that would like their children to learn about Judaism? Recommend Jewish Youth Connection.
Are there things you learned from Yagilu that you use consistently?
The most important thing that I use personally and teach all the time is to never give up. Whether it’s home improvement projects that I start or projects for school, I always make sure to finish the job and to give it my all. I pass the same on to my students as they overcome daily struggles, large or small.
The graphic attached is a lens through which I feel Yagilu really helped me see the world and my jobs.
What’s the most important thing you learned from Yagilu?
In two words: life lessons. I wasn’t so much into the outdoor stuff, lashing and hiking. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed those things immensely. However, I haven’t gone camping since going on Yam L’Yam in my Shana Alef! I am extremely grateful for the numerous life lessons that Yagilu taught me. To name a few: teamwork, leadership, how to initiate and problem-solve.
L-R: Ephraim Clair, Yosef Krausz, and R’ Netanel
What’s your favorite camp memory/best camp story?
There are numerous stories I remember about camp. One of the unique activities we do in camp is spear fishing. We go out into the woods, find a good branch, and carve, shape, and whittle it into the perfect fishing spear. I put a lot of time into mine and was really excited to try it out. We all went to the camp lake and spread out, trying to draw fish to our spots with white bread as bait. After hours of trying without success, I actually speared a fish! It felt amazing to have created something with my own hands and skills and succeeded at such a difficult challenge.
I’d be happy to speak to anyone interested in reconnecting or looking to learn more about education/special education, educational leadership, technology and HASC – ngoldstein@sinaischools@org.
SUMMER CAMP & OTHER PROGRAMS
