Balloon Chat
Uncategorized Boards => Topic/Discussion Of The Month => Topic started by: MightyMac on October 31, 2012, 10:41:53 AM
Hi Everyone,
I have been asked to help the scouts with their 'new skills badge' and will be doing a workshop making basic balloon animals. I've not done a balloon workshop or been to one and would welcome any advice or tips.
Normally it's children's parties I do and have occasionally showed older kids how so make a dog or sword when just one or two kids but this group is 25!
I've bought some spare balloon pumps and thought it would be good to take some pre-inflated balloons and some kids might not even be able to tie a knot!.
Not thought yet how best to plan the hour so hope I get some feedback.
Thanks in advance....bye the way the event is this Friday!
Take plenty of inflated balloons, I doubt many if any will be able to inflate and tie the balloon and keep it as basic as possible. The hour will fly.
Thanks for the tip. I forgot to mentioned the scout are age 8-10
The I.D.E.A.S. coaching methodology is universally useful. It makes things run very smoothly and it is easy to do. I won't go into the psychology much except to say that each step matters, and so does the sequence. I learned this as a canoe coach but it works anywhere.
Introduction : Hello, we are going to make a balloon dog today. Has anyone made a dog before? Well we will all do it together to start with. First of all I'm just going to show you. Then I shall explain. Then we will all have a go.
Demonstration. DO NOT SPEAK AT THIS POINT.
Explanation . Repeat the demonstration, explaining as you go
Activity . Now is the time to give out the balloons and let them have a go
Summary . Well done everyone now that you can make a dog, you might like to try some other animals
Oh and poundland do usable 2-way pumps for, suprisingly, a pound.
Quote from: "tangoo"The I.D.E.A.S. coaching methodology is universally useful. It makes things run very smoothly and it is easy to do. I won't go into the psychology much except to say that each step matters, and so does the sequence. I learned this as a canoe coach but it works anywhere.
Introduction : Hello, we are going to make a balloon dog today. Has anyone made a dog before? Well we will all do it together to start with. First of all I'm just going to show you. Then I shall explain. Then we will all have a go.
Demonstration. DO NOT SPEAK AT THIS POINT.
Explanation . Repeat the demonstration, explaining as you go
Activity . Now is the time to give out the balloons and let them have a go
Summary . Well done everyone now that you can make a dog, you might like to try some other animals
Thanks for that...a great tip and useful foundation giving me something to build on
I have done a few off these - but mostly for adults.
What I do is start with the 3 twist Dog. and if time and humour permit try a flower
Mark
[attachment=0:3vuzofae][/attachment]workshop3.jpg[/attachment:3vuzofae]I have done a workshop for out of school leaders ( adults).
would agree with what others have said, i had 90 - 100, 260's pre inflated, i opted to demonstrate the basic hat base, as once and easily mastered, can be personalised, i created a crown. but as we know,just how many models can one make with it.
do not forget the leaders, i printed off sheet's of the, basic twists and step by step how to instructions.
I was lucky my materials were paid for and i managed to give all groups attending a bag of 260's and a (£1land pump ).
this allowed easy followup.
as a team challange we made a body of a bug, each, which we all linked together to make a large catapillar.
in Scouts and others, team work and helping each other are encouraged.
Finally do not expect 10 yr olds to always sit quietly, suggest doing / promise a few balloon games, and i was expecting perfection,at start, soon realised quality was less important than getting a result.
Good luck.
Alistair ( aligtwister )
I have one this a couple of times nd completely agree - preinflate the balloons with that amount of kids!! If a couple of kids catch on quicljy, get them to help those around them.
They will have a blast!!
Thanks for all the great ideas.
There were 25 kids in all plus 4 helpers. For the warm up I put some music on and all the kids danced to Gangnam Stlye!
As suggested I printed of some info sheets with pictures of how to make a dog and a sword plus a flower and a freestyle competition so they'd use their imagination.
Glad a took plenty of inflated balloon!
Even at 10 years old most could not inflate a balloon without it flying off into the distance and tying knots was difficult too so didn't need the 25 balloon pumps I'd bought :|
The went by very quickly and they all had a great time. Think I'll roll out & promote a workshop for next year.
Thanks again everyone
I too did my first Balloon Workshop for 55 kids at Vacation care just recently. I pre-inflated 300 balloons (all by hand and never again!), and my 12 year old came with me 'Balloon Boy'. We split the kids up in lots of 15 as I had 2 hours of workshop followed by 2 hrs of face painting. So very tight. 1/2 hour each group. It went very well and they got to make whatever they wanted at the end.
I have done tons of these as part of an after school enrichment program. From 5 years to 12, and then once for senior citizens. I have discovered that even a 3 twist dog is cool when "you make it yourself". The key is plenty of encouragement and lots of humor. Pioneer party group sells a pump great for small/old hands, easy action and not the spindle type that snaps. I attached a photo to show you the size between the standard red Qualatex pump and the one I am describing.