Our Developmental Designs training taught us that fun should be an important part of our circle meetings. As many of the games we learned require close contact among the participants, the pandemic has made finding appropriate games more of a challenge.
The game being played in the photograph above, arm hockey, has been a favorite of adults and students alike. The normal version requires participants to sit right next to each other with legs touching. In order to make this a more socially distanced activity, we decided to try adding desks to the circle to separate the players. Once all players are in their chairs, with legs positioned on each side of the chair, a ball is placed in the circle. Players use one arm only to hit the ball around the circle trying to score a goal and trying to defend their own goal. A goal is scored by hitting the ball through the opening beneath another player. The play can become fast and furious with the ball flying out of the circle at times. The fun factor is quite high, and it's a great way to connect with each other.