Group Juggling and Lesser-Known Holidays Idea

Today felt more like a day to get back into the groove rather than anything else. It was amazing weather, so part of my time with my seminar group was spent doing group juggling. I learned the activity while I was a CA at Middlebrook and it's pretty flexible in terms of how many people and items. In a nutshell, you have everyone circle up and toss a tennis ball (or some similar object) around, saying the name of who you throw it to and making sure it goes in the same order every time. After a couple of cycles, it's revealed that if the ball hits the floor, it starts back at the beginning, so everyone has to successfully catch the ball and then throw it in order to succeed. After the group gets into a rhythm, the leader adds a second object, so people have more to pay attention to. I have a collection of about 10 items that start out pretty simple, like a tennis ball or Koosh ball, and become more challenging, like a hockey puck or a cereal serving spoon (think college dining hall). When I did the activity as a CA, there was a paperweight foam car that was challenging, even if we did yell when it went askew mid-flight. In practice, I work with groups of 10-20 and if the group is good, I can go up to three items, maybe four. It's pretty common that people stop saying names of other people before throwing objects, so they get distracted and objects start falling. Based on the program here, I explain how this activity can be a metaphor to being here - there are many things happening at once like classes, homework, social networks, self-discovery, etc. A student may have a bad test or get homesick, but they aren't alone and everyone has a part to play in building the community up. Feel free to use this activity with your group and modify the discussion questions as you see fit.

Talking about April Fool's yesterday made me think about some of those uncelebrated holidays. I mentioned "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and Star Wars Day (It's May 4th... as in "May the Fourth be With You"), but there are so many more. I don't have a whole lot of pre-planning some years, but some of my unsung favorites include Bubble Wrap Day and Ferris Wheel Day. (Ferris Wheel Day is actually February 14th and it's my strategy to have something fun that day that isn't romantic, while also not being anti-romance either. Zombie movies are a top pick for my Ferris Wheel Day plans.)

So, the idea came to mind to highlight some other holidays. Since I blog, I figured I could put two and two together... and since I like math, hey, it all works out-what do you know. Anyway, I kind of liked the idea and want to see what happens. That won't be all I do in this blog, but on 'meh' days, it could be a great source of inspiration. For those of you who want to follow along at home, I am a big fan of brownielocks .com since they feature a very wide selection of monthly, weekly, and daily observances. If that site does lead me astray, just let me know, because I appreciate having my facts straight.

Looking back to the first of the month, there were a fair number of holidays in addition to April Fool's Day: Atheist Day, Poetry & the Creative Mind Day, Tater Day, and St. Stupid Day among others. Unfortunately, I wish I could have sat down with this idea sooner today, because it was National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day today and I readily have those ingredients. Maybe this will be positive motivation to do my blogging earlier in the day in order for you to celebrate the holiday along with me... but again, we'll just have to see what happens.

So... yeah, Happy National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!*





*If you can forgive me for not celebrating today in culinary style, I would appreciate that because it's also Reconciliation Day. Boom!