CIRCLE game and activity 🔴 🟢 🟣

🔴   great for families

🟢   design thinking

🟣   art and humanities

The Circle Game is an engaging opening icebreaker and get-to-know-you activity for medium and large groups, especially when the participants are from different age groups or grade levels. The activity can be completed individually or as a warm-up for small group settings or team meetings.  

There are two versions of the activity:  12-Circle  and  15-Circle.

12-Circle Version:  In this activity based on the original "30 circles exercise," there are 12 circles for participants to complete. The 12-Circle Activity is great for participants with smaller hands, and the circles are larger to accommodate the use of crayons and markers. 

15-Circle Version:  In this activity, there are half as many as the original "30 circles exercise" with 15 circles for participants to complete. This version is great for working with larger groups so that plenty of time can be given to debriefing the exercise and sharing/showing the designs created using the 15 circles. 

Activity Lengths:

• As an individual activity, 3-5 minutes is recommended. 
• As a short icebreaker, 5 minutes is recommended.
• As a longer warmup, 10-15 minutes is recommended.
• As a full-length game, including time for discussion, 30 minutes is recommended. 

Preparation and Materials:

1. Print the document with the circles. Or, instead of using a printer, draw rows of circles on a piece of paper, as shown in the activity. A scrap piece of paper works great.
2. Find something to write with - a pencil, markers, crayons, colorful pencils - it's up to you!

Instructions:

1. The game's main objective is to create different recognizable objects with the circles.
2. The activity concludes with a time for sharing, discussion, and reflection. 
3. For 3-5 minutes, draw sketches using all of the circles on the paper. 
4. There are no right or wrong answers!
5. "Design thinkers" use this exercise to build problem-solving skills.

Recommended Settings:  

• Home
• Family
• After-school
• School
• Community
• Work

Appropriate for Virtual Learning? Yes

Educational Benefits: Creativity, Problem-Solving, Communication

Keywords:  Art, Design Thinking, Drawing, Flow, Game, Icebreaker, Warm-Ups