Great Group Ice-Breaker Activity

Getting to know your group, oh there so many ways to do that and here's another one:

I got ice-breaker questions (examples: What do you do for fun, What annoys you, What makes you laugh and so on) from my counselor intern from last year who did a very similar ice-breaker activity.  

I typed the questions into an excel spreadsheet, printed and cut them out. For a printable copy of the questions click here. 

Questions, typed in Excel (before cutting)

Questions after being cut

I painted Popsicle sticks (on both sides) different colors using craft paint and a sponge brush.  I painted sets of five sticks in each color.  I tried to paint 2 sets of colors each time (ex yellow then pink) because craft paint dries fairly quickly. As I finished the 1st coat of paint on 10 sticks I could then turn them over and finish the 2nd coat (if that makes sense).

Craft paints & sponge brush

Painted Popsicle sticks

After all the Popsicle sticks were painted and dried, I glued the cut out typed questions on the sticks using mod podge and also painted a top layer of mod podge to seal the paper on the Popsicle stick.

Glued questions on the Popsicle sticks

After they dried (I let them sit for an hour or so) they were all set to be used!  I put them in a small bucket that I already had (Target $1 spot).  Total cost for the project: $0!  I already had all these things, free is my favorite price!

Finished product!

These can be used in a group by assigning each student in the group a color based on the color of the Popsicle sticks. The students can go around the group and answer the questions on their sticks (this is why I painted 5 of the same color for a group setting).  This can also be used on individual sessions too (no need to worry about assigning colors, the student can just randomly pick).

 It took me 2 days (not full days) to complete.  I painted the sticks one day and glued another day.  For someone that isn't that crafty (but loves to read crafting blogs) this was a pretty easy project for me to complete.  With each "project" my counselor craft confidence is growing.

What ice-breaker or getting to know you activities to you use?

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