| Pass It Forward Fun Games
Pass It Forward Pledge
Pass It Forward New Language Game
In the New Language game, we are replacing obsolete, judgmental, controlling and negative words with soft and gentle positive words. Below are four examples.
1) have to: replace with choose to. Everything in life is a choice as we don’t have to do anything. Children may think they have to do something like go to school or do chores or else, however it may be because of the or else, that we choose to do everything.
2) should: replace with may. When a person says you should do something it is
controlling and judgmental. Instead of saying that you should do something, say something like you may consider doing something.
3) I can’t: replace with choose not to. There is no such thing as can’t. Remember, we only use 10% of our brains.
4) you must: replace with may consider. Try to use words that give people choices rather than words that are controlling and do not give listeners a fair choice.
The New Language is moving us toward the gentle essence of love. Practice will help us learn and be comfortable with softer and kinder usage of words.
The Pass It Forward Student Mentoring Program is encouraging our mentors to help protégés avoid conflicts rather than starting them. Other words that can be taken the wrong way are need to, never, always, everything, nothing, everyone and no one. When people speak in absolutes they may come across as not believable without realizing it. .
A good exercise/game for the mentors to do with the protégés, and the protégés to do with the mentors is to point out these words that may cause conflicts. Eliminating defense, judgment and controlling ways takes practice.
In this game, keep track of how many times each of you say one of these judgmental, controlling and negative words. Many times the protégé is much better at this than their mentor. When one of you says one of these words, help each other think of ways to say the same thing without being controlling.
 GAME, GUESS, WHO IS IT…
Give a sheet of paper to your protege and ask them to write names of those classmates from their grade (classroom):
- 1. Who is never late ____.
- 2. Who never shouts ____.
- 3. Who is always very polite with others ____.
- 4. Who has got the most pleasant voice ____.
- 5. Who is the most cheerful ____.
- 6. Who is the most serious ____.
- 7. Who is the most fair ____.
- 8. Who is the kindest ____.
- 9. Who is the most just ____.
The mentor may write the questions one at a time. Your protege should be given about 1 minute to answer and write down each answer.
Collect answers and on the next mentor session announce the results.
 THE WORLD OF YOUR SOUL
WHEN I AM SILENTAsk your protege to complete the following sentences with words or drawings:
- I like to be silent, when I am __.
- Silence for me is __.
- When I am silent, I feel __.
- When I speak while everyone else is silent, I feel __.
- When everyone speak while I am silent, I feel __.
- When I walk on in a forest, I feel __.
- I like to keep silent, when I listen to __.
When the protege answer these questions, ask them to write the small composition on a theme: "What silence means for me?"
This task can be carried out at discussion of any concept, for example: beauty, a smile, a holiday.
 LET US TRY TO TOUCH HAPPINESS
In large letters the mentor writes on a piece of paper the word HAPPINESS and asks the protege to list, what association they connect it with and what it can be - For example: joyful, cheerful, bright etc.
Then ask your protege to close their eyes and imagine, that they touch happiness. Suggest the protege draw a portrait of the happiness or to describe the sensations of this feeling.
In a similar way conduct a discussion with your protege about joy, love, kindness and other concepts.
EACH PERSON IS UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT
 THE SECRET FRIEND (Great with a group)
You as the mentor and your protege each write down a name and a surname of another mentor or protege on separate leaflets and to curtail them so that one won't be able to see what is written. Combine the curtailed leaflets in a box and suggest your protege selects one. Mentors and proteges are to keep in the name they picked from the leaflet a secret. If someone pulls out the leaflet with his own name, then he must pull again.
Explain to the protege that the person, whose name is on their leaflet, henceforth becomes their "secret friend", and from now on within the next three days they should show him more attention (in other words, treat him as the best friend would, but try to do it secretly).
Suggest each of you draw a portrait of "the secret friend" or to write him/her a letter. In a few days askeach participant to guess, who was for each of them "the secret friend" and conduct with all the children a conversation about friendship.
 MAGIC CHAIR (great for groups)
Ask everyone to stand in a circle, and then put in the center any nice chair.
Mentors and proteges go round and round in a circle and sing:
Who today is the most kind?
Who today is the happiest?
Please appear!
And sit down on this magic chair!
By turns proteges should sit down on this ‘magic; chair, and everyone in a circle should tell something good and kind about the sitting on a chair.
Before the beginning of this game tell the participants that this magic chair can gift proteges with kind qualities and, on the contrary, remove all their bad qualities. But to be able to see it, one should look with special 'kind' eyes at the protege who sits on this ‘magic' chair.
 THE COMPLIMENTS GAME
For older children this task can be modified.
A mentor asks the proteges in the group this question:
WHO WANTS TO BE COMPLIMENTED TODAY?
(Show by raising their hands. This will make it a bit more interactive. The mentor must ensure that each protege have a turn.)
The mentor will select one protege and ask him/her to leave the classroom.
The mentor then asks the rest of the Pass It Forward Group to say something good about the protege who left the classroom.
Example: Mary is very kind. Sue has lovely eyes. Peter is a good athlete etc.
The mentor makes a list of all the compliments and the names of the proteges who said it.
The protege is then called back to the classroom.
The mentor then reads all the compliments to the protege with the names of the participantss.
The mentor should ask the class to give the protege a round of applause.
For the best results it is highly recommended that this game be conducted as often as possible so that the proteges would inculcate a habit of saying good things about each other. In addition it will create a friendly atmosphere in the classroom.
THE CANDLE OF LOVE AND CARE Ask proteges to rise in a circle and give to each of them a small candle. Then light up the candle of one of the proteges. The protege, whose candle has been lighted up, should tell something kind about his circles neighbor, and then, with the help of the mentor, he,she should try to light up with his/her own candle the candle of his/her neighbor.
Game comes to an end; when all candles in the circle will be lighten up. Ask the proteges to blow off all the candles, and then divide them onto small groups. Each group should make up a fairy tale on a magic candle of love and care. Ask them to represent at least one drawing from each group. Then from these drawings make an exhibition called “Candle of love and care”.
 A STORY ABOUT THE FRIEND
Suggest protege to choose someone from their friends and tell about him, without mentioning his name. If for some group of age this task would be too difficult, then suggest them (one by one) to answer the following questions:
Whom your friend loves the most?
What your friend likes to do the most?
What is his favourite season?
What kind of clothes he wears?
What good qualities he possesses?
What are his favourite animals?
What kind of books he prefers?
What kind of music he likes?
Proteges should try to guess who it is.
Explain to the proteges, that their story should be directed only on positive traits of this or that child (should contain only good description).
WE LEARN HOW TO BE KIND
ONLY GOOD
The mentor with a ball in hands stands in front of the proteges, asks them to stand in row, then throws a ball to each of them (at the same time the mentor says one word describing a quality of a person, he should mention bad and good qualities). Proteges should catch a ball only when any good quality (truthfulness, kindness, accuracy) is said. In this case the protege who caught the ball should do one step towards the mentor. If proteges casually "will catch bad quality" (intolerance, greed, a rage), they do one step backwards.
The one who reach the mentor first wins. This person becomes leader. And he is continues this game instead of the mentor.
MAGIC HOSPITAL
Divide proteges into small groups and ask them to visualize, that they are doctors working in magic hospital where laziness, cunnings, greediness, anger etc. are being treated.
Proteges should choose one bad quality and make up a recipe and recommendations how to help people to get rid of this quality.
For example:
The recipe from laziness:
Every day from the morning one should take on an empty stomach a drink from orange and several drops of an elixir of diligence. Then, after breakfast, one should stretch onerself a couple of times, then say in a loud voice about everything, what it is necessary to do for this day. And at night it is necessary to write down everything what is made, and to make the plan for the next day. Then it is necessary to drink a glass of milk with several mint sweets for a good dream.
All proteges recipes and recommendations should be compiled into a book: "Magic hospital".
Suggest proteges to describe, what qualities should have the doctors in this "Magic hospital".
GOLDEN FISH
Divide proteges into groups and suggest them to visualize themselves as the gold small fishes granting only those wishes that will help people to become better and kinder. Proteges should list desires of people which their small fish would fulfill and desires which would not be fulfilled.
For example:
The golden fish will help to be healthy (the fish can give you a couple of good advices how to be healthy), will help to learn foreign language, will help to learn to play on a musical instrument, will help to find the friend, will assist to choose a profession.
BUT… the golden fish won't give a beautiful voice, beautiful appearance, a lot of money; the golden fish will not help to become the chief, will not grant one with a house, and would not help to know foreign language without putting any efforts in studying it. Mentors should explain why the golden fish is ready to fulfill one group of wishes but will not grant other wishes.
Then ask proteges to make up a fairy tale about a person whose wish has been fulfilled by the golden fish. And about a greedy and lazy person whose desires were not granted.
FAVORITE QUALITY
Ask proteges to sit down in a circle and suggest them to think about their favorite quality. Then by turns proteges should name this favourite quality.
If the majority of proteges like mentioned quality, then this quality is offered to the rest of thje Pass It Forward group. A couple of nice chairs should be selected and, and each of the chairs according to the name of the quality, becomes a chair of kindness, care, observation, bravery etc.
Later on any protege who wants develop or improve in himself this or that quality can sit on this chair.
Also, if any protege misbehaves, then the mentor suggests him/her to sit on the chair of this or that quality.
Every week proteges can choose a new quality and ask him/her to come and live in their classroom.
THE RING OF BEAUTY
 Tell to the protege, that you have a ring of (inner) beauty. It is necessary to direct this ring towards any person and at once all the best and the most beautiful in him/her becomes visible. Proteges should stand in a circle with open palms. The mentor imperceptibly puts this ring into somebodys palm. Then proteges should proclaim together:
"The Ring, the ring, please come into the stoop!"
The protege who received the ring should step in the middle of the circle. He/she should touch his/her friends with this ring and describe what beautiful qualities he/she could see in them. The one who could see the maximum amount of beautiful qualities in his friends, receives this ring of beauty as a gift.
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