We are gearing up for field day and we were throwing around the idea of a "Survivor" theme. We were kind of thinking along the lines of tug-of-war, etc. Things that the kids can do as a whole class "survivor team" (maybe even an individual thing). We are just not sure. We would like to really get the kids excited by having each class in advance come up with their team names, make signs, etc. Does anyone have any ideas about how we could really dig in and come up with some good ideas that the kids would enjoy?

Hey! I have an awesome book that has tons of "team-building" activities for groups that would have good activities for your survivor field day. The book is called "Silver Bullets" by Karl Rohnke if you want to go buy it, or let me know if you want a couple of examples from it before you buy it.

That would be great if you could give me a few examples. Thank you for being so helpful.

Our 5th grade fun night had a Survivor theme and it was fantastic. If you watch the show, you can come up with a ton of activities. Simple ones: Use 8x11 sheets of paper to create a huge word scramble on a wall. Specific letters in answers would create the answer to the final question. A lot of fun & it can be done indiv. or by teams. Relay races: use combination to unlock a toolbox to obtain a puzzle, next person puts together the puzzle, next person must put on snorkle gear and "run" to next person, 4th person climbs over mats, under limbo stick and through cardboard box, final person run & raises flag. Best team time wins. Various stations are created so students walk around & play games. Participate & get cutout to attach to the tiki mask they created (similiar to going to Epcot). Show cutouts at end of evening (must have certain #) to get your "goodie bag".
Another activity involved 1'x1' carpet squares. 4 kids stand on a square of their choice & they move to another square, turning over the one they just came from. Kids take turns moving until you have no where else to move. Must be up/down or side/side only. NO diag. moves. Last one able to move wins. Watch some old shows & you'll come up with a ton of activities.

Here's an idea for a "puzzle" activity. Pring a sheet of "Wordles" (word puzzles) and have the team complete these puzzles. Some examples are:

SIDE SIDE (answer: Side by side)

BAN ANA (answer: Banana Split)

R
ROAD (answer: cross road)
A
D

I would have to fax you more because I can't type them all in.

There's a fun "Hoop Relay" where you divide the group into 2 parts and ask each half to queue up facing you. The folks in each file should be holding hands front-to-back; i.e., reaching backward through their legs to grasp the free hand of the person behind them. This relay requires 2 starters. each standing in front of the line, designating the start, and each holding 3-4 hula hoops.
Each starter, on a signal, begins the action by placing a hoop over the head of the first person in line and as soon as that hoop has been moved to the 3rd person in line, the second hoop is started., etc... When the first hoop reaches the last person in line, that individual runs to the front of the line with the hoop, frabs the hand of the now 2nd person and starts the hoop moving toward the end of the line. Continue until the original front line person returns to that position.

I don't know if this was easy to understand or not. If you have access to a fax machine, let me know and I can fax you some of these activities. They have pictures with them, so it helps me visualize the exercise.

We did a survivor themed fun day last year in our elementary school! We had a lot of fun and the teachers/students have asked to carry this theme again this year. Prior to fun day we asked each class to choose a Tribe name and design a flag for their tribe. Also, each child brought a white t-shirt and decorated their shirts with fabric markers with their team name. Our activites were all held outside and we played the Survivor soundtrack throughout the day.

We had various activities, all were a team effort. Each class competed against the other classes in their grade level. We make "idols" and presented them at the end of the day. It was a really fun time for all the students.