Hobbies And Interests
Collaborative Story
In this exercise, have everyone pick a jelly bean when they enter the party or class. After everyone has picked a jelly bean, tell them what their color means. You will decide before people arrive what part of speech each color represents. For example, red equals noun, orange equals verb and green equals adjective. Sit all of the participants in a circle and instruct them that they will make up a story with words associated with their part of speech.
Guess the Number
For younger children, count jelly beans and place them into a clear jar or container. Have them guess the total number of jelly beans. The winner is the person whose guess comes the closest without going over; she gets to keep the jar. This is a very simple activity to do with younger children and gets them talking to each other about the total amount of candy. It also provides them with an activity to do while waiting for others to arrive.
Assumptions and Hopes
If this icebreaker is for a class, have students take as many jelly beans as they want when they arrive. The jelly beans should be two colors only and instruct the students not to eat them. Designate one color as assumptions and one color as hope. When everyone has arrived, tell the students which color represents what thought. Explain to them that you will go around the room and everyone must list one assumption about the class and one hope for what the class will be like for every corresponding jelly bean that they took.
Three Things
Ask each guest or student to take three different colored jelly beans. Assign different topics to each color before they arrive. These topics will allow you to get to know your guests or students better. Examples are likes, dislikes, hobbies, educational/career goals and family. Go around the room and have each person tell the group one fact that pertains to the color jelly bean that he took.