Active Listening
Primary Market
Teambuilding, Camps, Education, Primary Ed
Character Focus
Communication, Cooperation, Teamwork

Active listening and hearing are two different things.  Hearing is to realize there was a noise, but to actively listen means that you were thinking and interpreting the noise.  It is analytical and requires discerning what you heard and what it meant.

 

This can be done in groups of 2 or more as long as there are enough pieces to use.

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The speaker will face away from the project.  They are to verbally describe what the builder is to build being as descriptive as possible.  The builder cannot ask questions.

 

When the speaker is done they should state what they wanted to build, and them turn around to see what was built.  Now, look at it and see the differences.

  • What caused those differences?
  • What effects did the differences have on the overall project?
  • Is the the object larger or smaller?
  • Is it more concentrated or sparse?
  •  Does  it have volume?
  • How was the area affected?
  • What shape should we have seen?
  • What shape do we see?

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Then ask other, deeper questions

  • Why is is listening important?
  • How is this applicable to life?
  • How can this help in creative writing?
  • Can you see math in this project?  If so, how?
  • Would written instructions have changed the outcome?

 

-Brandi

Joe Donahue is the manager of day-to-day operations and the person who originally conceived of the TOOBEEZ product.

Joe had a vision to create a life-sized Tinker Toy(TM) for families to play with to help reconnect with each other. It took four years of business planning, market research, manufacturing trips, endless conference calls with engineers, designers and patent attorneys but finally on September 21, 2003, the Toobeez product was born!

Often referred to as Giant Tinkertoys(TM), Toobeez is a life-sized construction building system comprised of interlocking tubes and spheres that can be linked together to create anything imaginable, from a simple cube shape to a complex structure like a lemonade stand, house, airplane or submarine. Just connect, twist and create!

Initially, Toobeez was sold exclusively to the specialty toy market, but due to its open-ended nature, it didn’t take long to realize the versatility of the product and the many different ways it could be used.

Today, the Toobeez system is currently being used by educators, team building/training professionals, occupational and recreational therapists, camp counselors, Boy and Girl Scout troops, church youth groups and the list grows every day. There is even a group of forward thinking dog trainers who use Toobeez to create challenging courses for agility training (we're not making this up)!

Armed with the knowledge that there was more to Toobeez than just a toy, Joe reached out to industry experts and educators with the goal of developing a collection of materials that provide activities, educational tools and lesson plans for use with Toobeez. Among the topics covered: team building, math, language arts, occupational therapy and special needs and senior needs. Currently under development is a corporate team building workbook and a physical education activity book.

Whether in a playroom, classroom, corporation, camp or healthcare setting, Toobeez aims to provide every participant with a positive, healthy and fun learning experience!

Since the inception of Toobeez in 2001, it has been the company’s mission to connect people, inspire creativity and foster imagination. As a testament to their roots, Joe and the entire Toobeez team continuously strive to deliver a quality product that promotes connection and teamwork to ultimately bring people together.
All Activities of Joe Donahue - Inventor

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