Old Faithful
Share some pictures or video of the famous geyser. Talk about the importance of predictability as it relates to dependability. What kind of a nickname would you give to a geyser that wasn’t reliable? Discuss what it looks like for a parent, a child, a sibling, a teammate, etc to be dependable. If each person got a nickname for their dependability – what would it be? (Don’t hand out nicknames as derogatory ones aren’t helpful.) Point out that striving to be “Old Faithful” in our promises is a good thing.
Web cam: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mZY7uxb7Gc
Information and ways to find predicted schedule: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/exploreoldfaithful.htm
Now create your own ‘geyser’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8AkIT0cNDE
To process this activity, ask these or similar questions:
- Did you hear of Old Faithful before this?
- How many other things/events/people do you know that is that dependable?
- Do you find yourself being more dependable in some areas than in others?
- How predictable was your homemade geyser?
- The next time you are questioning being dependable, will you remember the Old Faithful geyser (or your demo) and strive to be just as dependable?