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Training Wheels is your creative resource for building high-performance teams. Providing training, p

Whether your team is in the corporate realm, a high school, or even in military or medically-focused organizations, Training Wheels can drive momentum for your team’s dynamics, communication, and productivity. Training Wheels on Facebook is a community of leaders and trainers who come together to share insights, best practices, and innovative ideas to help everyone succeed at that tricky task of building a team onward and upward. While providing helpful and affordable tools for its community, Training Wheels also provides a forum for discussion, debate, and engagement to allow users to share experiences for everyone’s benefit. The Training Wheels page is intended for all audiences, since our events and trainings impact individuals of all ages. While discussion and lively debate is welcome, we promote civil engagement among our Facebook followers. Any posts containing offensive language, slurs, or personal threats against other Facebook users will be hidden and can be ultimately deleted. Any users who consistently violate these terms of use can be blocked by the Page Administrator. Let’s keep it civil, and we’ll all keep rolling toward success on the Training Wheels page!

10/07/2026

Highlights from Culture Sandbox Episode 3: How Learning Cultures Sustain High Performance | with special guest, Michelle Cummings 🧡

Makati | Manila | Philippines

What a fun event to be a part of! Thank you Management Strategies for inviting me to be a part of your Culture Sandbox series. I loved getting L&D professionals from all over Manila to discuss corporate culture and what drives engagement and key performance

10/07/2026

Comfort Zones, Culture & Change

This week in the Philippines, I had the chance to use one of my favorite Training Wheels activities, the Comfort Zone Bullseye, with two very different groups. What struck me most wasn’t just how well the activity worked. It was how easily the same tool opened two completely different conversations about workplace culture, learning, and change.

My first stop was Management Strategies’ Culture Sandbox, where I was invited to speak on How Learning Cultures Sustain High Performance. I used a giant 16-foot Comfort Zone Bullseye as the anchor for our experience. We explored the connection between learning and psychological safety. How safe do people feel speaking up, trying something new, asking for help, or making a mistake? A healthy learning culture doesn’t mean everyone stays comfortable. It means people feel safe enough to step into the Stretch Zone, where learning and growth can happen.

Later in the week, I worked with a team from Globe, an organization that has put more than 2,000 leaders through our Personify Leadership Core program. This time, I used the same Comfort Zone Bullseye for a very different conversation: change. We explored how people respond when something familiar shifts. One person may see a change as exciting and land in the Stretch Zone. Someone else may experience that exact same change and head straight into the Panic Zone. That difference matters when we are leading people through change. (If you are curious to learn more about the Personify Leadership Core program, our next class in the US is November 17-18 in Colorado.)

Two groups. Two topics. One experiential tool. That is one of the things I love most about the Comfort Zone Bullseye. The activity doesn’t dictate the lesson. The questions you ask create the learning. With one group, the Bullseye helped us examine psychological safety and culture. With another, it helped us explore change and our different responses to it.

What conversation could the Comfort Zone Bullseye help your group have? Sometimes a simple activity, paired with the right questions, can open the door to a powerful conversation.

https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/problem-solving-communication/products/comfort-zone-bullseye

09/30/2026

A MasterClass in Facilitation

Great facilitators know how to lead an activity. Masterful facilitators know why they are leading it, what to watch for, and how to turn the experience into learning. That is the heart of the Experiential Facilitator Event from Training Wheels. This two-day, hands-on experience is for facilitators who believe play is powerful, and intention makes it transformational. Think of it as a MasterClass in experiential facilitation, filled with practice, reflection, fresh ideas, and plenty of play.

Over two packed days, you’ll experience activities from the participant’s seat and examine them through a facilitator’s lens. You’ll learn new activities, explore smart ways to sequence experiences, sharpen your delivery, and practice the small choices that can make a big difference. We’ll explore how to read a group, adjust in the moment, create meaningful connections, and design experiences with purpose. You won’t spend two days sitting and taking notes. You’ll be doing the work, experiencing the learning, and building your skills in real time.

And then there’s the part that can turn a good activity into a powerful one: the debrief. We’ll explore ways to ask better questions, notice what is happening within a group, and help participants connect an experience to their real lives. You’ll have opportunities to learn from other facilitators, exchange ideas, experiment with new approaches, and add ready-to-use content to your facilitator toolbox. Come prepared to play, stretch, laugh, reflect, and leave with ideas you can use in your very next program.

If you’ve ever thought, “I wish there was an event made specifically for experiential facilitators,” this is it. Join the Training Wheels team and a community of people who understand this work, love this work, and want to keep getting better at it. Registration is $750 per person, but the Early Bird rate is just $575 through October 15. Spots are limited to 40 people, so claim yours today and come experience two days built for the facilitator in you. Register now! https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/training/products/the-experiential-facilitator-event

09/28/2026

Looking for a simple yet powerful way to spark meaningful conversations?

The Rivers & Roads Cards are versatile facilitation tools designed to help participants explore experiences, challenges, goals, and personal insights through the power of metaphor and imagery. Whether you're leading a team-building program, leadership workshop, classroom discussion, counseling session, strategic planning retreat, or community conversation, these cards create opportunities for deeper reflection and authentic connection.

The River Cards focus on journeys, transitions, growth, and the flow of experience. The Roads Cards encourage exploration of choices, obstacles, detours, destinations, and future possibilities. Used separately or combined into one deck, they provide endless opportunities for storytelling, processing, debriefing, and experiential learning.

These visual metaphor cards help participants move beyond simple answers and uncover insights that often remain beneath the surface.

Every river has a story. Every road leads somewhere. Where will the cards take you?

👉 Learn more and pick up your own set of Rivers Cards or Roads Cards at:
https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com

River Cards: https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/processing-tools/products/the-river-cards-and-the-river-guidebook

Roads Cards:
https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/processing-tools/products/the-roads-a-deck-of-projective-cards

09/21/2026

The Body Part Debrief is hands-down one of our favorite processing tools for team building programs. In fact, we use it with almost every group we facilitate.

We’ve used this activity with participants as young as three years old and as seasoned as 96. The reason it works so well is simple: everyone understands body parts and their purpose. That makes it easy for participants to connect their experiences to meaningful metaphors.

This activity is especially powerful as a closing reflection. With smaller groups, everyone can share with the whole team. With larger groups, participants pair up and share with a partner. Either way, it creates a thoughtful and engaging ending to the experience.

Before beginning, we “frontload” the activity by giving examples of how each body part can connect to reflection and learning. Here are a few examples:

❤️ Heart — Share a feeling you experienced during the activity.
🧠 Brain — Describe something you learned.
💪 Stomach — What took courage or pushed you outside your comfort zone?
✋ Hand — How did someone support you, or who deserves a hand for helping the group?
👂 Ear — Share something you heard or something difficult to hear.
👀 Eye — Describe a new insight or vision you had for yourself or the group.
😊 Smiley Face — Share something that made you smile or a positive quality you noticed.

Simple metaphors often create the deepest conversations.

How would you use the Body Part Debrief with your groups?

Created by Michelle Cummings, Founder of Training Wheels.
Published in the book A Teachable Moment.

Pick up a set today! https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/processing-tools/products/body-part-deluxe

09/16/2026

Nail It! An Oldie but a Goodie

Some activities stick around because they just work. Nail It! is one of those classic challenges. The task sounds simple: balance 12 nails on the head of one vertical nail. Nothing else can support them, and the finished solution must stand on its own. Easy, right? Well... yes, it IS possible, but finding the answer can be tricky.

Nail It! is a great problem-solving activity for one person or a small team. Give them the challenge, then get out of the way. You’ll quickly see ideas offered, tested, adjusted, and sometimes tossed aside. It creates rich conversations about how we share ideas, make choices, handle frustration, and define success. One of my favorite twists is asking the group to discuss possible solutions before anyone touches the nails. That small change can reveal a lot about how a team plans and listens.

We recently gave this old favorite a fresh upgrade! Each Nail It! set now includes TWO complete puzzles: two bases and two sets of 13 flat-head nails. We’ve also packaged everything in a fancy new tube. Having two puzzles opens up even more options. Two small groups can work at once, you can explore collaboration versus competition, or partners can test different ideas side by side.

If Nail It! has been missing from your facilitator toolbox and you do work with small teams, now is a great time to add it. It takes only 10 to 20 minutes, travels easily, and can spark some terrific learning. We recommend one nail set for every 2-5 people, so one Nail It would work for up to 10 people. Grab the newly packaged Nail It! set from Training Wheels and see if your group can Nail It! (Click through if you want to see the solution!) https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/problem-solving-communication/products/nail-it

09/14/2026

Those of us in the Experiential industry often ask our participants to step outside of their comfort zones. This Comfort Zone Bullseye Activity will help participants to understand what it means to step outside of their comfort zone and be open to experiencing something new. This activity also allows participants to see how one person may be in their Comfort Zone, and another person may be in the Danger Zone for the same scenario. This leads to excellent debriefing points on how we all have different tolerances for different scenarios.

The Three Zones

Comfort Zone: Where you are comfortable and feel 'safe'. Routines are easy, I possess skills that enable me to perform tasks well.

Stretch Zone: Where you are doing something new, allowing yourself to learn, you feel energized and engaged. You are willing to take risks.

Danger Zone: (or Panic Zone) Where you are paralyzed by fear, cannot think straight and are completely and utterly challenged to use your resources.

Have the participants sit or stand in a circle around the tarp. Propose different scenarios to the participants and ask them to place their finger or a chosen avatar in one of the three zones that indicates how they feel about that topic.

Purchase your Comfort Zone Bullseye at https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/products/comfort-zone-bullseye?_pos=1&_sid=15979f933&_ss=r&variant=49323627184432

09/09/2026

Wrap Up with Purpose: Make End-of-Day Reflections Matter

As facilitators, we often put a lot of energy into kicking off a session with excitement and intention - but how we close the day matters just as much. That’s where reflection comes in. Ending with thoughtful review helps participants make meaning of the experience, identify key takeaways, and internalize what they've learned. It also brings a sense of closure and connection to the group. Over the years, I’ve found that when the final moments of a program are purposeful, participants walk away with deeper insight and lasting value.

The End of Day Review Thumball™ was created for exactly this reason. With 32 engaging, open-ended questions printed on its surface, it transforms traditional wrap-up sessions into participant-led conversations that are dynamic, personal, and often surprisingly powerful. Instead of you doing all the heavy lifting, the Thumball helps shift the responsibility for processing onto the group. When you toss the ball around and let the questions guide your debrief, you’ll see richer discussion emerge naturally.

You can use the Thumball in a variety of ways - toss it in a group circle, pair people up for one-on-one sharing, or use the questions as journaling prompts for individual reflection. However you incorporate it, the effect is the same: deeper thinking, stronger connections, and a more meaningful close to the day. It’s one of the easiest ways to add energy and structure to your final 15 minutes, especially when time is short or attention spans are fading.

The End of Day Review Thumball has been out of stock for a few months. We just received a shipment of these, so snag one while you can! If you want your programs to leave a lasting impact, don’t let the final moments fall flat. Add the End of Day Review Thumball™ to your facilitation toolbox and give your participants the gift of reflection. Order yours now and start closing your sessions with purpose and power.

https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/thumballs/products/end-of-day-review-thumball

09/02/2026

Gutter Ball Reimagined: Meet Track Ball

One of my favorite things about a good team-building prop is finding more than one way to use it! Gutter Ball has been a Training Wheels favorite for years. The classic challenge asks a group to move balls from an Origin to a Destination using colorful Gutter tracks. Each person controls one track, and once the ball enters play, it can only touch the Gutters. It is simple to explain, challenging to master, and packed with great lessons about communication, planning, roles, and problem-solving. But what if we reimagined those same Gutter Ball pieces for an entirely different experience?

My good friend and fellow facilitator Chris Cavert, Ed.D. did just that. Chris created a new variation called Track Ball while working with 72 university staff members. Their professional development day focused on the concept of support, so Chris turned the Gutter Ball tracks into a metaphor for helping people move toward their future. I LOVE this idea! Instead of simply transporting a ball from Point A to Point B, the balls become “participants,” the Gutter pieces become “Tracks,” and the destination becomes the Realm of Their Future. Suddenly, a familiar prop creates an entirely new conversation about support.

Here is the condensed version. Divide your group into teams of 6 to 10 people. Give each person one Gutter Ball track and place several balls inside rope circles, or “Pods,” around the room. Set a container some distance away as the Realm of Their Future. The whole group is one service provider, not competing teams. Their task is to move as many participants as possible from their Pods into the Realm of Their Future. Each person can touch and use only one Track, and the balls can only be touched by the Tracks. Chris used a 10-minute planning and practice period, followed by 20 minutes for the challenge. Then comes the good stuff: How did you support the participants? How did you support each other? What supportive behaviors showed up that you would like to see more often in your real work?

This is exactly why I love experiential learning. Sometimes changing the frame around a familiar prop creates a completely different experience. Gutter Ball can be about communication and problem-solving one day, then become Trackball and open a rich conversation about support the next. And I know there are even MORE possibilities hiding inside those colorful pieces! Thank you, Chris, for giving us another creative way to reimagine a Training Wheels classic. Want to add Gutter Ball, Trackball, and whatever you dream up next to your facilitator toolbox? Pick up your own set of Gutter Ball here: https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/collections/problem-solving-communication/products/gutter-ball-activity

08/31/2026

Breakthrough Bricks is a powerful tool designed to spark deep reflection, meaningful conversations, and authentic connections. With 120 beautifully crafted cards featuring thought-provoking words and prompts, this versatile activity invites individuals and groups to explore personal insights, share stories, and build understanding. Whether you’re using it in a classroom, therapy office, boardroom, or retreat setting, Breakthrough Bricks creates space for vulnerability, empathy, and growth.

Facilitators, educators, counselors, and team leaders love how easy it is to use and how quickly it builds trust among participants. Simply invite each person to select three Bricks, reflect on their meaning, and share one that resonates most in the moment. This simple process opens the door to powerful dialogue, promotes emotional intelligence, and strengthens group cohesion - without requiring complex setup or prior experience.

From one-on-one sessions to large group circles, Breakthrough Bricks adapts to your environment and goals. Use it as an icebreaker, a check-in activity, or a deep-dive reflection tool. No matter your role or audience, this engaging resource helps people find their voice, connect with others, and experience breakthrough moments that matter.

Purchase a set on our website at: https://www.trainingwheelsgear.com/products/breakthrough-bricks

Address

8020 Shaffer Pkwy, Unit 200
Littleton, CO
80127

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18885530147

Website

http://www.training-wheels.com/

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