NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR YOUNG FRIEND'S
GATHERING AND CAMP ACTIVITIES DATABASE.
Created by Justin Flitter - Jflitter@xtra.co.nz 1997-07-31 Ó
Anti - Smoking Advises:
In view of the harm done by the use of alcohol, tobacco and other habit - forming drugs, consider whether you should limit the use of them or refrain from using them altogether. Remember that any use of alcohol or drugs may impair judgement and put both the user and other in danger.
GAMES:
Starter Games - Beginning of the camp - first night stuff:
Everybody finds a space to them selves and when told to arise they be come their favorite animal or thing and move around the room introducing themselves in the way they think what ever they are would if they could speak English. This could be extended to what people have enjoyed during the day or the camp and what they liked the best.
When the group is already getting comfortable with sharing, sit the group in a circle facing each other. The facilitator spins the bottle and whoever the neck of the bottle points at when it has finished spinning, tells the group their name and general things about themselves for one minute. That person then spins the bottle round to choose the next person, and so on until everybody has had a turn.
In groups of no more than 12, everyone closers their eyes, moves gently into the centre of the group and joins up with someone's hand in the throng. When each person has got hold of another person's hand, eyes are opened. Th group must now work together to untangle the Knots.
Creativity Games:
Leader starts with Magic Blob - imaginary material that can be used to make anything. Mime it into a guessable shape, which everyone else or the next person should guess before taking on the blob themselves.
Sit in a circle and one person starts a story. The next person takes on the story when the facilitator claps.
Other Games:
Take turns around a circle to stand up with five other people and sing a chorus of a well-known song with the other five people before sitting down in another place.
Everyone lies on the floor with his or her head on the stomach of someone else - then the first person starts to laugh.
Mixer Uppers:
All sit in a circle on shairs. One person asks questions eg: "Are you left handed?", "Do you like sausages?", "Is your favorite color red?", "Did you travel here by train?". If the person answers "YES", then they move one place to the right and sit on someone's lap, if "NO" then they move one place to the left and sits on that persons lap.
ACTIVITIES:
On a piece of paper in the center of the room, draw a large 'Q'. Explain that this 'Q' stands for Quakerism and being a Quaker. Give everybody a piece of paper and a pen.
One the paper ask your group to write down what they associate with Quakerism and being a Quaker. Serious and not so serious and put them around the 'Q', the closest ones being very closely associated with Quakerism and the ones further away not so closely linked.
Give everyone the chance to read the responses.
Prompt general discussion and sharing on why they wrote a particular thing, looking at where they placed it and why, do the others agree, should it be further or closer etc.
Give each person a piece of paper and to write on it a life line with ages along the top.
Then ask them to draw a line moving across the horizontal line measuring what level of Quaker aspects and beliefs have influenced their lives over their life.
WINDING DOWN GAMES:
Bring a brightly colored ball of wool or string with you and ask the group to sit in a circle as close to each other as possible. Say that you are all going to give a last positive message to another member of the group. As you finish your message throw the ball of wool to the person you have just addressed, whilst holding on to the end.
The second person then gives someone else a positive message and throws the ball on to them while retaining the their finger hooked to the line. Three people will now be joined to the wool. The positive messages continue until everybody is attached to the wool. By this stage the wool will be very tangled, representing the cohesiveness of the group. Use a pair of scissors to cut the strings, symbolizing that we must all return to out own lives, but that which was once connected can become so again.