Choose your challenge

Before you begin

• Print the ‘Choose your challenge cards'. If you don’t have a colour printer, you could print the columns on different coloured paper, colour code them with a pen, or put them in different envelopes.
• Cut the cards up into the individual words or phrases.
• Make sure you have enough cards for everyone – people will split into small groups.

Challenge me

1. Everyone should stand in a large circle.
2. The person leading the activity should explain that everyone will be thinking about a personal challenge.

3. Everyone should think about examples of challenges they’ve completed before. People should take it in turns to share their ideas – some people may think of physical challenges like keeping moving on a hike, some people may think of skills such as learning to tie shoelaces, and some people may think of things like being kind to a sibling.
4. People face different sorts of challenges every day, for example, starting a new hobby, looking after a pet or a plant, or taking part in a sport. These challenges can feel tricky, but they help people to learn more and feel more confident.

What’s my challenge?

1. Everyone should split into small groups. Each group should sit in a space with a grown up and a set of ‘Choose your challenge cards'.
2. Each group should choose a card from each category and use them make a sentence. They should try to make a few sentences, then talk about which ones make the most sense.

3. Each group should choose three sentences that make sense, then stick the cards to a piece of paper to make the sentences.
4. Each group should swap sentences with another group, to see what they talked about.
5. Everyone should think about a challenge they’d like to try. It could be something from this activity, or something else they want to try or get better at. They should think about how long their challenge will be, too. Different lengths of time will be right for different challenges and different people, and that’s OK.
6. Everyone should share their challenge with the personal leading the activity. The person leading the activity should check that their challenge makes sense, and that it’s personal and achievable. The person leading the activity should keep the postcard.

7. If there’s time, everyone should write their challenge on a second postcard to take home.

Challenge time

1. Every meeting, the person leading the activity should pull out a few people’s postcards and ask the person how their challenge is going, how they’re finding it, and what they’ve learned.

Everyone should encourage people who are working towards their challenge, congratulate anyone who’s made progress, and offer advice if anyone wants it. If anyone completes their challenge, everyone should make sure they say a big well done.