Creating your own activity

This activity is all about helping everyone to think of an activity of their own! Check out the advice below for some simple steps to creating your own session, working together with adult leaders to make a safe, fun, inclusive and exciting programme.

What do you want to achieve?

Before getting stuck into the details, it's important to think about you want to achieve from your activity. You might want to consider:

• Are you creating a game for the whole group?
• Will it be a structured activity, or a challenge with a specific set of instructions?
• Has your activity got a theme?
• Is everyone working towards achieving their YouShape Award?
• What other badges or awards could you work towards?
• What skills are everyone learning or developing?

Coming up with ideas

There’s no need to start from a blank page – why not check out our activity finder for some inspiration.

You could change or tweak an existing activity, or you could base your activity on:

• A theme – it could be an international night, a session to explore a season of the year, or learn a specific skill.
• An Activity Badge or Award – we’ve got everything from Astronautics to World Faiths.
• An event – you could run your own Olympics, or celebrate Diwali together.
• A Million Hands – get stuck into helping your local community with a project or event.
• Ideas from the group – check out our advice on running a Youth Forum.

Make a plan

Once you have an idea for your activity, it’s time to plan the details. You’ll probably want to write it down so you can share it with others. Think about:

• What equipment is needed?
• How long will it take?
• How many people are taking part?
• Will everyone be working on their own, in a team or as one big group?
• Where is your activity or game taking place?
• What are the rules, and how are you going to explain them to the group?
• Who is going to help run it? Could you ask some friends to help, or maybe a Young Leader or adult could give you a hand?

Things to consider

• Is it safe? Make sure you think carefully about how you’ll keep everyone safe. Check out the information on our safety pages and work with an adult to think about any risks and what you could do to help.
• Is it inclusive? Make sure everyone in your group can take part.
• Have you got a plan b? Have a think about what you might do if something doesn’t work the way you wanted it to, or if your activity is outside, what you’ll do in different weather.
• Is everyone prepared? Let everyone know in advance if they need to bring anything along for the activity.