Paper memories

You’ll need

Pens or pencils
Scrap paper

Before you begin

This activity is a great chance to reflect – you might want to do it at the end of an academic or calendar year, as a welcome to new members, or to bring everyone back together after a break.
Remember, you don’t need to do this activity to earn a Joining In Award (though we think they go together nicely). You get a Joining In Award for each year you’re part of Scouts.

Choose a memory

Everyone should split into groups of five or six people. Each group should sit in a circle.
Everyone should reflect on their past year in Scouts (or however long they’ve been there if it’s not been a year yet).
Each person should choose one memory to share. It could be a favourite moment, the best thing the group’s done together, something they’re proud of, a time someone helped them, or what’s changed over the past year.

Everyone should write their memory on a piece of scrap paper. They shouldn’t put their name on the paper – it needs to be anonymous.
Everyone should fold their piece of paper in half and put it in the middle of the circle. Once everyone’s put their paper in, someone should jumble them all up.

Guessing time

The first person should choose a piece of paper and unfold it. They should quickly check it’s not theirs – if it is, they should fold it up, put it back, pick another piece of paper, then jumble all the rest up again.
The first person should read the memory out loud.
Everyone else should try to guess who wrote the memory. The person who wrote the memory should join in the discussion so they don’t give the game away.
Everyone should make a guess, and the person who wrote the memory should tell everyone it was them. They should talk a bit more about what they wrote.
The next person in the circle should repeat steps one to four. Everyone should keep going until all of the memories have been shared. Even if it’s obvious who the last memory belongs to, they should still have a chance to talk a bit more about what they chose.

Reflection

This activity was all about building friendships by reflecting on the past year together. Was it difficult to choose one memory? Was it easy for people to see how they’ve grown and learned things, or did they have to think hard? Change often happens slowly and gradually so it’s not too obvious at the time – it’s only when people look back that they can see how they’ve grown. Does sharing memories help make friendships stronger?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.