Small Group Youth Activities

500

• This is a classic game that's simple and gets kids moving. One person has a football or Frisbee and the rest of the kids are grouped together. The thrower tosses the object into the air and yells out a number such as "100," "300" or whatever he wants. Whoever catches the object gains those points. Whoever reaches 500 points first, gets to be the thrower.

Anteater Relay

• In this game, the group will be divided into a few teams (depending on how many kids there are). Set some empty bowls on one side of the room, and the same number of bowls filled with dried peas on the other side of the room. Make sure there are equal amounts of dried peas in every bowl. Give each team member a straw and ask them to move the dried peas from the filled bowl into the empty bowl across the room, without using their hands. Whichever team moves all of their peas across the room first wins.

Poison

• Have your youths hold hands in a circle around a chair. Tell them that the chair is poisonous and whoever touches it is out of the game. The kids should then begin pulling each other towards the center, forcing people to touch the chair. Whoever touches the chair is out of the game, and the circle gets smaller until there's only one person left. Whoever is the last one standing wins.

The Laugh Game

• Have your small group lay down, one at a time. Each person should rest their head on another person's belly. At the end of the setup, the entire group should be interconnected. Begin with one person saying "Ha." The second person (who's laying their head on the first person's belly) will say "Ha ha." The third person will say three "Ha's" and so on. The object is to not laugh. Whoever laughs is eliminated until one person remains, and is declared the winner.

Chair Shuffle

• Arrange chairs in a circle and have all but one youth sit down. The one remaining person will stand in the middle of the circle, who will be dubbed "it." There will be one empty chair, and the person who is "it" must try to sit down. The kids who are already seated must shuffle to the empty seat, preventing the person who's "it" to sit down. Sitting youths may only shuffle left or right. They are not allowed to get out of their seat and move across the circle. Once the person who's "it" sits down, the person to their left or right (as predetermined by a counselor or chaperone) will be "it" next.

T-shirt Relay

• Divide the group into two equal teams, and have them line up single file. Put one extra large T-shirt on each of the members who are first in line. Have these "leaders" turn and face the second members in line, and hold their hands. The other members of the team must remove the T-shirt from the first member and put it onto the second member. Once this has been completed, the second members turn and face the third members, repeating the process. Whoever gets the T-shirt down the line, and onto the final member first, wins the race.